WINNING

MILLENNIALS
Turning your greatest challenges
into your greatest strengths

Jamy Bechler & Melanie Williams

 Contents
2 Table of Contents
3 Challenge & Introduction
4 Millennial Statistics
5 Communicating with People
6 Connecting with People
7 Perspectives
8 Generational Differences
9 Traditionalist Generation
10 Baby Boomer Generation
11 Generation X
12 Millennial Generation
13 Top Frustrations with Millennials
14 Millennial Frustrations with Managers
15 Practical Tips for Working with Millennials
16 Lists for Working with Millennials
17 Millennial Lingo
18 33 Ways to Motivate Employees
19 Manager vs. Leader Principles
20 Opportunities & Conclusion
21 About the Authors
Winning with Millennials
Copyright © 2017
Jamy Bechler & Melanie Williams
The information contained within these pages is designed to help you work most effectively
with everyone around you, in particular, Millennials. Melanie is a millennial and Jamy is a
professional speaker who works frequently with Millennials. Jamy also helps train
companies on how to best recruit, hire, and train Millennials. You can contact Jamy at
[email protected] or Melanie at MelanieWilliamsTheWriter.com

2 Winning with Millennials

 It seems that everyone is talking
about Millennials today.
Opinions vary widely on who
they are and what they want. If
you are like most people, you
interact with Millennials on a
daily basis. You might be a
little apprehensive about how
Millennials. You might have
questions that seem to go
unanswered. You may even
have some concerns about their
behavior, motivations and
Whether you understand them attitudes. You might be trying to
figure out how they fit into your
or not, the millennials are the work environment or just what
current generation that will they are all about, really. If that
is you, then what is contained in
either make or break the the following pages may help
you as you engage with
economic impact, future Millennials. The truth is that they
housing markets, financial have taken over the workforce
and will soon be in the majority
institutions, and their buying of management positions. The
power alone demands ultimate more we can learn and
understand, not only who they
respect, attention, and are but who we are, then the
more likely we are to
immediate response to what successfully co-exist. Ultimately,
their needs and wants are. we can turn one of our greatest
challenges into one of our
(Matt Crane) greatest strengths.

3 Winning with Millennials

 Millennial Statistics
(statistics and graphics courtesy of Matt Crane’s article The Trillion Dollar Millennial: Inside
the mind of the new “boom”.)

92% use text messaging

feature on cell phones
89% use mobile browsing
feature on cell phones
82% use email feature on
cell phones
80% of millennials sleep
with their cell phone
either in the bed or next
to the bed.
74% use social
networking on cell
phones
24% utilize newspapers
for their source of news

4 Winning with Millennials

Communicating with People
In his classic book, How to Win Friends
and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
says, “The number one thing great
communicators have in common is they
possess a heightened sense of situational
and contextual awareness. The best Clarity: When I see leaders trying to
communicators are great listeners and impress people by using big words or
astute in their observations. Great complex sentences, I cringe. If you want to
connect with people, you need to keep it
communicators are skilled at reading a simple. You also need to be specific. If you
persongroup by sensing the moods, offer up overly broad terms and vaguely
dynamics, attitudes, values and concerns defined goals, no one will know what to do.

of those being communicated with. Not Continuity: Boy, I really botched this up
only do they read their environment well, when I was young. I thought I could just lay
out my vision and move on. It took me years
but they possess the uncanny ability to to understand that I needed to continually
adapt their messaging to said restate my organization’s mission. I learned
environment without missing a beat. The that you sometimes need to repeat your
message six times before people internalize
message is not about the messenger; it it.
has nothing to do with messenger; it is
however 100% about meeting the needs Creativity: You have to find new ways to
state ongoing goals, lest your audience tune
and the expectations of those you’re out. Try new metaphors; appeal to people’s
communicating with.” different senses. Some people are auditory
learners, some are visual, and others need
hands-on experience to grasp a concept.
“Two monologues do not make a
dialogue” - Jeff Daly via John C. Maxwell in Success.com

Powerful Tips for Communicating

Better with Millennials
1. Keep it brief, but meaningful
2. At the same time, provide detail
3. Choose the best medium
4. Understand the 24/7 communication cycle
5. Communicate the path to career growth
6. Don’t condescend or make jokes about age
7. Demonstrate fairness in the workplace
8. Commit to a social bottom line
9. Most important, nurture their passion
by Peter Economy – Inc.com

5 Winning with Millennials

Connecting with People
Effective and appropriate communication is important but it is not enough. Leadership
expert, John C. Maxwell wrote a book entitled Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. This is
one of the best books you can read to improve your relationships with others whether it be
work, family or friendship. The other recommended book is How to Win Friends and
Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Connecting is all about others. Before you can add value
to others, you must first learn to value others. Connecting goes beyond words and only
happens intentionally. All positive relationships are built on common interests and values.
The ability to connect with others begins with understanding the value of people. This goes
for all of our interactions, including those with Millennials.

• Treat them fairly

• Provide work opportunities that provide
personal satisfaction
• Provide a clear sense of purpose
• Value others and let them know it
• "Do you care for me?“
• "Can you help me?“
“The ability to deal with people
• "Can I trust you?“ is as purchasable a commodity
• Understand individual motivations as sugar or coffee and I will pay
• Seek first to understand then to be understood more for that ability than for
• Learn to listen and listen to learn any other under the sun.”
~ John D. Rockefeller

Remove Barriers & Obstacles:

Assumption: “I already know
what others know, feel or want”

Arrogance: “I don’t need to know

what others know, feel or want”

Indifference: “I don’t care to

know what others know, feel or
want.”

Control: “I don’t want others to

know what I know, feel or think.”

6 Winning with Millennials

 Perspective

There is so much talk about Millennials being

this and that. Baby Boomers and Generation
X’ers don’t always speak highly of
Millennials. However, every generation thinks
that the one after it is the worst ever. Those
generations are not necessarily worse, just
"Don't criticize them;
different. They are not the enemy. They are
they are just what just different. In order to most effectively
we would be under work with people, we must understand them.
similar With Millennials, we must have a mind shift.
circumstances." Our point of view must be altered.
Generation X’ers were different than Baby
~ Abe Lincoln Boomers, and Millennials have unique
characteristics, as well. People look at things
differently based on their up-bringing, culture
and experiences. Millennials look at things
differently than other generations but that
doesn’t mean it is wrong, just different.

7 Winning with Millennials

Generational Differences
Each Generation …
• Consists of approximately a 20-year
span (not all demographers and
generation researchers agree on the
exact start/stop dates)
• Has a unique set of values
• Looks at their generation as the standard
of comparison
• Looks at the next generation skeptically
(e.g. “these kids today…”)
• Those born on the “cusp” may have a
blended set of characteristics
• They are either idealistic, reactive, civic
or adaptive

8 Winning with Millennials

 Traditionalists
aka “Silent Generation” (1925-1945)

• Great Depression • Not risk takers or rebellious

• New Deal • Believed in government
• Pearl Harbor policies
• WWII • Didn’t want to waste anything
• FDR Dies • Had a strong sense of values
• Korean War • Frugal
• Radio
• Telephone
• Social Security
• Lindbergh flight
• Flash Gordon
• Tarzan
• Jukeboxes
• Blondie • Raised by the GI
• The Lone Ranger Generation (civic)
• The McCarthy Era • Large families (3-5 children)
• Mickey Mouse • Strong sense of extended
• Peace Corp family
• Atomic Bomb • Grandparents in the home
• Gone with the Wind • Average 10-year-old spent
• Wizard of Oz 4-6 hours daily with a
• Significant construction significant adult role model
included Empire State • Rural society
Building and Hoover • Perception of the world as
Dam. “safe”

9 Winning with Millennials

 Baby Boomers
aka “Hippies, Yippies or Yuppies” (1946-1964)

• Optimism
• Civil Rights • Team Orientation
• Feminism • Personal Gratification
• Vietnam War • Health and Wellness
• Cold War • Personal Involvement
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• Woodstock
• Space Travel
• Assassinations
• Scientific Advances
• Credit Cards
• Divorce reached a low in
• Television 1960 of 9%
• Barbie Dolls • Families moved due to GI
• Poodle Skirts Bill, GI housing
• Slinkies • First generation to live
• TV Dinners miles from extended family
• Hula Hoops • Family size smaller (2-3
children)
• Peace Sign
• Few grandparents in the
• John Wayne home
• Clint Eastwood • Moms stayed home – no
• Leave it to Beaver daycare

10 Winning with Millennials

 Generation X
aka “Baby Busters” (1965-1981)

• Fall of the Berlin Wall • Dedication/Hard Work

• Challenger Disaster • Conformity
• Desert Storm • Law and Order
• Personal Computers • Patience/Delayed Reward
• Working Mothers • Duty before Pleasure
• MTV • Adherence to Rules
• Divorce
• Energy Crisis
• Iran Hostage Crisis
• Ronald Reagan
• HIV
• Brady Bunch
• Evening Soaps
• E.T. & Star Wars
• Divorce at an all-time high
• Cabbage Patch
• Super-Hero Cartoons • Single-parent families
• Beepers and Pagers became the norm
• Invented the Internet • Latch-key kids were a major
• Grunge Music issue of the time
• Children not as valued –
Dubbed ‘slackers’ and looked at as a hardship
‘cynics’ by the • Family size = 1.7 children
• Perception of the world as
generations before it. “unsafe”

11 Winning with Millennials

 Millennials
aka “Generation Y” (1982-2000)

• School shootings • Want to be heard

• 9/11 terror attacks • Looking for upward
• Hurricane Katrina movement
• Recession • Want to speak to top-level
• Boston Marathon leaders
• Social Networking • Communicate their needs
• Enron/WorldCom • Want success for
• Iraq/Afghanistan everyone involved
• Google search • Equate newer with better
• Obama election • Respond to stories and
anecdotes
• Prefer 24/7 availability
• Juggle multiple
conversations
• Not into face-to-face
communication
• Mobile and highly
• The most monumental connected
financial boom in history • Respond well to media
• Steady income growth • Have their own lingo
through the 1990’s • Often get “do-overs”
• Saw their parents lose all • Not interested in paying
their stocks and mutual dues
funds (college funds) during
the early 2000’s

12 Winning with Millennials

 Top Frustrations w/Millennials
Lack of Initiative/Problem-Solving
Solution: Become a guide. Stop blaming or pointing fingers. Give responsibility.

Sense of Entitlement
Solution: Assign tasks that highlight their strength. Maximize their strengths.

Overly Self-Focused
Solution: Celebrate their successes. Incorporate their strengths into the team.

Too Emotional
Solution: Keep a level head and don’t fire with fire. Don’t minimize them,
however. Be careful of calling them out. Learn to work with varying personalities.

Unrealistic Advancement Goals

Solution: Make sure that your standards are fair and written out. Learn what
makes your employees tick. Help them become better. Focus on the process of
developing them.

Impatient
Solution: Celebrate small successes. Focus on incremental goals that
complement and feed into their long-term plans.

13 Winning with Millennials

Millennial Frustrations w/Managers
Unavailability/Too Busy
Solution: Make time. If your workers feel that their time isn’t important to you
then this could create issues in the workplace. They may feel unappreciated

Lack of Timely Response

Solution: Care more. Treat next generation leaders like customers and mean it.
Build on true business skills and develop your own accountability. Care enough
to create real authentic connections.

Lack of Positive Feedback

Solution: Identify myths and assumptions about employees that creates
barriers. Shift mindset that assumes positive intent and eliminating judgement,
quick opinions, and criticism.

Lack of Development/Training
Solution: Own it. Have personal responsibility and accountability to drive
results.

Lack of Consistent Check-ins

Solution: Keep in touch with your team. Always keep in touch with the team
and constantly check on them to make sure they are okay. Let them know you
trust them and always praise them for their hard work.

Lack of Communication
Solution: Connect. Always create a relationship with employees so they can
talk to you about anything. You don’t want employees being afraid to talk to
you. This could lead to issues in your business.

14 Winning with Millennials

 Tips for Working w/Millennials
• Keep it brief, but meaningful and
detailed
Challenge them by • Choose the best communication
giving them new medium
problems to solve! • Communicate the path to career
growth
• Don't condescend or make jokes
about age
• Demonstrate fairness in the
workplace
• Commit to a social bottom line
• Nurture their passion
• Give reasons to get engaged
Answer the "why”! • Add visuals to messages
• Smartly incorporate information into
messages
• Let them ask questions
• Let them be free thinkers

“Millennials
don’t just want to
watch the news
anymore, they want
to know what they
can do about it.”
(Ian Somerhaulder)

15 Winning with Millennials

 Millennial Lists
11 Tips for Managing Millennials
7 Mistakes to Avoid in
(Susan Heathfield)
Leading Millennials in the
1. Provide structure. Workplace (Elita Torres)
2. Provide leadership and guidance.
3. Encourage the millennial’s self- 1. Not being clear on career opportunities.
assuredness, “can-do” attitude, and positive 2. Establishing your authority through
personal self-image. power.
4. Take advantage of the millennial’s comfort 3. Micro-managing.
level with teams and encourage them to 4. Under-emphasizing the importance of
join. company culture.
5. Listen to the millennial employee. 5. Not investing in technology.
6. Millennial employees are up for a challenge 6. Not sharing.
and change. 7. Reconsider the schedule. Be flexible.
7. Millennial employees are multi-taskers on a
scale you’ve never seen before.
8. Take advantage of your millennial
employee’s computer, cell phone, and
electronic literacy.
9. Capitalize on the millennial’s affinity for
networking.
10. Provide a life-work balanced workplace.
11. Provide a fun, employee-centered
workplace.

“People need to be reminded

more often than they need to be
instructed.” (Samuel Johnson)
8 Ways to Lead Your
Millennial Employees Well
Common Characteristics of
(Bob Sutton)
Companies with High Retention
Rates (Evan Walden) 1. Move out of the way.
2. Become a professional listener.
1. Being intentional about professional 3. Lead by example.
development and upward mobility. 4. Collaborate for success.
2. Living out company values. 5. Measure the important things.
3. Thinking of compensation as more than 6. Create an encouraging environment.
just the paycheck. 7. Listen & adapt.
4. Planning for employee turnover. 8. Remind them of individual & group
value.

16 Winning with Millennials

 Millennial Lingo
Throw I Can’t Even Struggle
Shade You can’t deal with
what’s happening right
is Real
You are having a
Talk trash, now
hard time
disapprove

TBH
To be honest

100
Authentic,
100% true
BAE
Significant
other or friend

RT
Retweet

GOAT
Greatest of All-
Time

YOLO #HASHTAG
‘#’ mostly verbs or
You only live once adjective to describe a
feeling

WOKE
BFF Socially or politically
aware
Best Friends Forever

17 Winning with Millennials

33 Ways to Motivate Employees
1. Give out the free stuff you receive from
vendors
2. Allow work-from-home day(s)
3. Make it easy for them to get professional
development or continuing education
4. Wash their cars while they are at work
(detailing them is even better) 18. Let them be unique individuals
5. Give them Uber credits 19. Coffee shop meetings
6. Sports-Jersey Day 20. Public recognition
7. Memberships (gym, golf, etc...) 21. Celebrate birthdays
8. Say "Thank You" more often 22. Provide free tax preparation
9. Breakfast from the boss 23. Provide company apparel
10. Mentorship program 24. Allow them more flexibility
11. Give them your time (be accessible) 25. Participate in a service project
12. Decide on a charity that you will all 26. Company happy hour
support 27. Extra day off every once in awhile as a
13. Give them a Fit Bit to use during the day reward
14. Coffee all the time (gourmet coffee is 28. Develop a new and improved job title for
even better) them
15. Resource them properly for projects or 29. Go nuts for donuts (donuts go well with
tasks coffee every day)
16. Hire a life coach or business coach to 30. Flowers to your secretary other than
work with them once a week, month or Secretary Appreciation Day
quarter during work 31. Never miss a chance to send thank you
17. Celebrate personal milestones notes
32. Think-tank sessions
33. Have on-site fitness classes

“Millennials want fulfillment

at work now, and are not
willing to postpone meaning
until later in life.” (Evan
Walden, CEO of ReWork)

18 Winning with Millennials

 Manager vs. Leader
In order to win with Millennials, it is
important that you manage them
effectively. However, it is even more
important to lead them effectively.
“Leadership is not about titles,
positions, or flowcharts but
about one life influencing
another. Leadership is
influence. Nothing more,
nothing less. (John C. Maxwell)

Managers focus on… Leaders focus on…

Maintaining Improving
WHEN I TALK
Shorter Range Longer Range
TO MANAGERS
Administrating Innovating I GET THE
Procedures People FEELING THAT
Results Process THEY ARE
Goals Vision IMPORTANT.
Controlling Trusting
Planning Inspiring
Organization Influence
Giving Directions Asking Questions
WHEN I TALK
Evaluating Developing TO LEADERS I
Reacting Being Proactive GET THE
Having Subordinates Having Followers FEELING THAT
I, Me, Mine We, Us, Ours I AM
Counting Value Creating and Adding Value
IMPORTANT.
Taking Credit Giving Credit

19 Winning with Millennials

 ARE YOU DEAD RIGHT?
One day in high school, I was walking
down the sidewalk with my mother. We
needed to cross the street. Instead of
going to the intersection and crossing at
the cross walk, I decided to do it sooner
since I figured I could make it before the
next car went by.

My mother grabbed my arm and pulled me

back.
How does the story on the left relate to
“What are you doing? There are cars
millennials? Why does this matter? Because
coming”, said my mother.
we so often stick to our guns and do things that
either worked in the past or that should work.
“Don’t worry mom”, I replied
We try to get our way. We end up being dead
confidently. “Pedestrians have the right of
right instead of being wise.
way”.
Yes, a person should communicate in more
“Yeah and you’ll be DEAD RIGHT”, she
ways than just texting. Yes, a person should
retorted.
read the policy manual. Yes, a person should
let you know ahead of time if they are going to
miss work.
“Knowledge is knowing
BUT … not everyone does things the way we
that a tomato is a would do things. If we want a win-win situation
then we must have wisdom and find a way to
fruit. Wisdom is not make every successful.
putting it in a fruit salad.”
(Miles Kington) Working with millennials really just
comes down to a decision that
you have to make.

Do you want a win-win situation

or do you want to get your way?

Working with millennials might be a

challenge but every challenge is
really just an opportunity in
disguise.

20 Winning with Millennials

 ABOUT THE AUTHORS
JAMY BECHLER is a Generation
X’er that is an expert in the field of
generational differences. He has
worked with thousands of Millennials
during his 20 years as a college
basketball coach, professor and
administrator. As a John Maxwell
certified leadership coach and
speaker, he trains many business
and educational leaders on effective
strategies to communicate and connect with their employees,
colleagues, and students. You can learn more about what he is doing
with leadership training by visiting his website at jamybechler.com or
emailing him at [email protected]

MELANIE WILLIAMS is an outgoing

and personable Millennial from the
“Old Capitol”, Milledgeville, Georgia.
She has a degree from the School of
Journalism at Georgia State
University. She loves writing and has
a passion for impacting the world
around her as a reporter and
journalist. You can read her blog at
MelanieWilliamsTheWriter.com and you can contact her at
[email protected]

21 Winning with Millennials