We are surrounded by swelling waves of Future Shock. As the relentless waves of change ebb to regain momentum then gush with renewed vigour, many Baby Boomers falter and stall as they hit the breakwalls of change.
Downsizing and other clamours for efficiency have led to increased diversity in roles and that, in turn, has led to failed efforts at multi-tasking.
Technology advances at accelerated pace, render the 'old ways' useless.
On top of all these Baby Boomer challenges, relationships have evolved, not necessarily becoming less valuable but definitely becoming more textured...more fragile, in light of downsizing and technologies. For example, the exponentially expanded ability for people to obtain information and education on-line has had a radical impact on relationships and ways of doing business.
When Baby Boomers feel themselves hitting the breakwalls of change they ought to reassess their levels of comfort with their situations, their talents, and their appetite for personal change...and related to these things people need to understand their appetite and capability in the areas of self-analysis, self-education, and self-development.
Our level of comfort in situations is closely tied to our goals and our feelings about our performance relative to those goals. If our goals are being met then we are more comfortable. If our goals are not being met then we are less comfortable. If we have no clue about our goals or whether or not we are comfortable then… well, I must admit, I'm not sure what that's all about... my feelings fall only in the comfortable and uncomfortable zones.
For most people, talents are a grey zone. Most people believe they can accurately assess other people's talents while, in reality, they spend little time or no time working to understand their own talents let alone the talents of other people. When it comes to an unrealistic understanding of talents, Baby Boomers are at the most-guilty end of the spectrum. Baby Boomers were, in relative terms, blessed with manifold (and bountiful) opportunities. For business success. Baby Boomers were able to build careers on the backs of the technology age, the age of deregulation, the age of personal entertainment, and the age of global commoditization. Now, Baby Boomers find themselves in the age of the Human Brain, the brain, of course, being the spot where Talents live and/or wither...either by chance or by choice. And, the struggles encountered by most Baby Boomers are a result of leaving things, especially Talents, to chance.
We've all heard the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Baby Boomers who aspire to continue to deliver value in business better hope that saying isn't true. I'm not calling Baby Boomers 'old dogs'…I'm simply trying to play upon a metaphor of 'old wisdom'...a metaphor which I know is 'flawed wisdom'.
I know Baby Boomers can choose whether or not to crash against the breakwalls of change.