The document discusses the generational transfer of leadership among retiring baby boomers, gen Xers, and millennials, emphasizing the importance of experience exchange and effective onboarding. It highlights the unique strengths and challenges each generation brings to organizational culture, along with insights from panelists experienced in mentoring and leadership development. Recommendations for fostering cross-generational relationships and resource materials for further reading are also provided.

1. Creating a 2-Way Street
Generational Transfer among Retiring
Boomers, Entrepreneurial Gen Xers, and Free-Market
Millennials
December 18th, 2012

2. David Reimer — Facilitator
CEO, Merryck &Co, where he leads an organization of former
topexecutives who work 1:1 with current business leaders and their
high potential successors.
• Previously, led a 3-year turnaround under private equity
ownership of Drake Beam Morin’s (DBM) North American
business.
• Consulted on global M&A and restructuring projects with 30% of
the Fortune 100, including through the dot.com aftermath
and, during the financial crisis, the three largest financial
services mergers in history.
• Typical Gen Xer: 46 with 1.9 children under age 4.
• Frequent writer and speaker on how great leaders develop on-
the-job, in the heat of the crucible.
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3. Who is Merryck?
Over 15 years, Merryck has become the proven
global resource for Leadership Magnitude™
Mentoring 1-on-1 with a former top executive who:
Has run a$750MM – Is trained in-depth Is up to speed on Is chosen for ability
$120B P&L to support with the company’s to identify strengths,
questions and issues and the and define and help
perspective, not to executive’s develop the blind
take on the job dynamic role side
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4. A quick definition of terms
• Coach – external or internal
• Identifies and develops communications styles, preferences and awareness
• Fosters awareness of behavioral strengths and opportunities
• Develops people management capabilities
• Mentor – external or internal
• Expands and develops leader’s perspective on the business
• Addresses strengths and development areas related to strategy, operations, culture and
relationships up, down and across the organization
• Links leader to external connections and business expertise
• Experience transfer (vs. knowledge transfer)
• Exchange of insight and understanding, not just data and facts
• Two-way, not one-way: in order to understand the truth, one must discover it for oneself
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5. Today’s Topic
Generational transfer: What are the issues and
opportunities from an organizational and cultural
perspective?
Why this topic?
• Volume of leadership turnover
• Trending tendency of high-potentials to opt out
• Re-definition of engagement
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6. Leslie Bradshaw — Panelist
COO at a stealth start-up (stay tuned!)
Formerly Co-founder, President and COO of JESS3.
JESS3 blended science and art to drive data visualization to a new
level of business prominence, while Leslie built an international
operations system of physical offices, a hub of core
employees, and hundreds of contractors worldwide. In
2012, recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of 30 Under 30, and
JESS3 made the Inc. 500 list.
• Named one of the top five female executives in the technology
industry by Fast Company
• Recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a Top Woman In Tech
Under 30
• Trusted strategist and consultant for top brands including
Intel, Nike, C-SPAN, Pfizer and Google
• Writes for Forbes on the topic of female entrepreneurship
• Serving as a Fellow for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's
Foundation, writing and researching on the topics of
innovation, millennials and female leadership
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7. Helen Ng — Panelist
Founder and Managing Principal of Planet Habitat
(an advisory for investments in emerging markets in housing,
education and green infrastructure)
CEO and Founding Member of an early-stage US-
Kenyan ―edutainment‖ platform linking disadvantaged
youth in emerging markets with educational and job
opportunities(Cockroach Club eXchange – www.cockroachclub.net;
facebook: CCXworld)
• At Barclays Capital and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, conducted
project financing in environmental infrastructure (telecom,
transport, water) in emerging markets.
• Has written US government policy on transportation
infrastructure, and lectured and published on public-private
partnerships.
• Fluent in Russian -- former Rotary International scholar, served
as the American Ambassador of Goodwill to Russia.
• Co-host of a sub-Saharan radio program with an audience
ranging between 250K and 2MM listeners
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8. Karen Vander Linde — Panelist
Merryck Mentor. Retired PwC Partner who led the US and
global People & Change practice. Boomer, multi-lingual; 27 years
in consulting. When PwC restarted People & Change practice, they
re-recruited Karen lead it. Starting with 2 people, rebuilt US
practice to prominent business line and led organic growth of
global practice to become high 9 figure business -- in just 7 1/2
years.
• Named by Consulting Magazine in 2008 as one of the Top 25
Consultants in the profession.
• Delivered dozens of publications, major speeches and media
appearances in the past 10 years on topics such as business
agility for change, leadership, talent management and
successful leadership transitions.
• Serves on the boards of Greater DC Cares and the Atlantic
Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center and is an Executive
Council member of the Business Council for Peace (Bpeace).
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9. Jeffrey Vargas — Panelist
Chief Learning Officer (CLO) for the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
As the CFTC’s first CLO, established their Office of Talent and
Leadership Development, and created the CFTC’s first-ever
strategic learning plan.
• Former CLO, National Nuclear Security Administration, where if
leadership fails, “things could go kaboom.”
• Established a regulatory training series on swaps, organized
supervisory training, and a learning conference on the
commodity markets. Where, if leadership failures occur, things
could, economically speaking, “go kaboom.”
• Frequent speaker and writer on Gen X in the workplace;
recently organized a government-wide conference on the use of
social media.
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10. Discussion Framework
1 The Challenge
2 The Opportunity
3 The Real World
4 Q&A
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11. The Challenge
What are the generational elephants in the room?
Global
Boomers Gen Xers Millennials
Perspective
Leslie Bradshaw Jeffrey Vargas Karen Vander Helen Ng David Reimer
Linde 11

12. The Opportunity
What are the generational leadership strengths?
Legacy Makers Problem-Solvers Digital Natives Global Perspective
Wisdom Innovation Creativity Global Connections &
Learning
Other Strengths?
Leslie Bradshaw Jeffrey Vargas Karen Vander Helen Ng David Reimer
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13. The Real World
Operations Leadership
Open Structured Reshaping
Leveraging generational New Balance at all Levels
differences
significant organizational
change Culture Flexibility
Coaching/Mentoring Global Local
Mindset Work Life
Leslie Bradshaw Jeffrey Vargas Karen Vander Helen Ng David Reimer
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14. Major Takeaways
Transfer experience across generations to increase impact
What Why
1. Leaders must be aware of their own 1. The most effective teams are generationally
biases and how those play out in the diverse by design. Single-generation teams
make-up and dynamics of their teams. Attract will lack strength in critical skills, and may not
realize what’s missing.
2. We need a “pause” moment – taking the 2. Onboarding requires generational design and
time to onboard people effectively based roll-out. Millennials, Gen X and Boomers
on who they are. tend to process information differently and
have different onboarding needs.
3. The organizational culture must promote Develop 3. Leaders are responsible for developing
learning from each other (within and themselves as well as all of the people
cross-generation, in both directions). A around them. That requires both up and
coach-mentor mindset is critical, one that down knowledge and wisdom transfer.
accommodates different learning styles.
4. Create a culture that encourages role- 4. A key challenge of generational difference
modeling and recognizes the importance (especially overseas) is the level of “hands
of having one or more role models (who Inspire on” responsibility for driving outcomes.
may be younger!). Cross-generational role models have been
very effective in creating a shared
organizational culture
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15. Panelists’ parting thoughts
Helen
• Find a balance to align the economics and the organizational structure – ideally from the get-go – with multi-
generational, cross-border talent
• Even among the poor in emerging markets, a mission-driven approach, combined with a long-term business view,
can knit together multiple generations and eclipse short-term monetary concerns
Jeff
• Invite Gen X to lead, teach us to lead, invest in us as leaders – help us make the transition from tactical mastery to
strategy
• Give me direct, candid feedback about how I’m doing – positive or negative
Karen
• Cross-generational experience transfer is hard work. It’s not enough to want it, or to name someone a coach or
someone else a mentor and hope for the best. The framework needs to be at least partly formal, and both parties
have to be clear that their relationship is a two-way street.
Leslie
• Exciting to see that this conversation is happening across industries, and at a high level in organizations.
Acknowledgement is a key step in making headway in addressing the challenges.
• So many young, “wet behind the ears” business leaders out there need Boomers’ knowledge and wisdom. It is
highly important that experience transfer happens between Millennials and Boomers.
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16. Resource Recommendations
• Books
• Generation Me: Jean Twenge
• The M Factor: Lynn Lancaster/Ben Stillman
• Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: Bruce Tulgin
• My Reality Check Bounced: Jason Ryan Dorsey
• When Generations Collide: Lynn Lancaster/Ben Stillman
• Generations: A History of America's Future 1584 to 2069: William Strauss/Neil Howe
• Why America’s Twenty and Thirty Somethings Can’t Get Ahead: Tamara Draut
• Articles
• Generation X, Stepping Up to the Leadership Plate, January 21, 2007, www.cio.com
• What Does Generation X Leadership Look like?, Leslie Ungar, March
2, 2008, Ezinearticle.com
• Generation X Leadership, Paula Danner, August 8, 2012, www.examiner.com
• Is it Time for Generation X to Lead Us?, Ray Williams, July
4, 2010, www.psycologytoday.com
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17. Contact Info
www.Merryck.com
Robin.Beckhard@Merryck.com
1-888-Merryck
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