The pitfall of most generational consultants

They’re might have been a day. There might yet be a day. That day is when I’m an “official generational consultant.” Oh, I looked at the possibility, all right. Wrote the copy for my website. Did some group training. Developed a list of services. Blogged about the subject a lot, back in the day before [...]

Is GTD a GenX thing?

Is GTD a GenX thing? … And will it fade from its current glory of an All-hail-David-Allen solution in 15 years or so, as Millennials ascend into mid-life and redefine what it means to “be organized”? I hadn’t given this question too much thought until Thursday Bram, the editor of Constructively Productive, asked if she could [...]

I’ll be there.

It was about a year ago when I first saw the commercial. I was mesmerized. The Jackson 5’s “I’ll be there song” played in the background while artfully selected video of people both vulnerable and strong played on the screen. “Who and what is this advertisement for?” my mind asked. It was brilliant. State Farm, I [...]

Together. Geeks. GenXers. Be there.

Mercy! Writing content for others is more time-consuming than writing on my blog. If you’ve read a handful of my posts or more, you’ve probably noticed that I’m prone to write statements such as “I don’t proofread my blog posts.” Ack! Can’t do the same for others … though I still do find edits I [...]

On par … or at least close to

I was interviewed late last year for an article about marketing to different generations. In and of itself, that’s so-so news, as I get interviewed fairly often on the subject. What filled me with joy is that another person interviewed for the same article was my super-hero on the subject of generational theory: Neil Howe. [...]

Mr. Rouse as Daddy

Cleaning up my blog and categories, I found an unpublished post re Mr. Rouse as a Hero, in generational dynamics that is. The full piece isn’t written. I might not ever finish it. But, here’s some bits and perspectives for those wondering about the history of Columbia and how it was impacted by generational dynamics. [...]

Mr. Rouse was a Hero

In cleaning out and organizing some of my blog posts tonight, I came across this draft I never published. I have spent some time thinking into and understanding where and how the original vision for Columbia came to be, through the lens of generational theory, that is. ************* James W. Rouse, in the archetypal language [...]

2010 is going to suck.

2010 is going to suck. And if that doesn’t catch your attention in an ad headline, I don’t know what does. You may have heard of this by now. Seen it. Perhaps you’ve come across the ad in a magazin. In any case, it’s one of the components in the suck-less (great double entendre) ad [...]

What happens when they grow out of Barney?

Millennials grew up on the excruciatingly-sappy-to-adult-ears songs of Barney, the Dinosaur. Got any guesses on what you think they’d orient toward as young adults? Yep, you got it: happy sing-song-y songs. La-de-da-da. With any generation, as it ascends into young adulthood, they redefine what it means to be in that phase of life, including the [...]

What’s Next, Gen X? I’ll tell ya, sweetheart.

I received today a press copy of What’s Next, Gen X? A rep from the Harvard Business Review contacted me last week, having noted that I’d commented on a post written by the author. She checked me out, discovered that I write commentary on generations and asked if I wanted a review copy. “Sure thing,” [...]

But he’s only 29 …

I remember when I met him. The conversation. The thoughtfulness with which he spoke. The respect and interest I felt as we inched closer to knowing each other. I asked his birth year; he was born in 1981: the last, last year of the GenX generation. His name was Peter, Peter Corbett, and his business [...]

Avatar.

“The Homeland Gen is here!” Swear it’s true. My first thought at the final moment of seeing the movie Avatar tonight was just that: The Homeland Gen is here. See, each generation finds its way with communication technologies and shapes/molds/forms/s informed by them. And the virtual world, mark my word, is the tech of the [...]

Protective Baby Pod

Via @mack_mccoy, I found out about the protective baby pod. This goes waaaaaaaay beyond a stroller or car safety seat concept. From a Fast Company article, titled Creepy Product of the Month, it “is intended to keep your infant protected in the event of disasters, such as chemical warfare. We’re talking an LED screen that [...]

Mama!

The Muppets (a Silent Gen creation originally developed to help GenX children learn the challenges of adulthood) have their groove on with a slew of new music videos. On November 23, 2009, the Muppets folk posted to YouTube this video. As of December 8th, (15 days later) the video has been viewed 9,722,185 times and [...]

I don’t get it. I really don’t.

Life. Gawking. Poking around. It found me here, on this gal’s Facebook page. The problem is, from her profile pic choice, I don’t know WHICH gal’s Facebook page it is. Is it the smiling gal in the front, whose face is gleaming? Or is it the one in the back whose intent is to make [...]

More Down’s Syndrome babies born. I’m not surprised.

I do my best to avoid The News. But today, somehow, I heard the same story twice. The first time I felt my blog post response rising. The second time, I decided to write it. The news bit: the unexpected — cough, cough — rise of Down’s Syndrome babies born between 1979 and 2003. Scientists [...]

Glee and today’s generations.

On word of @stevenfisher, I turned my attention to the TV show Glee. (Thank you, hulu.) What I was struck with right away — above and beyond the characters and unfolding story — was the dead-on accuracy of the generational depiction of today’s Americans generations. While GenX grew up in high school with The Breakfast [...]

Toy art. Trash art. GenX art.

This question was in my email inbox today. I’m going to answer it publicly: The Q: Jessie, I came across your post looking for context for an art review I’m working on. I’m writing about an artist my age (mid 30s) who, like a remarkable number of GenX artists, fills his paintings with toys, cartoons, [...]

Rules. And agreements.

I was getting my do done. Down in DC. Last Tangle. L & 19th NW. My life right now is mostly suburban and car-based, and I think like a driver. But about once a week I’m in DC, and when I am, I’m usually a pedestrian. And need to think like one. So, here I [...]

My take-away.

“What was your biggest take-away today?” was the question he asked me. We were at the happy hour following Public Media Camp on Saturday, and I was talking to @digiphile about the day behind us. I have a propensity to answer questions with either brevity, bluntness and clarity of thought that can be shockingly specific, [...]