The New Corporate Culture & Why

Business leaders are not the guardians of capitalism, their efforts should be directed toward growing revenues and profits, which entails creating a work environment that attracts the best talent. In that endeavor, capitalism’s strength is its’ ability to rapidly adapt to changing demand and trends, not only to customers but also to labor and supply chains. At 17%, millennials already represent the largest segment of the population, which is projected to grow to 22% in five years. This demographic group will be the workforce of the future and successful companies must be able to attract them in mass. The recent trend of open office space, with desks crammed together, is not the flexibility and collaboration envisioned by millennials. Management is confusing rent reduction and cost control with productive connectivity. Millennials have grown up connected by Facebook, texting and social media, which is the opposite of face-to-face collaboration. They are attracted by flex time, an opportunity for advancement, and they want to learn. They distrust government, religion, and big corporations: haunted by the financial crash of 2008 and the “Great Recession”. They trust their “friends” and value experiences over financial security. In that regard, business leaders need to change the culture to encompass more mentoring and a structured path to show workers how they can move up the ladder. Because millennials are not loyal like generations in the past, they are stimulated by “selfies” and thrive on recognition, as revealed in their Facebook accounts littered with pictures of fun trips and experiences. They are not going to be re-educated into the classical capitalistic mindset: with all efforts focused on the bottom line; sacrificing relationships and personal goals for the success of the company. The “company” must change that perception, in order to compete for skilled workers and build a model that encourages feedback from employees and makes them feel that they can make an impact on the organization. In other words, management must learn to listen and react positively to criticism and new ideas to create a culture of trust. Trust is the missing link between millennials and businesses today. Capitalism is basically a profit incentive program constrained by the risk of failure and loss, and the shift to socialism is an effect of an addiction to social media. However, that attitude can be changed: as young people are assimilated into the business environment and achieve success, they will focus more on financial security and funding family goals, which is the “invisible hand” that eventually grabs us all. All business leaders need to do is earn enough profit to create a new work environment. Perhaps if more is allocated to worker pay and incentives and less distributed to shareholders, this will yield a higher real dividend. Capitalism will learn to harness millennials and overcome their proclivity to socialism. Give it time.

by Adam & Alan Moore, a millennial and boomer on the same page