Boomers were just learning to love the magic box. And while they played the games they hit brick walls, fell into burning pits of hell, were struck with meteors, were slain by ancient warriors and crashed new Ferraris. Because of their mistakes!

They were, for crying-out-loud, allowing the computers to place blame on them.

And do you know what such demented games taught these young people? Well, it taught them that mistakes are learning experiences. If you crashed that $1 million Ferrari – and you realized why you crashed it – you could avoid that pitfall on the next drive. And if you didn’t hesitate to make a decision, that meteor woul

It’s been interesting to watch the (sometimes forced) assimilation of Generation Y into the Boomer-dominated workforce of the early 21st century. Surely no two generations working together have been so disparate…at least that’s what we’re led to believe, and to an extent it’s true. There are vast differences in the two generations’ values and beliefs.

But I would suggest the computer is one element that brings the two together and, at another level, clearly defines one important difference in the two groups.

First, let’s look at the Baby Boomers. They entered the work force, for the most part, devoid of computer knowledge. The earliest of the Boomers knew computers as something called Univac that filled a room, had lots of blinking lights and, finally, made wrong predictions about presidential races. In the late 70s, or thereabouts (depending on the industry), the Boomers were presented with a work station and told the tube would replace paper and they had best begin the transition. Many – if not most – adopted the attitude that not only did they not understand this computer thing, but they also didn’t like – or trust – anyone who said they did. Paperless office, indeed!

This kicking-and-screaming attitude toward using computers continued until the Boomers discovered the computer was the answer to one of the most pressing issues in their working lives: blame.

Blame…you know, transferring responsibility when a failure occurs to another person or work group. This had always been a major problem for Boomers. Placing – or transferring – blame took precious time away from getting work accomplished.and often cut into coffee breaks and socializing. Departmental mistakes, however, necessitated group "blamestorming" (a term a colleague of mine created in the 80’s, although I’m certain it wasn’t an original thought), which provided a great team building exercise.

Data provided to the President proved wrong? – Darn computer fouled up. Customer unhappy with his or her bill? – Computer screw-up. Sales report less than expected by upper management? – Whoa, could be computer error.

Suddenly, Boomers were no longer afraid of the computer; it was very often their best friend! It shouldered blame without complaint. You could beat on it, scorn it and call it names and it just sat there on your desk (by then the desktop had come along) and smiled and said, “Thank you, sir. May I have another?”

What wonderful machines.

Then there are the Gen Y’ers who have never known life without computers. They learned reading with computer help in early grades and were playing sophisticated computer games while we Boomers were just learning to love the magic box. And while they played the games they hit brick walls, fell into burning pits of hell, were struck with meteors, were slain by ancient warriors and crashed new Ferraris. Because of their mistakes!

They were, for crying-out-loud, allowing the computers to place blame on them.

And do you know what such demented games taught these young people? Well, it taught them that mistakes are learning experiences. If you crashed that $1 million Ferrari – and you realized why you crashed it – you could avoid that pitfall on the next drive. And if you didn’t hesitate to make a decision, that meteor woul

knew computers as something called Univac that filled a room, had lots of blinking lights and, finally, made wrong predictions about presidential races. In the late 70s, or thereabouts (depending on the industry), the Boomers were presented with a work station and told the tube would replace paper and they had best begin the transition. Many – if not most – adopted the attitude that not only did they not understand this computer thing, but they also didn’t like – or trust – anyone who said they did. Paperless office, indeed!

This kicking-and-screaming attitude toward using computers continued until the Boomers discovered the computer was the answer to one of the most pressing issues in their working lives: blame.

Blame…you know, transferring responsibility when a failure occurs to another person or work group. This had always been a major problem for Boomers. Placing – or transferring – blame took precious time away from getting work accomplished.and often cut into coffee breaks and socializing. Departmental mistakes, however, necessitated group "blamestorming" (a term a colleague of mine created in the 80’s, although I’m certain it wasn’t an original thought), which provided a great team building exercise.

Data provided to the President proved wrong? – Darn computer fouled up. Customer unhappy with his or her bill? – Computer screw-up. Sales report less than expected by upper management? – Whoa, could be computer error.

Suddenly, Boomers were no longer afraid of the computer; it was very often their best friend! It shouldered blame without complaint. You could beat on it, scorn it and call it names and it just sat there on your desk (by then the desktop had come along) and smiled and said, “Thank you, sir. May I have another?”

What wonderful machines.

Then there are the Gen Y’ers who have never known life without computers. They learned reading with computer help in early grades and were playing sophisticated computer games while we Boomers were just learning to love the magic box. And while they played the games they hit brick walls, fell into burning pits of hell, were struck with meteors, were slain by ancient warriors and crashed new Ferraris. Because of their mistakes!

They were, for crying-out-loud, allowing the computers to place blame on them.

And do you know what such demented games taught these young people? Well, it taught them that mistakes are learning experiences. If you crashed that $1 million Ferrari – and you realized why you crashed it – you could avoid that pitfall on the next drive. And if you didn’t hesitate to make a decision, that meteor woul

f the most pressing issues in their working lives: blame.

Blame…you know, transferring responsibility when a failure occurs to another person or work group. This had always been a major problem for Boomers. Placing – or transferring – blame took precious time away from getting work accomplished.and often cut into coffee breaks and socializing. Departmental mistakes, however, necessitated group "blamestorming" (a term a colleague of mine created in the 80’s, although I’m certain it wasn’t an original thought), which provided a great team building exercise.

Data provided to the President proved wrong? – Darn computer fouled up. Customer unhappy with his or her bill? – Computer screw-up. Sales report less than expected by upper management? – Whoa, could be computer error.

Suddenly, Boomers were no longer afraid of the computer; it was very often their best friend! It shouldered blame without complaint. You could beat on it, scorn it and call it names and it just sat there on your desk (by then the desktop had come along) and smiled and said, “Thank you, sir. May I have another?”

What wonderful machines.

Then there are the Gen Y’ers who have never known life without computers. They learned reading with computer help in early grades and were playing sophisticated computer games while we Boomers were just learning to love the magic box. And while they played the games they hit brick walls, fell into burning pits of hell, were struck with meteors, were slain by ancient warriors and crashed new Ferraris. Because of their mistakes!

They were, for crying-out-loud, allowing the computers to place blame on them.

And do you know what such demented games taught these young people? Well, it taught them that mistakes are learning experiences. If you crashed that $1 million Ferrari – and you realized why you crashed it – you could avoid that pitfall on the next drive. And if you didn’t hesitate to make a decision, that meteor woul

with his or her bill? – Computer screw-up. Sales report less than expected by upper management? – Whoa, could be computer error.

Suddenly, Boomers were no longer afraid of the computer; it was very often their best friend! It shouldered blame without complaint. You could beat on it, scorn it and call it names and it just sat there on your desk (by then the desktop had come along) and smiled and said, “Thank you, sir. May I have another?”

What wonderful machines.

Then there are the Gen Y’ers who have never known life without computers. They learned reading with computer help in early grades and were playing sophisticated computer games while we Boomers were just learning to love the magic box. And while they played the games they hit brick walls, fell into burning pits of hell, were struck with meteors, were slain by ancient warriors and crashed new Ferraris. Because of their mistakes!

They were, for crying-out-loud, allowing the computers to place blame on them.

And do you know what such demented games taught these young people? Well, it taught them that mistakes are learning experiences. If you crashed that $1 million Ferrari – and you realized why you crashed it – you could avoid that pitfall on the next drive. And if you didn’t hesitate to make a decision, that meteor woul

Boomers were just learning to love the magic box. And while they played the games they hit brick walls, fell into burning pits of hell, were struck with meteors, were slain by ancient warriors and crashed new Ferraris. Because of their mistakes!

They were, for crying-out-loud, allowing the computers to place blame on them.

And do you know what such demented games taught these young people? Well, it taught them that mistakes are learning experiences. If you crashed that $1 million Ferrari – and you realized why you crashed it – you could avoid that pitfall on the next drive. And if you didn’t hesitate to make a decision, that meteor wouldn’t hit you the next time you played the game.

They also learned that blame was a waste of time. Why beat yourself up by accepting blame for falling into the fire pit? Just look behind that rock next time for the evil warrior that shoved you the wrong way the last gaming session.

And there was no reason to cover up your mistake. Heck, if you hadn’t made that mistake, they figured out, you wouldn’t have learned the correct way to navigate through that narrow passageway, or get around the fire pit or out-maneuver the evil-doers.

Don’t be misled, however. They compared notes with fellow gamers so each could avoid the others’ mistakes and win the game more quickly, but “mistake” and “blame” soon became seldom-used words in their vocabularies. (And their collaboration ability is the topic for another article!) And those words – and concepts – are still basically foreign to Generation Y’ers as they enter the workplace.

Their belief: Making a mistake is just part of the learning experience. Blame and cover-up are wastes of time. They delay the return to the game – or the work project – and lessen the chance of success.

Of course no business can accept mistakes that are expensive, permanent or waste considerable resources. But that’s the beauty of experienced managers and mentors…they are able to guide new workers toward learning that benefits both the organization and the people in it.

No blame, no anguish, no fear of failing? What neat concepts. Of course some may miss the blamestorming sessions, but those can be replaced with mistake-sharing sessions so each can learn from the other instead of conspiring to find fault.

Boomers may be slow to adapt to this latest concept, but they’ll find that, like the computer, it will eventually turn out to be a valuable tool in achieving engaged and committed workers. It’s almost like this new generation has something positive to teach every body else.

Plus, if you can’t fully accept all the new ideas Y’ers bring to the work place you can blame it on the computer. After all, that played a big role in how Y’ers think. Ahh, now there’s a comforting thought. At least it’s not your fault!

(c) 2007 Workforce Change