Before getting on details about what makes Millennials Network different, let’s differentiate who are Millennials. _anyone born between 1980 to 2000.are about 80millons strong. While some see them as a generation immerged on their own world looking at their phones, other realize that they are shaking the economic world around you and me. Once we know who and what are they doing let’s take a look if we can merge on their world.
- Passion for work is where you start, not where you end
There is an old-school mentality in some areas of business that small talk & conversations about all the things outside of work grease the wheels for the eventual conversation about a deal.
- Reciprocity is communal, not transactional
In my experience, Millennials have a very different sense of the reciprocity in their business relationships. While in some earlier business generations, everything was quid-pro-quo or you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours, Millennials are much more comfortable helping someone without tallying it up as a favor they’re owed.
- There is nothing more important than which communities we choose to associate with
Because of the above, the choice of which communities to associate with has gotten even more important. If you are trusting the community to vet the people you may find working with in some capacity, you chose that community carefully.
- We assume we’re going to know one another for a very, very long time
Once Millennials are connected, they’re really connected. Our lives play out in front of each other on social media and our friends and connections know who our other friends and connections are.
In that context, a few things are true.
First, the cost of screwing people over has never been higher. If maybe people could get away with dubious dealings in the past, in today’s world, information travels very quickly and can cast a long shadow. It simply makes more sense to be a good citizen and steward of relationships than to go for the short-term win at other’s expense.
Second, we judge each other less on where we are, and more on where we believe we’re going. Millennials don’t just help peers who are already winning but make bets on people for the future. And, going back to point one, those who are overly dismissive and judgmental when someone is coming up can find themselves in quite a bad place when yesterday’s up-and-comer becomes tomorrow’s hot leader.
I’m too in the middle of it to know whether these realities make the Millennial version of networking better than previous business cultures. What I do know is that more willingness to bet on people, more investment in communities of connection, and more shared passion is a good thing, and I’m excited to be a part of it. Lastly been a Millennial entrepreneur open doors connecting with baby bloomers, teaching them how to deserve a better retirement working from the comfort of their own homes.
