Take a second to stop , pause , and look around the next time you ’ re in the office , or at a meeting or event , and you may notice something surprising : the faces of tomorrow ’ s leaders are quickly changing . With 75.4 million members and counting ( data from the U . S . Census Bureau population projections ), millennials , or Gen Yers ( individuals born between 1977 and 1994 ) are now the single largest generation , both in and out of the workplace . What ’ s more , the way they communicate , interact , and process information is vastly different than any generation that has come before . In addition , Gen Zers ( the generation that follows with members born after 1995 )— whose habits and norms vary wildly even from millennials — are quickly following right behind . As we discovered while researching our new book , Millennial Marketing : Bridging the Generation Gap , those of us looking to inspire and motivate these individuals must learn to communicate with them in vastly different ways than with the generations who have come before them .

BY SCOTT STEINBERG

What Millennials Value Regarding Gen Y , there are several important points to note before crafting messages or outreach efforts . By the year 2020 , one third of adults will be millennials . Nearly nine in 10 of those millennials won ’ t measure success in terms of money , but rather their ability to accomplish goals and make a difference in their business or community . Roughly 80 percent will want to work for innovative companies , and expect , in fact , to run their own forward-thinking entrepreneurial ventures at some point . Furthermore , like baby boomers , millennials will hail from a wide swath of age ranges , so cultural touchpoints and references that speak to one group of millennials won ’ t necessarily make sense to all , as you ’ re actually looking at multiple generations rolled into one category .

However , it ’ s important to note : virtually every member of this generation will have grown up in an online and connected world where they ’ re bombarded by media and messaging on a daily basis . The net result ? Attention spans are shrinking ,

28 PULSE ■ March / April 2017