Cultivating Culture and the Millennial Mindset

2019 January 17

A couple of years ago, I helped do research for a “millennial mindset” presentation for Phil Cordell, Global Head of New Brand Development at Hilton. At the time, he was head of Hilton Focused Service Brands (Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn, and Tru).

Below is a video of one of his presentations using the slide deck that resulted from the research we did. He talks about how each individual is also a personal brand, what culture is, and how to cultivate authentic culture in an organization, and drive engagement. I’m not sure he ever mentions millennial mindset by name, but the principles are embedded in his discussion. Unfortunately, the hand-held video doesn’t show you the slides Phil is using, and I don’t have a copy of the deck to share. At least Phil discusses many of them in his talk.

It is important to understand that you don’t have to be a millennial to adopt a millennial mindset. What is that? Millennials were born after 1980 and are the first generation to come of age in the new millennium. As a result they are technology savvy, hyper-connected, and embrace change.

In your career today, you will be working with — and possibly for — millennials. Adopting the millennial mindset is going to be crucial for you to succeed in the workplace today. In 2019, millennials are expected to become a larger group than Baby Boomers and their influence is changing corporate culture everywhere. If you end up managing them, you’re going to have to understand what motivates them.

Pew Research has a ton of info on the topic:
http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/millennials/

This site also has a handful of articles about managing millennials:
https://millennialmindset.co.uk/blog/

So read up and take a hard look at yourself. You may need to adjust your attitude or become familiar with new online tools. Failing to do so will hamper both your professional development and career.