Posts Tagged ‘generational issues’

5 Things I learned at the Midwest Rural Assembly

August 17th, 2009

Attending a conference such as the Midwest Rural Assembly is always a great experience.  You get to meet new people, learn what other organizations are doing, and become inspired.  And then one returns to the daily grind of work, where the learning and inspiration are often placed on the backburner.

In an attempt to not lose that inspiration and learning, I’ve written down five things I learned at the assembly. 

First, I was reminded of how important it is to welcome and invite people – especially young people — into a community.  Even though it shouldn’t have been funny, I broke out laughing when Neil Linscheid of Marshall, MN described how he responds to “the stare” that follows visitors whenever they enter small town cafes.   We know that in most situations “the stare” is not meant to be rude, but rural residents need to remember that the stare makes visitors and new residents feel out-of-place and unwelcomed.  (I wrote more about that issue here.  And as for Neil’s response; he stares right back — see the above picture. )

Second, social media can be an important marketing strategy for rural communities. I have to come clean in admitting that I entered the conference with strong convictions on the subject.  But it was refreshing to hear from Kelly Fuller of Plains Justice who told a story of how she chose Vermillion, SD as the home for her non-profit work in part because she connected with people of similar interests and values in Vermillion who she found through a blog.  Through these connections, she and other staff members felt they had received a more authentic view of the community than if they had relied solely on community-based websites for their decision making.

Third, there are a lot of organizations doing great work for Rural America.  Approximately 170 individuals attended the conference representing thirteen states and one Canadian province.  The list of everyone doing great work is too long to name everyone, but I’d invite readers to check out a few of the following notable non-South Dakota organizations doing good work:  Renewing the Countryside, the Heartland Center, and Northern Great Plains, Inc.

Forth, Twitter should be incorporated into more conference activities.  I was very impressed when Marcie McLaughlin of Rural Policy Research Institute requested that that the audience use Twitter to ask questions of the “The Future of Rural America:  Next Generation” panelists.  I’m sure it felt like a barrier to conference stalwarts who feel more comfortable standing up and asking questions.  But I think it opened up a new audience for question asking.  Let’s face it, some people will never feel comfortable standing up in front of a crowd, and tools like Twitter can help these people be a part of the process. 

Fifth, I was impressed to see people willing to take the work of the assembly home with them.  During the waning moments of the assembly, attendees broke into the five areas of emphasis identified by the National Rural Assembly.  I joined the Investing in our Communities group, and watched the group share their thoughts about issues that need further attention.  We probably needed a little more time to fully explore the topics, but we left with areas of emphasis, issues, and an action plan identified.  Even more impressive is that the group has already produced draft minutes (thanks Kirsten Gorham and Yolanda Cotteral), and is looking to continue the dialog.

That presents us with a challenge.  How does the dialogue continue?  How do we engage others who could not attend? 

If you have thoughts on this subject I would encourage you to post them here.

           

Photo Credits: All photos by Shawn Poynter of the Center for Rural Strategies.

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Posted in Community Development, Community Engagement, Gen Y, Rural | Comments (0)

Live Blogging from Citibank

December 17th, 2008

Non Profit Training

I’m attending a workshop in Sioux Falls, SD today on “Adapting to a Changing Financial Reality For Non Profit Leaders,” sponsored by Citibank. The workshop facilitator, Kate Barr of the Nonprofits Assistance Fund in Minneapolis, has helped our group of about 60 participants discuss and generate some good ideas in these uncertain (OK, kind of scary) times.

The Big Announcement

We also heard some big news from our friend Bob Sutton of the South Dakota Community Foundation. Help is on the way for South Dakota non profits. The Bush Foundation of St. Paul, MN will make a $2 million grant to help build capacity for non profits of all kinds in South Dakota. Over the next two years, the money will be used by the SDCF to:

As Christine Sorenson filled us in, the SDNPA has had several fits and starts since it’s original founding in 1998. Christine and other volunteer board members were here today to restart the fire based on Bob’s big news. The plan is to put full time staff in place by 2011, with help from SDCF and the Bush funds. A website should be up soon at http://sdnonprofit.org.

Working With Generation Y

One conversation that popped up just before lunch centered on the differences in generations in the non-profit workplace. Since Mike has been blogging some good stuff about this topic, I thought I’d share some snippets:

Kate talked about how “young people” (she referred to a 23-year-old colleague in her office who emails her when they are sitting 10 feet from each other) just do things differently. She contends Millennials (also referred to as “Gen Y”) have a terrific ability to adapt quickly and easily to new situations and tools, and have learned a way to work (effectively multi-task) that is new to most of us.

“And that is exactly what we (non profits) will need,” said Kate, “The ability to truly handle multiple priorities at once in a changing world.”

Other comments about Gen Y and the future of non profits:

“Young people today want real responsibility. Give it to them, let them become the leaders.”

“(Millennials) have mastered such a different way to communicate. Though challenging for some of us, that’s quite an asset.”

My Take

Like Mike said in a recent post, I think the best way to communicate with each other is to just remember we are not “Millenials” and “Baby Boomers” and “Gen Xers.” We are human beings.

While I totally get what Kate is saying about the important role those multi-tasking youngsters will play/are playing in the leadership of non profits (and communities), it saddens me to think about the never-stop-switching, short-as-a-smurf attention span that is becoming the aspiration of good leadership. I deeply believe the best path to change is a relatively slow, focused one. What do you think? (Just click “Comments” to jump into the conversation.)

Props

Thanks to Citi for the great (and free!) learning today. The crowd was about 1/3 rural, and there was active networking going on. Also thanks to Kate for sharing her well of knowledge. She writes a helpful blog called Balancing the Mission Checkbook–good stuff for even the teeny-tiniest of non profits.

One more question: Did I unintentionally exclude myself from that “youngsters” category by referring to Smurfs? My favorite was the wise old Papa Smurf, but Smurfette was quite striking. :-)

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Posted in Gen Y, Rural, Training and Events | Comments (0)

Small Biz Survival “gets” Gen Y

December 17th, 2008

If you’re a small business owner in a rural community, you need to get over to the Small Biz Survival blog.  Becky McCray, who writes there, offers innovative ideas about how to use social media and other forms of technology in small businesses.  And best of all, she understands rural.  After all, she’s owns a small business herself in Alva, OK (pop. 5288).

Yesterday, Becky struck a home run in a subject we’ve been interested in lately – how to engage Gen Y in rural communities.  She published the following excerpt of her responses to interview questions with Deb Brown, a small town Iowa newspaper editor:

How can we get our kids to come back to the community after college? What do we need to be doing to help develop our community for them too?

Engage them. Put young people in charge of projects. Involve them in “adult” meetings, like Rotary or the City Council. Setup a job shadowing or mentoring program with local businesses. Do everything you can to make young people a vital part of everything in the community. It’s not just about projects or assets. It’s about building a sense of belonging and community. That will stick with kids long after they head to college, and that is what will make them want to return.

You can also go further to bring them back, with events focused on homecomings. You can hold all-school, all-year reunions. If you can compile a mailing list of interested alums, you can market not just your events, but also your town. Your city government might be able to offer inexpensive lots for building or other move-back incentives. You have to be creative about it.

Check out the full interview at Deb Brown’s blog:

Although I make it a point never to guess a lady’s age, I’m going to step out on a limb as say that Becky does not belong to Gen Y. But I sure think she gets them.  Her advice will go a long way to making our rural communities places where young people want to live.

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Posted in Economic Development, Gen Y, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (3)

It’s still all about the relationship

December 15th, 2008

I was struck last week by the number of “Gen Y experts” marketing their knowledge to businesses.  “Are you struggling to relate to your Gen Y workers?” becomes the opening to their sales pitch. “If so, we’ve got the answers, and you can’t afford to figure it out yourself.”

Not all Gen Y experts, however, are quite so brash. It was refreshing to read one expert, Kanna Hudson,  suggest that although Gen Y (also called Millennials) are unique, all people really need to do is follow three simple steps:

Step 1. Call up your local Millennial, or, if you’re at work, visit your local Millennial’s cubicle

Step 2. Get to know him or her.

Step 3. If desired, proceed with normal human relationship

Maybe that’s the “poor man’s” Gen Y self help guide, but I think it’s a particularly powerful message to any rural community or civic group that is interested in engaging Gen Y in their community.   It affirms the message I presented in “How to engage Gen Y in Rural Communities” by suggesting that building a relationship is the place to start. But it also reminds us not to make working with young people difficult.  After all, they are humans too.

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How to engage Gen Y in Rural Communities

December 11th, 2008

It’s no secret that participation levels of young people, particularly Gen Y, in community groups and projects are declining.  This is particularly troubling in our rural communities where the age demographics are getting older and older each year.

“What’s wrong with this younger generation?” becomes the rally cry.  “They say they want to change the world, but how can they do that when all they do is surf the internet and text message?” The reality is that Generation Y is interested in social causes, but we have to engage them on their terms if we want their involvement.  

I hope the “Characteristics of Gen Y” that I shared in yesterday’s post helps you understand Gen Y.  Today, I want to offer my thoughts on how this information can be used to encourage their involvement in your community.   

Start by build a personal relationship with them. Because the parents of Gen Y treated their children as friends and valued their opinions, Gen Y’s are social creatures.  They enjoy telling others about their interest, their desire, and opinions.   Sitting down and talking to them about these things helps younger people feel that your community values and respects them.   And hopefully you do, because they read intentions very well, which leads us to our next tip.

Be authentic.  Gen Y has been bombarded with traditional advertising, and they’ve come to distrust it.  In turn, this has led them to value people, organizations, and businesses that are authentic and who are not trying to sell them something. If you are not truly interested in learning and listening, they will detect it.  They will then remember it when making their decisions on whether to join your effort or not. 

Value their ideas and opinion.  Taking the ideas and opinions of Gen Y seriously is a strong part of the previous two tips, but it also goes beyond relationships and authenticity.  Gen Y’s feel their knowledge is their greatest contribution.  That may be difficult to accept if you believe wisdom is associated with age.  But if you want Gen Y’s involved, you’ll swallow your pride and take them seriously. 

Along the same line of thought, if you ask for Gen Y’s help, be ready to accept it.    For example, I ask a Gen Y to edit my writing.  I know that if I want her continued help, I need to listen to what she says – even when I think that what she’s edited is not better than what I wrote in the first place.

Rethink how your organization uses technology.  We all know that Gen Y is the most technology savvy generation.  It seems like they can’t leave it alone, which is often annoying to people who grew up without it.  Ask parents today how to communicate with their children, and they will tell you, “Don’t bother calling, just text message.”  If your organization relies on written invitations and phone calls (especially at a home phone), you may never reach the very people you need to. 

Now obviously, the above example is more relevant the younger a person is; but it should cause us to rethink the ways our communities and groups can use technology.  Perhaps you need to create a Google Calendar as a community calendar and produce a Facebook page for specific projects that are listed on the calendar.  Perhaps it’s using tools like e-mail, Basecamp, or TrueThinker.   And if you don’t know what any of these tools do, don’t worry.  Just ask a Gen Y–they’ll enjoy telling you. 

Make sure you communicate what “cause” you are working on.  This may be the most important and challenging recommendation that I make.  Gen Y’s embrace “social causes” more than any other generation, largely because their parents (Baby Boomers) were social activists.  But I’m afraid that the activities rural community groups are working on don’t translate into social causes. 

For instance, Gen Y probably doesn’t see a community club as a cause.  They would, however, see giving gifts to low-income children at Christmas as a social cause that they want to be a part of.  One way to address this issue would be the community club to encourage Gen Y’s to participate in specific causes that interest them.   

After reading the list above, you may question if getting Gen Y involved is worth the effort.  But since Generation Y is the future of your community, I think you’d better.

Update (12-15-09): Since posting this article, I have written several other posts about the characteristics of Gen Y and how it relates to rural communities. A few of the more popular posts include:

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Gen Y Characteristics

December 10th, 2008

The videos I posted about Gen Y created some interest last week, and I need to follow up with more information.   Let me begin with a couple follow points. 

First, there is no perfect date for separating when Gen X ends and Gen Y begins, but I think it makes sense to say there’s a cross-over sometime in the late 1970s.

Second, there a ton of people out there who are billing themselves as Gen Y experts–not as many Gen X experts (but that shouldn’t be surprising since Gen Y’s were born with parents who have been lavishing them with attention their whole lives).

In fact, I haven’t found enough good information on Gen X to feel comfortable posting about them, but I’ll keep working on it.  Until then, I’m going to share information about Gen Y. 

Ages of Gen Y:  late 1970s to 2000

Other names associated with Gen Y: Millennials, Net Generation, iGeneration, Echo Boomers, and Google Generation.

 

Characteristics of Generation Y

 

 If you want to learn more about Gen Y, check out the following sources:

(More to come soon on ways to engage generation y in your organizations and communities.)

 

Update (12-15-09):  Since posting this article, I have written several other posts about the characteristics of Gen Y and how it relates to rural communities.   A few of the more popular posts include:

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Posted in Community Development, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (2)

Gen X, Gen Y & Community Involvement

December 5th, 2008

The other evening, the residents of Faulkton, SD asked Lindsey, Joe, and myself what Faulkton could be done to get younger people involved in their community.  They explained it doesn’t seem to matter what group is meeting or what activity is being planned; people under age 45 just don’t show up.

We assured them Faulkton is not alone is this.  People being busy is a real issue today; but there are also some real generational issues also at play that impact involvement.   

Generally the post-Baby Boom generations are referred to as Generations X (born roughly between 1965 and 1980) and Generation Y (born roughly between the late1970′s and 2000).  They have very different expectations on life than older generations.  If you want them involved in your organization, you may have to change your organization’s practices and behavior. 

I’m going to start by providing two videos about Gen Y and follow up next with more detailed characteristics of both generations in future posts. 

I’m sharing two videos for a purpose.  One was definitely created by a Gen Y, while the other was probably created by a Gen X or maybe even a Baby Boomer.  Can you figure out which is which?

Video #1
 

Video #2

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Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (6)