Our Generation X President's First Year

[Writer]

PLEASE avoid the X'er v. Boomer argument. I thought this was an interesting take on Obama's leadership style.


http://blogs.hbr.org/erickson/2010/01/our_first_year_with_a_generati.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness%2Frc-organizational-development+%28HB+Resource+Center+Feed+-+Organizational+Development%29

President Obama is clearly, from all descriptions, an options thinker. He has committed his Presidency to the serious acceptance of heterogeneous perspectives. From all evidence, he not only tolerates, but welcomes, multiple views. And, more than once, he has, as a result, had to wrestle with the camel designed by a committee that predictably emerges when multiple views are accommodated. Some of the criticism he has faced comes from those who are intolerant of what they view as slow decision-making and frequent compromise. To those, I suggest that this may well be a characteristic that we see extending into other institutions as more X'ers assume leadership roles.

[elocs]

1. Obama is a boomer. n/t

[Clio the Leo]

4. Some push the date as far back as '61....

... besides, the man is physically inseparable from his Blackberry. That settles the argument right there.

[elocs]

9. No, twist it as you like: Obama is a Boomer. n/t

[EFerrari]

40. So is my mother. She was born in 1932. n/t

[verges]

34. Okay. Didja not see

the OP's request to get past that, since it's not germaine to the discussion at hand? sheesh.

[Ten Bears]

38. Didja not read the post?

The whole article was about being an exer, which he is not. Talk about germaine, sheesh!

[Ten Bears]

2. Uhhh, I think he is still a baby boomer.

Unless you are saying he was elected by Xers? Baby Boom generation didn't end until 1964.

[hlthe2b]

3. Obama is a boomer....

[Clio the Leo]

5. lol look at us all fighting over which generation can claim him....

.... I wonder if the baby boomers are the ones saying he's a boomer and vice versa. (I was born in '73)

[Skittles]

7. BOOMERS were 1946 - 1964

Obama falls clearly in that range - it's just a FACT

[Clio the Leo]

10. BLACKBERRY!!!

That's your test right there....

Take your average fifty year old and they cant even FIND their phone! :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X









... and if you'll excuse me now, I need to go TWEET something! lol

[Jennicut]

11. Yeah, and I am ready to throw my 34 year old husband's cell phone out the window.

The texting all day long is now starting to get to me. Soon, we will only text each other instead of actually conversing. I wonder if Michelle wants to do the same thing to Mr. President's CrackBerry.

[Clio the Leo]

20. Not unless she wants to lose an arm! :-) NT

[hlthe2b]

13. 50 year olds don't use blackberrys or tweet?

Give me a break....How old do you think all those Wall Street barons are? If you want to make that stereotypical distinction, I'd advise you to up the age considerably. Given both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are in their early 50s, to suggest that this age group are not early adopters of technology is crazy... Sure, some do not, but that is true across all age group strata.

[Clio the Leo]

21. Not without help!

:evilgrin:

[Skittles]

23. THANK YOU

I've been using technology longer than a lot of these young'ns have been ALIVE!

[Clio the Leo]

26. lol at what age does one lose the ability to understand...

.... when someone is yanking their chain? :)

[Skittles]

28. it's a chronic thing, Clio

people assume those of us 50+ can't even use a cell phone :D

[Clio the Leo]

29. I'm not saying you cant USE it....

... I'm sayin' you cant FIND it! :crazy:

[Skittles]

31. dammit

so I have to use my land line to locate my cell - what of it? I WILL KICK YOUR YOUNG ASS.

[EFerrari]

41. You don't know too many 50 year olds, do you?

[GoCubsGo]

17. Actually, he's a "cracker"

There are some who consider Generation X to have begun in 1961. Others believe that the Baby Boom ended in 1964. So, those of us born in the the overlapping 1961-1964 are referred to by some as "crackers"--as in "between the cracks." I must say that I don't feel like I belong to either of those generations, so I'm fine with "cracker"--despite it's other meaning as a pejorative for a white person.

[Skittles]

24. google "GENERATION JONES"

he ain't no Xer

[GoCubsGo]

49. Thanks!

I like that term better than "cracker." We're the offspring of the "Silent Generation"--children of the Depression who were too young to be part of the "Greatest Generation." The latter are the parents of the Baby Boomers.

[hlthe2b]

12. I'm not fighting over where he belongs, but as Skittles says below

It is a fact that Obama was born during the boomer years...:shrug: However, it is also true is that those born in the front end and the tail end of the boomers are really quite different in terms of their influences... So, Obama might well share much in common with those born into the early years of the X generation. One would expect some cross over, after all.

[Writer]

14. This thread has turned into a microcosmic example of exactly what Obama hates about old style...

politics. Instead of focusing on the fact that Obama presents a new leadership style, and that it is both pragmatic and focused on getting results, we have to spend our time quibbling pettily over the essentialist argument of whether he's a Boomer or an X'er.

Seriously - who cares? Why not reflect on the meat of the article?

[hlthe2b]

15. When you start a thread with incorrect assertions, what do you expect?

I agree with you that he represents a new leadership style. You were the one to attribute that to his being generation X--and then wonder why everyone is focusing on that and correcting you? We love ya, Writer, but you are being a bit clueless, on this, it seems.

[Writer]

16. Actually the title of the article was precisely "Our Generation X President's First Year"

So... should I change the article's title? However, I think arguing over whether he's one thing or another is silly... and quite frankly, kind of petty.

[hlthe2b]

18. The article is in error.... you seem just to have been caught up in that fact...

I saw an article a little while back on opossums that referred to it as a big rodent... Given most people know they are marsupials, most reading that are never going to get past that particular error to read the article.... Bottom line, factual accuracy does matter...:shrug:

[Clio the Leo]

22. Well I find this thread VERY reassuring!

After Mr. Happy pants decided to amp up the charm offensive, we've hardly argued at all with one another. I was beginning to wonder if I was in some kind of alternate DU universe! (where everyone wears a goatee!)

FINALLY we're back to arguing about stupid stuff! ... Feels like home! lol

[Writer]

27. LOL - at least you have a good sense of humor about it.

We need more of that around here. :)

[Clio the Leo]

30. lol dont we? NT

[EFerrari]

42. Old style? You mean, the style without the false premise?

LOL

[seaglass]

52. Is there anyone who has started more threads about Obama being an Xer than you?

Yeah, it is petty so why don't you stop?

[Skittles]

25. google GENERATION JONES

yes INDEED

[Skittles]

6. avoid the argument? NO. OBAMA IS A BOOMER

STOP tyring to claim he is Gen X

[Jennicut]

8. Isn't he a Generation Joneser? In between boomers and Gen X? I was born in 75.

Clearly Gen Xer right here. :)

[Kind of Blue]

19. Sorry, he's a Gen. Jones, not X. n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

32. You posted one of these 'Gen X' polls the other day

I find such terms to be silly. They are media constructs, those terms, they are not real. That is why no one knows for sure what they mean. Like the Pepsi Generation, Gen X or 'Boomers' is just a made up catch phrase used to sell people things.

[Sebastian Doyle]

33. Billy Idol's the President?

When did that happen?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HTI76H0Ojc

[verges]

35. That may be the most complete hijack

of a thread I have ever seen.

[Writer]

36. My question is: Why does IT MATTER??? n/t

[Ildem09]

37. He comes from the micro-transition generation called 'Generation Jones'

The Late Boomers/Early X'ers they tend to exhibit traits of both culture groups.

[boppers]

39. He's X, Jones, *and* Boomer.

That's why he made it into the office, because he's learned all three groups, can work with all three groups, and speak with all three groups.

What's significant about the article is that we haven't had an X-savvy president before, who "gets" living a world of constant instability and uncertainty, where family, jobs, locations, *everything* shifts constantly, and there's no such thing as a "good job" or the "right solution" or a "permanent marriage". Past presidents pined away for (and promoted) stable households, stable jobs, and other things that X'ers found fairly foreign, and bizarre.

At the same time, he can speak to, and relate to, individuals who consider such things to be desired norms, in such a way that he can bridge stability and loss. I think this is where the "community organizer" factor kicks in, because he learned to communicate on the levels of *many* generations.

[Writer]

43. Holy shit, you actually READ THE ARTICLE!!!!

Hooray!

:party:

:woohoo:

Anyway, you might be right about his appeal reaching multiple generations, and that may also impact his ability to speak with all three groups, although is able to understand what "life with challenges" means.

[boppers]

44. Ooops... my bad. Should I complain about boomers now in a pointless tangent?

Single mother..... but raised by his grandparents, and mother, on multiple continents, in multiple cultures... thinking about it more, he's got a breadth of experience, from his earliest childhood, that *required* him to be able to listen to, and learn to understand, generations and experiences far beyond his own, and even those of his parents.

[Raineyb]

48. You expect someone to read an article where the title itself is blatantly and obviously wrong?

Why would anyone expect any of the rest of it to be any more accurate?

[TexasObserver]

45. President Obama is the second best Boomer president, so far.

Clinton
Obama
Bush

In that order. Obama has quite a ways to go to pass Bill Clinton. Quite a ways.

[DFLforever]

46. Yes, he does have a way to go. to exceed Clinton.

but hopefully he'll have 7 more years to do it in.

[boppers]

50. So far, I'd say he's a quarter of Clinton....

But that's in an eighth of the time, so, not too bad so far.

[Raineyb]

47. He's NOT a Gen Xer.

Can we have some accuracy in here?

[MidwestPerspective]

51. Experts overwhelmingly view Obama as part of Generation Jones

Only very few actual experts anywhere have said that Obama is part of Generation X or the Baby Boom Generaton. By contrast, a long list of prominent experts have said that Obama is part of Generation Jones. Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten a ton of media attention; in fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009. Many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) specifically refer to Obama as part of Generation Jones. Here is a 5 minute YouTube video with over 20 influential pundits talking about Obama as a GenJoneser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ta_Du5K0jk

It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:

DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978

Here is an op-ed in USA TODAY about Obama as the first GenJones President:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090127/column27_st.art.htm

Here's a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones, with many media references to Obama as a GenJoneser:
http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html

[Sebastian Doyle]

53. My hair's all wet. And I'll sweat sweat sweat sweat OWWWWWWWW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_sJ6-4C_Ws