Are you a Traditionalist steeped in loyalty and, well, tradition, or a self-reliant Generation Xer who is skeptical of authority? Are you a Baby Boomer who came of age during optimistic times or a Millennial/Generation Yer constantly on the move who expects quick results? j Whichever one of those demo- graphic groups you fall into, you've no doubt heard the buzz about - or experienced for yourself - the challenges of having four generations in the workplace at once. People are saying we've been raised with different values, we're motivated by different things, we've got different ways of communicating ... and the result is we don't know how to work together. If you take this seriously, you may think there's no way for the generations to collaborate, learn together, or market to each other, unless we adopt four different approaches, each tailored to a particular age group.

I fully recognize the need to recognize and understand diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Ignoring this powerful dynamic can mean alienating an entire group of people who have important skills and varied points of view to contribute - and hurting our bottom lines and future viability. In particular, we all must find ways to engage Generation Y, a generation that is roughly the size and potential influence of the Baby Boom.

But I don't believe that we should subscribe to the notion that each of us is fully defined by the generation in which we came of age. For instance, I know plenty of Baby Boomers with blogs and avatars and some Gen Xers who prefer to get their news from print publications. Looking at employees, members, volunteers, or any other stakeholders purely from a generational perspective can oversimplify things.

A new book, Retiring the Generation Gap: How Employees Young and Old Can Find Common Ground, focuses on finding the commonalities between people regardless of age. Based on a seven-year study at the Center for Creative Leadership, it asserts that many assumptions made about each generation are overstated and/or the result of miscommunication and misunderstanding.

The meetings community - and associations in particular, with regard to membership - are well advised to learn more about Generation Y and how to engage people of each generation. Certainly, the technology you use to reach your audience is an important consideration (see p. 40 for an article on Second Life) and it's very likely that all of us will end up needing to communicate in multiple ways in order to catch the attention of all stakeholders. We should also investigate how members of different generations typically learn and their expectations when they attend our meetings; fulfilling everyone's needs may require some changes. But let's not go overboard accentuating differences, when we should be focusing on finding common ground. Get to know everything about your industry/members/attendees, including generational tendencies. Good surveying and one-on-one dialogues and interactions (whether online or in person) promote understanding. But use this information to help pull everyone together, not drive them apart.

Have some examples of what worked - and what didn't - in engaging people of all generations in your organization and/or meeting? I'd love to hear them. E-mail me at deborah.sexton@pcma.org.