We’ve been talking for months now about what makes Generation Y tick. The topic is both fascinating and incredibly important to the future of apartment marketing. So we would like to recommend a reading list for you to check out (maybe when you’re squeezing in a quick break between meetings).
All of these books are entertaining and will sharpen your understanding of Generation Y.
Jeanne C. Meister and Karie Willyerd’s The 2020 Workplace explores lightning-fast changes that will occur in the workplace over the next 10 years, including changes that have already begun. Meister and Willyerd have created a detailed roadmap explaining how you and your company can attract, develop, and keep tomorrow’s employees today.
The 2020 Workplace gives a broader understanding of our own Gen Y children as well as those we’ll be working with side by side. By 2014, this generation will represent almost half of the workforce! It’s vital to understand them before they become the dominant force in our world.
Gen BuY, by Kit Yarrow, Ph.D, and Jayne O’Donnell, combines research, technology, and psychographics to explore what Gen Yers want, why they buy, and how to engage them. Reshaping the retail industry and influencing day-to-day business process is just the beginning—the members of Gen Y even influence their parents’ decisions! The book has practical suggestions on how to harness that incredible Gen Y buying power.
The authors get to the heart of why Gen Yers buy what they do. We found it eye-opening to read about all of their purchasing pet peeves. Their buying patterns are clearly very different. Understanding the “why” behind those differences is invaluable both in business endeavors and in personal interactions. Gen Y is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
When Generations Collide by Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman helps you see the world through the eyes of another generation. Conflicting perspectives among generations can lead to workplace conflict. The authors provide helpful tools for recruiting, training, retaining, inspiring, and leading each of the four generations in today’s workplace. This book will help you understand how to close the generational gap and leave you with many “aha” moments.
This book would make great required reading for all managers. It’s not only revolutionary regarding its topic, but it is packed with humorous examples of generational conflict. Those collisions are inevitable, but ultimately it’s how we manage them that counts.
So grab a cup of coffee and settle into one of these amazing reads! Then tell us what you think!