Olympic relay runners routinely pass the baton with graceful finesse, never missing a step. Handoffs from Baby Boomers to Millennials tend not to go that smoothly.
Those Olympic athletes have a distinct advantage over the Baby Boomers and Millennials. The athletes know in advance who will pass the baton, who will receive it, and exactly where in the race the baton will be passed. Baby Boomers and Millennials must make those decisions while they are running the race. And the person passing the baton often eager to hang onto it longer than the person who to receive it is wants to wait.
To help these two generations better understand each other, Millennial manufacturers’ representative and MANA Board member John Davis and Baby Boomer and MANA CEO Charles Cohon discuss how generational differences affect the ways we work together and manage representative firm succession plans.
Fotolia Minerva Studio