SAY HELLO TO AMERICA'S 5 LIVING GENERATIONS
G. I. GENERATION
Born 1901 - 1926
They saved the world and then built a nation. The most revered generation on the planet. The most fascinating generation on the planet. Their Depression was The Great One; their war was The Big One; their prosperity was the legendary Happy Days. Their kids are the world-rocking Boomers. Assertive and energetic do’ers. Excellent team players. Community-minded and patriotic. An ACTION generation.
SILENTS
Born 1927 – 1945
Came of age deferring to the more assertive G. I. Generation. Our country’s Last Innocent Generation. Went through their formative years during an era of extreme conformity, but also during the postwar happy days: Peace! Jobs! Suburbs! Television! Rock ‘n Roll! Cars! Playboy Magazine! The first hopeful drumbeats of civil rights! Its pre-feminism women were especially haunted by “what if…?”. Its Organization Men pledged loyalty to the corporation. Provided the iconic leaders of the 1960’s social revolt. Many are working past normal retirement age. Excelled in the helping professions but struggled as leaders. America was a Silent-led nation from the late 1980s to the late 2000s. A RIGHTS generation.
BOOMERS
Born 1946 – 1964
An amalgam of two distinct sub-sets: the save-the-world revolutionaries of the ‘60s, followed by the self-improvement party’ers of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Career-driven. The Golden Generation in the American workplace. Assertive. Leaders. Ethical. Demanding. Struggled with marriage and parenting. America will now be a Boomer-led nation into the 2020s. This generation is all about VALUES.
GENX
Born 1965 – 1981
The latch-key kids grew up street-smart but isolated, often with divorced or time-starved dual-career parents. Entrepreneurial. Independent. Creative. Career “free agents”. Government and big business mean little to them. Feel disempowered and disengaged. Eager to make marriage work and “be there” for their children. Starting to chalk up some victories in life. X'ers are rising. This generation is all about SURVIVAL.
MILLENNIALS
Born: 1982 – Present
America’s next great generation is a sharp departure from Generation X. Optimistic, idealistic, patriotic, and over-parented. They revere the wisdom of elders. Team players. Re-defining life in one’s 20s – “extended adolescence”. Not loyal to employers – yet. Delaying marriage and parenting. The 9/11 Generation. They will become an excellent career generation. The economic recession has been a needed reality check to their unrealistic career expectations. They’ll be all about ACTION.