Harnessing The Creativity of Generation Y

December 22nd, 2007 · No Comments

My latest research interest is in how organisations can better harness the ideas and passion of Generation Y. Currently with much of the research to date, there is an emphasis on everything that is wrong with Generation Y from a business point of view.

They are described as impatient, informal, questioning, independent and so on. Viewed from another perspective these are the very qualities that leaders need if they want to build a more innovative business. And we know from research that innovation is still the top three priorities for leaders around the world.

My vision is that organisations of the future will be built around the needs of the employees rather than a need to command and control. Generation Y might just be the most adaptive of all the organisations. They want interesting, meaningful work where they have a chance to contribute their ideas and passion. And what is wrong with this? Who doesn’t want this?

So this generation is at the vanguard of the new organisations of the future. The more we listen then the more leaders can produce better economic outcomes and gain an edge on the command and control cousins.

Yours in ideas, Ken