Thank you to Joe Wolfcale , CEO of Fort Wayne Radiology for being my guest blogger. I met Joe recently while we were both filming segments for Elizabeth Nulf MacDonald’s T. V. show, “The Verbal Edge.” At that time I learned that Joe has put together a great presentation on the multi-generational work place titled; “Integrating the Ages: Generational Issues in the Workplace.” In that presentation he uses Penelope Trunk’s test from one of her blog posts. Taking the test can let you know how tuned in you are to technology, something the “Millennial” generation is very adept at.
Joe lists the groups as follows:
- Silent Generation: older than 68
- Baby Boomers: 50-68 years old
- Generation X: 28-49 year old
- Millennials: 8-28 years old
If you are interested in how you can engage Joe to do a presentation for your organization or company you contact him via e-mail: jwolfcale@fwradiology.com I guarantee you will enjoy it and find it very enlightening and helpful.
Blog post and test: Understanding your “technical” generation
We are all born to be part of a specific generation of people; we have all grown up with an understanding of the generation we were born into. You could be part of the Silent Generation, Baby Boomer Generation, Generation X or Millennial Generation. Whatever your generation, you have most likely become well attuned to what shaped your learning and how you use that in your everyday life. However, like all generations outside of the Millennial Generation, you have been assigned the role of understanding today’s technology. Having this knowledge is easy for those that grew up with the technologies – the Millennial Generation. It’s not so easy for others.
However, to best integrate with this new, technology-crazy generation, we must start to understand what’s important to the Millennials. It’s time to ask – ‘which generation are you really a part of?’
By taking the quiz1 below and assigning the appropriate value to each, you will get an understanding of how you stack up against today’s Millennial Generation. Please assign the value indicated for each “yes” response and 0 for each no response. Cross reference your score with the chart at the bottom of this post. As you will find, it’s most likely time for you to invest in “Reverse Mentoring!”
Do you have and use your own personal web page, not Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.? (+2 points)
Have you ever used L8R, LYLAB, S’UP, ROFLMAO in a sentence? (+1)
Do you know the definition of ROFLMAO? (+1)
Do you CHAT often with your friends online? (+1)
Do you pay most (90%) of your bills online? (+1)
Do you visit YouTube more than 4x per month? (+1)
Are there any videos of you on YouTube? (+1)
Have you paid for and downloaded music from the Internet? (+1)
Do you know where to download free music from the Internet? (+2)
When giving a presentation, would you use PowerPoint? (-1)
Do you blog as a way to keep an online diary for your friends? (+1)
Do you communicate with friends on Facebook or similar? (+1)
Do you have a Twitter account and use that account? (+1)
Do you know what an Emoticon is and have you used one? (+1)
Do you use your cell phone for more than just a phone? (+1)
Do you prefer to text someone rather than email or call them? (+1)
Do you send at least 100 text messages per month? (+1)
Do you send at least 1000 text messages per month? (+2)
Do you text your Mom or Dad (son or daughter); do they text you back? (+1)
Scoring:
0 – 7 point: Baby Boomer
8 -14 points: Generation X
15 or over: Millennial
- Source: quiz inspired from http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/06/25/what-generation-are-you-part-of-really-take-this-test/
Fun and revealing test. I’ll be passing this on to my friends.
~Suzanne
Thanks, Suzanne.