How to Manage Gen X Employees

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe..."

I made my first ‘corporate video’ on a 16mm Arri BL, and it contained the words “Just 5 minutes from this cinema.” I created magazine ads in 1:618 with a scalpel and Cow Gum. I rendered video titles with my 1040 Atari ST. I wrote my first website in Notepad and my second in Netscape Composer. I worked in SEO when getting on DMoz was critical and Lycos was still a puppy. I’ve seen dot com bubbles burst, the Berlin Wall fall, every Star Wars film at the cinema (and got the figures to prove it), and I was an art student under Thatcher. I am tech-savvy - but not tech-dependent. I’ve written millions of words of copy, been married twice, and lived/worked in seven counties. I have footwear that's probably older than you are.

Be sure you actually want an honest opinion before you ask me for one. My work/life balance is good, but I’ll work ‘til I die (and when I work, I work hard). Self-reliance is my middle name, and I don’t give a damn about workplace politics unless it gets in the way of my deliverables. I’m flexible and can adapt to change, but I can involuntarily roll my eyes so hard I check out my own ass. I have learned to keep my mouth shut, but only recently, though not if I see injustice, bad science, or bigotry. I am loyal but do not cross me. 

I am Generation X. 

Here’s how to manage us so that nobody gets hurt. 

Who Exactly is Gen X? 

In my experience, my Gen X colleagues are often the unsung role models and silent mentors in the modern workplace. Born between the late 1960s and early 1980s, they are more Taoist than the Boomers and more stoic than the Millennials. Now in our 40s and 50s, we hold senior positions in agencies and across all industry sectors. 

As any savvy marketer or creative will tell you, understanding the dynamics of your team and where people fit is important. We're not complicated, but there are some things you need to know because they run deep in the Gen X psyche.

While younger workers may be taking career breaks, Gen X employees are deliberately choosing to stay employed, driven by necessity and desire. Primarily, our financial obligations of kids, mortgages, divorces, medical bills, that classic camper van we didn't really need, etc. make a consistent income indispensable. Moreover, after navigating numerous economic upheavals and diligently building their careers, many are reluctant to sideline their potential for further career advancement. So much for the label of "the slacker generation."

Here are my thoughts, from the horse’s mouth, based on thirty years working in/with creative teams (in-house and in-agency) and from being a somewhat typical (all be it neuroatypical) example of my demographic: 

Unpacking the Gen X DNA 

Gen Xers are archetypically known for their resourcefulness and independence and for valuing work-life balance. We embraced personal computing from the ZX Spectrum onwards and invariably hold strong views on equality and individual liberty. 

As the ‘latchkey generation,’ we’re more than capable of managing our time and challenges solo. We’ve been feeding ourselves since we were ten, and we "drank out of the hose" because we weren't allowed in the house. We were 30 at the age of 10 and still 30 at the age of 50. We thrive without micromanagement, solving challenges with experience and initiative, and are best given a goal and some KPIs. Revved up, then let loose like an Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. Helicopter-manage us, and we’ll hate you and our jobs and leave (for a 16%+ pay rise with your competitors). Micromanagement shows a clear lack of trust and feels it’s taking away our autonomy - it will stifle our creativity and hinder productivity. We’ve been doing this a long time, and we’ve plenty of connections and other places to go if we don’t like it here. 

While respectful, we do lean towards open, relaxed work settings. Expect friendly collaboration and an open-door policy. We are often straight-talking and appreciate straight-talking comms in return. Gen X are resilient, having self-medicated themselves through the 90s, and we’ve earned any success we may have. Our tenacity - some may say bloody-mindedness - often shines and can be used to drive projects with passion and perseverance. The MTV Generation (X) is less about the hustle and more about efficient results. Often cited for our grace under pressure, Gen X will ensure quality over quantity. Our aptitude for time management and problem-solving makes us efficient players – so let us play. We got this. Leave us to it.  

Growing up in a battlefield of economic shenanigans, we value work dedication AND personal time. If you want a late meeting, fine, but don’t push it too much, or we’ll quickly feel undervalued and unappreciated. Quid pro quo, Clarice. Taking us for granted is a mistake, but with some concessions for fair division of holiday time so we can take our teenagers to Disneyland (or whatever), and keep weekends for our hobbies, we’ll nod and smile quite happily. I work for a US company, so it’s part of the job to be flexible and available outside of GMT, and that’s fine, but I still take time to walk my dogs in the mornings if I’ve got meetings 'till 9 PM. Having experienced a litany of seismic shifts in work cultures, we’re all about adaptability. 

We can embrace change, proudly championing diversity and creativity, be it AI in the workplace or collaborative cloud tools, and are often change leaders. Putting us in charge of collating the ESG report or having us on the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council is our natural habitat. We evolved with the rise of PCs, mobile phones, and the internet. Quickly picking up new tech trends and early adopters while valuing traditional methods, we’re happy to try most new things (unless it’s decaf coffee) if you can engage us with how they’ll streamline processes and won’t impact our deadlines. If we're given a boss who's twenty years younger and a different gender or nationality, we really don't care—if they want to manage things so I don't have to, bonza, I can get on with what I do best and what I've been doing for 30+ years, and they can support the team's autonomy and do all the schmoozing and political stuff.

We genuinely value a clear brief and constructive dialogues, so open feedback channels to promote growth and understanding. A tech-free childhood fostered innate problem-solving and collaboration abilities. Gen X is capable of taking part in some superb team dynamics leading to productive and creative outcomes. 

Actual Management Tips

To harness the dynamism of your resident Gen X, consider the following:

• Micromanagement? No thanks. Allow them their autonomy.
• Feedback is gold. Constructive criticism is welcome, but expect a two-way conversation.
• Valued Time = Productivity. Their work-life balance mantra ensures optimal results.
• Open conversations lead to success. Honesty garners respect and drives collaboration.
• Never stop learning. Offer opportunities for skill enhancement.
• Experience is priceless. Respect their journey and insights; they’re a world-weary goldmine. 

Tapping into Gen X's strengths and understanding can really add to any team's dynamism—especially when there’s so much young blood in our industry, it’s important not to be trapped in a single generational mindset. Gen X is a bridge between tradition and innovation and can bring invaluable insights from past lessons, a hands-on and polymath attitude, and a passion for exploring future trends. 

Whether you’re a Gen Xer yourself, work alongside one, or manage a whole team of them – appreciating their unique blend of skills and experiences can only set you up for success.

Play nice, and we’ll play nice back. Probably.

Waving Goodbye to Blighty

Just a few lines to announce I'm heading for pastures new.

At the beginning of August, things being what they are, I was made redundant at Everard Group. A bloody shame, we had such plans and I really enjoyed working with some great folks there, but this is what happens when people eat Chiroptera.

With a looming UK (nay, World) recession, a current pandemic, a change in the general attitude of the UK as it careens towards casual fascism, unemployment, and Brexit hanging over the head of the working classes like the sword of Damocles, I've decided to run for (almost) foreign shores. As of tomorrow, I'll be a resident of Northern Ireland. 

From beautiful scenery to a lower cost of living. Here's to countless beaches and dramatic coastlines. The Ulster fry. Powers and Jameson's. Friendly folks who don't mind introverts. Taytos. Brilliant local radio. Better education. C.S Lewis, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, and Gary Moore. Open fires on rainy afternoons and ancient forests to walk my dogs.

Recent politics, media bias, a lack of general education, and a swing towards general intolerance means England isn't my home anymore. I'm done.

I'm in my fifties now. Here's to the third act.

I'll be living in Co. Tyrone for the first year, job hunting in The North and The Republic for something appropriate, and filling in the gaps with contract stuff. My worldly goods are packed into a Pickfords van, and I'm heading for the ferry as I press send on this post. There's a lot that local SMEs can get from what I do, and I feel a calling.

Connect with me on LinkedIn if you're looking for advice from a digital marketing manager in the Omagh area, if you have a contract or something permanent you think might entertain me, or happen to be local and fancy a drink.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” - Samuel Beckett.

What Does a Social Media Strategist Do?

Most of my friends, hell, even my wife, have no real clue what I do for a living. “It’s something to do with Facebook, right?” I’m not surprised. Social media is a disciple with a crop of specific roles with specialist responsibilities, and a lot of ‘made-up-titles’. From now on, this is the post I’ll be referring people to when they ask.

There’s a difference between being a Social Media Manager, an Assistant, a Social Media Executive/Coordinator/Editor or whatever, and a Social Media Strategist.  I’m basically the latter, though my work does also spill into other areas like content marketing and campaign management.

"Here's the plan."

Ninjas, Divas, Gurus, Rockstars, Wizards and other made-up titles be damned. I’m talking about the real job. Real qualifications, responsibilities and experience.

In the trenches, day-to-day, talking in the channels and being the brand, this tends to be the job of the Social Media Manager. These are the people who follow the strategy, monitor what’s going on, and stimulate the conversation. Often they build the accounts, and sometimes they set-up the apps and do the graphics etc. They make custom content and liaise with clients on a daily basis. They often conduct in-house training. They collate reports, based on whatever’s required for measurement. It’s hard work, because there’s no room for error when you’re the voice of someone’s company. It needs great writing skills and a good eye for an opportunity. You need to be a customer-services rep, a salesman, an obsessive, and it needs a degree of accuracy and of flexibility bordering on insanity. On the whole it’s paid pretty well, but don’t expect a lot of time off.

Social Media Executive/Coordinator/Editor are titles that are oftern found in larger teams and may have specific responsibilities from the list above, but are usually just aspects of Social Media Manager with another title.

A Social Media Strategist does all of the above, though doing so is more common in agencies or small departments. It’s good practice to stay hands-on, but it depends on the size of the team or how many people are needed to support a specific brand and it's efforts.

The Strategist is the one who creates a road map for a client, based on their goals and objective, and decides how those objectives will be measured to prove ROI and to show what’s working and what's not. We research the market, the competition, the brand, the ‘target demographic’ etc. and rationalise the best place for the brand to engage with it’s target audience.

We create sample messaging for each proposed channel and set standards, based on brands traits and identity. We also create editorial calendars for writers or artists to produce synchronised content. We identify who the audience is, and what they want from a brand in order to hang around and to get the most out of the experience. We identify the stories. We do all of this on time, within resources, and under budget.

We develop campaigns, competitions, and work out what other media needs to tie in to raise awareness – from packaging placement and web, to social ads or raising in-house knowledge. We write a lot of documentation to make all of this clear – sometimes with graphical mock-ups, brand personas if they don’t already exist, mood boards, or whatever it takes. It's advantageous to have a broad knowledge of everything from video production to brand journalism, and from web development to PPC - the wider your experience the more ammunition you have to draw on, obviously. I'm lucky, I've been doing this nearly 20 years. Even still I spend a lot of time keeping abreast of what’s new, current, and experimenting to achieve maximum reach and maximum effect.

We review measurement, and tweak the overall approach to achieve the core objectives. We keep an eye on things and, in my case, Social Media Managers report to me and we revisit strategy weekly to make sure things are working and that the road map still holds true. Any problems, we fix them tactically. Any room for improvement, we do so strategically.

there's worse jobs, and trust me I've done my share

I also train and lecture. Usually to corporate board members, to my own staff to foster best practices, or to staff in other agencies where specialist knowledge is what they're paying for.

Social Strategists, in an agency environment, are far more involved with the pitching process. We listen to the client from day one and we’re part of the overall PR mix. It’s a management position, mixed with the work of the Social Media Manager.

So there you are. If you asked, now you know. That’s what I do, for the agency I work for and for brands large and small.

It’s a living, and I'm lucky. I enjoy it, and it's never boring. If you fancy stepping up and giving the job ago I'll save my advice on how to start for another post ;)

4 Pieces of Advice for Starting out in Digital Marketing

My Dad gave me 4 pieces of advice when I was young. If you know my Dad you'd know he's a bit 'special', all be it in an awesome way. They were as follows:

• Never fall in love from behind.
• Don't set fire to yourself.
• Never play cards with a man who has the same first name as a city.
• Never drop a baby boy on his head...

I rest my case.

I was thinking about this the other day, having just narrowly avoided setting fire to myself, and I thought about applying this to what I do and wondered what 4 pieces of trite advice I'd give to younger folks setting out into the work in on-line marketing. I have no offspring of my own, which is a plus for humanity, so here we go:

“The more difficult something is, the more rewarding it is in the end.”

1) Go Back to Basics
The brand is the core of everything... 90% of the old pillars of marketing still work in the digital realm, though admittedly with a twist or two. Simple branding is the core of all businesses. B2B, B2C, big, small, whatever. Just because we work in digital doesn't mean this is something we can ignore. If you want the edge in what's now a growing and competitive area, you need a proper brand strategy (more than you need air).

Your brand is your promise to your customer, and your internal and external guidelines for communication. It's what sets you apart from the competition, and it's what tells your clients what they can expect from your and why they should trust you to provide the goods and services they need in exchange for their hard earned dollars.

Every damn thing you do comes from your brand strategy. Without it you can't even identify the key messages you'll be communicating about the product or service. Your voice, your distribution channels, what images you use, your motivations, where you concentrate your efforts, how you word your content, the lot. Frankly, you can't do an effective job without having a strong foundation to build on, and that means being comfortable with how we do the basics.

2) Remember you Know Jack, and Shit (and Jack left town).
Marketing is an agile process, or should be. Looking at the figures will give you insight.

Never presume you know how the target demographic will react. Make sure everything is measurable, and keep measuring it to see if it works. If it works, why? If it doesn't work, fiddle with it or scrap it.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes, but learn from them when you do. Get a bit nerdy about numbers, but don't let it stifle your creativity.

3) Be Bloody Amazing
Boring is, well, boring.

The best people I know (at what we do) have a drive to learn all the time. They are a little bit obsessed, at the exclusion of a lot of other things, about using what they know and about leaning more.

They are polymaths. They have a myriad of interests, skills, and obsessions. They suck up information like a Dyson does dust bunnies. They read industry blogs and feeds. They tweet, and listen to industry influencers. They write, and force themselves to learn as they do. They experience life by going to conferences and talking to other like-minded peeps. They travel, or go to the theatre, they go on courses or to conferences, or love cinema, or create in virtual worlds. They produce video, or audio, or write, or mentor. They seek the opinion of others and amalgamate ideas into something greater than the sum of it's parts.

Truly dynamic people, who stimulate debate, and action, and put IN to the Internet (we still spell that with a capital 'I', right?) have the ideas - and for many of us this doesn't come naturally. These are the people who are more than just consumers of other peoples data. They pro-actively contribute, and learn in the process. You have to work at it at first, but once you start the ball carries on rolling.

4) Get Sign-off From the Client
I've worked in agencies, or for organisations with multiple stakeholders, for most of my working life. I've learnt this one from my own folly and from watching the folly of others. I'm serious here.

Get them to sign the initial contract. The design doc. The brand messaging doc. The keyword research. The marketing plan. Every damn thing where a decision is involved that will impact the final result. Most importantly, get them to sign to say the work is finished (based on the original brief they signed to commit to a pre-defined conclusion). No surprises, for all parties.

If it's all signed off it doesn't come back and bite you in the ass, and also avoids feature creep. Remember: If it's signed-off, feature creep turns into up-sell.

Trust me on this last one. In fact, get it as a tattoo.

So there you go. I've been working with a few bright sparks from Agency Life at Manchester Uni. recently, who might find this amusing. Yes, it's all pretty obvious and pretty basic, but so was my dads original advice (which has always stood me in good stead).

Oh, and find a really bloody good accountant...

How not to get Distracted While Working in Social Media

Working online has always been a challenge for those us susceptible to the lure of shiny objects. Social media is the biggest damn time vampire known to man, and when I'm working for clients there's that constant reminder that there are friends, colleagues, and acquaintances begging for me to comment on their posts or correct their grammar. Here are a few tricks I use so that I don't end up wasting my day looking at cat videos when I should actually be doing the shit I'm there to do.

Set Out a Schedule

When I need to do something, no matter how mind-numbingly trivial, if I'm not going to nail it there and then I put it on my schedule. I refer to my schedule every time I finish a group of tasks when I think "what's next", or if I need to look busy because someone's caught me gawking at Pinterest with my mouth open like a fish. There a billion micromanager and reminder apps out there (and I've tried a lot of them) but I just use Google Calender fed by Mac Reminders on my iPad, iPhone, and Mac Book Air. It's free, easy, decentralised, and it's a big help for my notoriously fallible sieve-like memory (a man's gotta know his limitations). Retrospectively this also acts as a good log of what's been achieved in a day, and anything that doesn't get done by 5.30 get's dragged into the next available slot.

Stay On Target

cut the chatter

I have a personal rule of 50/10. I work for 50 minutes. Then go make a brew, abuse Twitter, smoke by the bike sheds, stare at some new Facebook app, check Pair to see what the spouse/cat is up to, watch dubstep videos with My Little Pony characters in them, or whatever for 10.

Also, I don't multi-task. The concept that 'multitasking is awesome' is a myth perpetuated by people who sell self-help business books. It's weapons-grade horse do-do. I do one thing at a time (I like to think reasonably well) not 4 things (half-arsed). I do something until it's finished, then I do another thing. Sure, sometimes that not always possible, but I break big tasks into smaller tasks (usually with dependencies being stop points that need external action from others) and it keeps me on track. Doing one thing at a time doesn't mean I'm not thinking about other things as well, but I concentrate on one task at a time, whenever possible. You may have a mutant power that lets you juggle plates - good for you - but that's not me. For more on this, I recently read this great post by Mr. Tony Schwartz, writer of 'Be Excellent at Anything', which is worth a look.

Track Time

a necessary evil

Working for an agency I have to log client hours anyway, so it's not rocket science. We use Harvest, which is easy and there are apps for the hard of understanding. I don't micro-manage this. I'm not obsessive, and I group stuff (a couple of client emails, booking a meeting room, working on a Keynote for a campaign pitch, can all be bundled together under 'meeting prep' if it's the same customer). It does, however, help keep me on track when I know I only have 2 slots of 30 minutes a day allocated for each client to check their social channels, respond to questions, and create/compose something fresh before looking at the next one. No time for love, Doctor Jones.

Eat a High Protein Lunch

Seriously. It stops me getting hungry mid-afternoon and stops my mind wandering. Chicken or fish is good, but keep it light. I'm also a big fan of regular coffee (though any sources of caffeine with antioxidants - like chocolate - works just fine) and it helps info retention. Personally, I favour the protein and caffeine and avoid the sugars. Each to their own (which is why I run the company tuck shop). Not too much coffee, there's a balance - jitters and needing the loo all day is counterproductive.

Ignore Stuff

There are always people who approach you with "can you just". Most of the time, yes, I can squeeze in 5 minutes to give an opinion or my advice, it's my job, but sometimes I genuinely can't. When I say "not right now" I've already set as president and it MEANS "not right now". From past history people know I'm serious.

I don't constantly check pages, but I do get information delivered to me. For example, I use the Pages app on the iPad which updates and flashes up when someone posts onto one of the Facebook Pages I manage. It's on the screen for 2 seconds, and I keep it docked next to my main monitor at work - if it's important it'll get my attention, if not it gets ignored 'til later.

NB: The power of listening to (productive) music or podcasts on headphones here is obvious - not only does it stop people hassling you for no good reason and with the day-to-day office fluff, it also saves on ambient distractions and cocktail party syndrome.

So there you go, that's my suggestions. No doubt there's more, but I'd say scheduling, targeting, and tracking are the main ones. What we do professionally isn't personal, but it is social. We have to make the distinction to make the most of the time we have available. It's a job we're doing after all, a client is paying for our time, it's not a...

...OMG!

Ponies!

Probably Moving

There's every chance we might be moving offices soon, so, while I had the camera in the office I re-immortalised the desk.

Strange, but the old pic of my desk on Flickr has had more visitors than any of my other pics. No idea why. Must be the tag cloud of obsessive boredom.

So here's how my work station looks today anyway. Did I mention how cool my job is sometimes?