Where Simon Sinek Went Wrong On Millennials

Openly, I enjoyed Simon Sinek’s book, TedTalk and other content but I realize its mostly very well written regurgitation. Leaders eat last was written by the Marine Corp decades ago. He doesn’t shy away from this fact which I think validates he is accountable for his work and where it came from. On the other hand, it tells me I could ask a Marine and get the same answer but probably with much more experimental learning possibilities.  No Sinek isn’t in a class of his own with regurgitating older ideas and making them consumable for the masses and without people like Sinek and Dan Pink many of these amazing theories would be lost on the masses.

However, when I saw Sinek’s Millennials in the Workforce with David Crossman and realized he has absolutely no idea of either history of the workforce or why and how to lead millennials. His breakdown of the four factors not only is not only not backed by any actual data (he mentions “science” but provides no relevant facts) but represents like many a pure lack of understanding. He was correct on technology however only further proves his pure lack of knowledge about why technology is the biggest reason. Ironically, if he did the research, he would be aware that there is a framework that explains why millennials and technology are exactly the sticking points why technology is the gap capability between generations.

In walks the Copernicus Revolution. A time where we no longer revolve around technology, but instead it revolves around us. If we go back a decade or more, it becomes very visible. For example, when I was young and wanted to watch a specific show on Friday night, I had to be parked in front of the tv to watch it. If I missed it, that was pretty much it until I could catch it in a rerun. Jump forward to, and now I don’t have cable because I have subscription-based platforms that allow me to watch what I want when I want. I can now consume information at my own pace and desired time which was unheard of in previous generations.

Millennials have grown up in a time where information was at their fingertips like no others before them. They can google how to do their taxes, sign up for education online for free with ivy league schools or get a doctorate online. Much of this is why millennials want things on their schedule. The reality is they have always been able to consume content when they wanted and were not forced into a timeslot or standard learning process. Understanding this allows leaders to understand how to lead them and provide for their basic psychological needs. Shockingly those needs are the same as they were 50 years ago you just need to implement them with a Copernicus Revolution in mind.

During a recent conversation with a private equity firm, this topic came up and ironically this was the same argument he heard 30 years ago during a meeting. Guess what, our generation survived in utter disbelief to the older generation just as millennials will when they are in leadership roles. The one question that rings true with most of the clients I have worked with is this: when you were a kid and your parents, and grandparents made comments such as “in my day” followed by how different things were and how easy we had it. Guess what, that’s exactly what you are doing to them and surprise, they don’t like it any more than we did.

I will never consider myself an expert on millennials, but I understand how to shift need satisfaction amongst the different generations allowing for growth as well as understanding and culture development and mapping. First, we need to stop blaming them and take the time to understand them.