More on The Millennial Question - Simon Sinek

 Hi everyone, happy new year, My year sort of ended and started with a bit of a bang. I'm sure a lot of people here saw this as an interview. I did with inside quest and one of the questions. He asked me about Millennials, Somebody had taken that answer, I'd put it on YouTube and then somebody else put it on Facebook and it kind of went bonkers it broke the internet for a day. They're so totally surreal.

So, I thought what I would do is lots of people been commenting and lots of questions and criticisms and it's all good, and I thought I would answer some of it and respond to some of it personally. I wanted to share the background of where that answer came from, as I travel around and have meetings and give talks close to it not a hundred percent of the meetings and talks, that I give someone will invariably raise their hand and ask me the Millenial question.

People would say that they were struggling with their Millennials in their workforce and I would stand there on the stage and sort of like sort of like and so, I needed an answer and so both with my own research. One research sort of observation talking to people, I had lots of conversations I talked to high school kids and college kids and recent college grads, and I started listening to them and asking them questions, in a different way.

So, that I could better empathize and understand what they were going through. I also talked to friends who are going through similar things and I fashioned an answer when I started sharing this answer. I got some amazing responses. First of all the Millennials, who were sitting in the audience would nod their heads and it was really kind of intense for me. Because they would come up to me afterward and say thank you, they no longer felt it was them, they no longer felt alone, and they thought that some of the issues, that they were dealing with struggling, with relationships, or depression.

They thought it was them and it allowed them to take a huge weight off their shoulders that they could actually ask for help which quite frankly was really inspiring. So, the background of the whole answer to that question came from the fact, that I needed an answer apparently. It was bugging people and I think that's one of the reasons it sort of went so viral as well and people asking this question.

Now, I have to say I'm really proud of the fact that it has touched a nerve. I've been hearing from friends and from strangers, that they're putting their phones away more often when they go out with their families, with their friends. I've heard we've had some emails that people are now banning cell phones in conference rooms which is just wonderful. In fact, just this morning I heard from a dear friend who now turns his phone off at seven o'clock at night, which I love, and if somebody wants to get hold of him. They can call him which is wonderful call him at home, in other words, it's having an impact and I'm really proud of that even amongst my own friends.

I find that we're more sensitive to each other bringing phones to the dinner table or to a conference table. Now of course this is much bigger than cell phones, this is about relationships, and that goes the next point. I think some people were very angry or at least concerned that I left Millennials. I took Millennials off the hook that I said to them, that you know that is not their fault and the fact of the matter is that's true.

Every single generation is subject to issues of their own upbringing. For example, can we really hold it against those who grow up in the great depression that they were a little more miserly than the rest, of us a little more penny-pinching the rest of the zone? Either grew up in the depression of rampant sakes or the boomer generation who are very cynical of leadership positions. Well, they grew up during the Vietnam War and during Richard Nixon.

Every generation is affected by the environments in which they grow up and the question was about Millennials, and the point is that we have to have empathy not just for Millennials but for anybody people are who they are because of the environments in which they grow up with that doesn't excuse them. But it allows us to have empathy for the situation in which they grew up in the same goes here.

Of course, Millennials have a lot of work to do only they can take responsibility for their own behavior. But what we're saying is the way we treat them or the way we think about them and maybe the way we label them. Let's have a little more empathy for the environment in which they grew up and people like me who were older didn't grow up, that way I have a memory of a time before cell phones, before email, I went to college and email was just beginning.

So, the point is I didn't grow up the same way and I cannot relate to how they're growing up it's just about empathy that's all. It is and I think it's a good practice for everyone to have a little more empathy for everyone else. But of course, Millennials have a lot of responsibility for their own behavior and they have to take action and do the heavy lifting hard work learn patience, learn how to build relationships and overcome some of the challenges, they feel so then it gets to corporate responsibility. I made the point that companies bear a lot of the responsibility, here to build environments in which Millennials can thrive and that's still the case.

I mean the fact of the matter is as I learned when I did all the research from leaders eat last, is that one of the primary responsibilities of leaders is to build other leaders to take care of people this has nothing to do with Millennials, this has to do with good leadership. Good leaders teach other people how to become leaders, and I find that the best companies have robust and remarkable leadership programs, and I don't mean teaching skills.

I mean teaching things like work skills hard skills, I mean teaching things like human skills, like listening or communication or conflict resolution things, like that's what the best companies do in other words. We are asking companies to please just do what they're supposed to be doing this is not about companies picking up the slack for Millennials. This is about companies doing what they're supposed to be doing for all their employees. It will probably have an even more powerful impact on the Millennial Generation however given the environment in which they grew up.

So, yes companies still have a responsibility to develop systems programs training peer reviews, and new kinds of incentive programs that are different from all of the things that came with us. From the 80s and 90s, that is for all employees not just Millennials, But Millennials will benefit a lot.

So, finally, I have to say and I think some people probably heard me say this before you know, I joke that the bookshop has an entire section called self-help, and it has no section called Help others, and I think one of the things that this the popularity of this question to this the answer, to this millennial question, has done is it's proven to me, that we need a new industry, we need an industry call to help others industry. Where we practice empathy on a regular basis when we share ideas. 

We write books, we write articles, all about how we can empathize and help others go through life, and by the way, if everybody's reading those articles, those books, watching those videos, that means that they're going to help us too. I mean wouldn't you want to go to work in a place where everybody in that company is preoccupied with helping each other succeed rather than just stabbing each other in the back to help themselves succeed and quite frankly. I think this is wonderful.

So, here's what I'm committing to do, I want to keep learning about the subject I don't consider myself an expert on any of these subjects. I consider myself a student in these subjects and when something sparks my mind. I become curious and I start asking people and investigating, and researching, and that's what I'm going to keep doing.

So, as I have more ideas, as I have more to share, as I learn more. I'll pop up on one of these every now and then or write or blog or something, and I'll share whatever I know for the benefit of all of us please keep writing in email us, or post on Facebook, and tell us what you're learning, tell us some of the experiences.

If you have a criticism absolutely give it to us but make it constructive please help us with what we can learn this is all about all of us, trying to make our world our companies our populations better that's what it's about this is about all of us. We can all take responsibility for our cells and we can all help others take responsibility for themselves also.

So, let us work together, let's be the catalyst for building the help others industry what a wonderful way to start the year we're going to build an industry together.

 

Thank you very much and I will probably do one of these again soon as I keep learning. So, yeah thanks very much, and thanks for helping me spread the message. I can't tell you how powerful it's been the past few days and it's going to be an amazing year happy new year everyone.