Generation X"--the 40 million or so people born between 1965 and 1976--understands it is living in a world of uncertainty where neither
govern¬ment nor private employers offer lifetime financial security. This is, however, next generation of responsible adults, bright young people with families to protect and educate...and nearly 40 years until retirement. Generation X was backbone of Operation Iraqi Freedom and continues serving US effort to bring peace to Middle East. None had to be there. They chose to be there by becoming Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen or Coast Guardsmen. For example, our son, Bill, 32, was finishing a four-year Marine Corps enlistment when September 11 changed his life plan. Completing Officer Candidate School and The Basic School would mean another four-year commitment—but one he gladly made. After receiving his commission, Bill was assigned to Okinawa, and recently returned from an 8-month deployment to Iraq.
So don't mistake Gen-Xers for Baby Boomers. Generation X detests labels--including “Gen-X” tag it’s had to live with--and unlike their Boomer parents, has no illusions about future.
Gen-Xers are...
• Less status-conscious than their parents, Gen-Xers are not into show, they want re¬sults. Many Xers no longer view college as only way to prepare for vocations lead¬ing to rewarding careers. These sharp young people are becoming a significant economic and social force.
• Boldly putting their own stamp on business. Launching hi-tech and other types of companies at a record clip, Gen-Xers are less tied down by old notions of bureaucracy, and they're ready to try out their own management styles. Yet, they view financial prosperity as a by-product of a well-rounded life, not main event.
• Risk-takers. Surveys find adversity, challenges, and high risk of failure, far from discouraging Gen-Xers, have produced a tough, even ruthless edge. Resilience, willingness to abandon a losing project and try again, is fundamental.
• Motivated to make a difference. Gen-Xers are attracted to careers that compel interest and provide challenge of competition. Thirty years ago, Peter Drucker in The Ef¬fective Executive, wrote: "Doing right thing is more important than doing things right." Judging by wave of successful Whiz Kids with neither formal business edu¬cation nor conventional management training, Drucker's message resonates.
• Interested in good personal relationships. Embracing racial and cultural diversity more genuinely and less self-consciously than any generation before them, Xers are also more likely to be tuned-in to personal relationships and do business with someone they like and believe to be competent than with someone claim¬ing to be an "expert."
