Young – very young – people can possess both the personality and the skills to lead a business into interstellar success. For many types of enterprises, they may even be better equipped than their baby boomer counterparts (the age group that is now firmly ensconced in many corner offices). The reasons have to do with technological know-how, willingness to ask for help when it is needed, and an ever-expanding pool of friends with expertise, from which to solicit assistance or collaboration. Let’s look at the very young folks out there right now in terms of their qualifications as prospective CEOs and see how they stack up next to the folks currently in their 50s and 60s.
Asserting the superiority of the under-30 cohort at leading a modern corporation seems a bit harsh but such claims are hardly new. Way, way back in the 60s – before any current under 30 CEO was even contemplated as a grandchild, much less a son or daughter, the catch phrase was, “never trust anyone under 30”. In the view of the young, the older generation, a generation that is now often referred to as the “greatest generation”, had screwed the world up so badly that no advice or proposal from that quarter could be legitimate. War, polluting the environment, racism, the oppression of women, the exclusion of everyone and everything but the mainstream and the majority – these were the ills and malfeasances of those over thirty. Did the protesters of the 1960s take these ideas to heart? Did they learn from them? The world now has to fear drone attacks and the number of empty plastic water bottles could circle the globe, so how are their values, now that they are in power?
Ah, but the under-30 crowd now – those of the Occupy movement generation, habitual recyclers, those who buy their free range coffee from fairly traded shade trees – they seem to have their values in order. This generation checks on the sourcing of food and other items with the same reflexive care that they check for grams of fat. They grew up with ethical investing and conscious consumerism as a constant backdrop to everything from finance to choosing what’s for dinner. These young people seem to factor in such considerations to their decision-making, right along with the obvious need to make a profit.
It is quite likely that these young entrepreneurs and managers, poised to run the business world, will be able to make ethical choices with greater grace than their elders have done. With decisions informed by ethics, they may think twice about outsourcing and offshoring their factories, or disemboweling the heart of a small town by siting a business in the exurbs. They may heat and light their work spaces with sustainable, or renewable, alternative sources of energy. They may make their workplaces more conducive to family life. The under 30 CEOs may make community engagement a permanent part of their operations, rather than a nice-to-have that keeps criticism down to a dull roar. This is what we hope!
Cooperation and Inclusion
The under 30 crowd, for the most part, has grown up with schools, colleges, and workplaces that are far more diverse than the baby boomers did. Integration may not have been entirely successful by all measures, but it certainly threw young people together in ways that were unthinkable in earlier decades. While the old saying is that familiarity can breed contempt, it can also breed respect and tolerance, and a more relaxed attitude about sharing the workplace with people of vastly different backgrounds.
This is also the Title 7 generation, who witnessed women’s sports taking their rightful place. Their moms rushed out the door with briefcase, laptop, or toolbox in hand, to jobs at all levels of industry. They thus have a greater chance of dealing with female co-workers as equals than their fathers did. Women under-30 CEOs expect to succeed and achieve. They are unlikely anything less.
Additionally, this under-30 generation of CEOs have grown up with an acceptance of gender identity differences. Law and practice have changed greatly since the baby boomer generation grew to adulthood. As a result, work environments are likely to be less toxic to those who are different from the mainstream, with the young CEOs in charge.
The Facebook generation has more than just their friends from high school, college, and graduate school. They have, potentially, every contact of every connection. With the power of social media, the under-30 CEO can call on people with shared interests from, literally, all over the world. How helpful can this be in recruiting, in funding, in publicizing? We have no idea, because the full potential of social media has just barely been appreciated. Young CEOs exploit this immensely powerful advantage effortlessly; older CEOs are still trudging up the learning curve.
This is so obvious! That is why this was left to last. In the words of the young: ‘Duh’. Of course, OF COURSE, they have technology at their fingertips that older folks would have to call on their geek squad to exploit. They don’t just use the newest in technology; they may be creating much of the newest in technology. Again, the advantages that this facility will confer on under-30 CEOs are truly inconceivable, but are likely to be enormous.
So, can my under-30 CEO beat your baby-boomer CEO? Quite likely, for many, and varied, reasons!