The Tech Cred Gen Ten Problem

I turn 29 in a couple months but I am still treated like a kid by many in the business community. While I'm not exactly a seasoned veteran of the corporate world I'm not exactly business-retarded either. I've found that when I compete for a position with a company my aptitude in electronics/technology is often the deciding factor in who gets to start on Monday. Guess what? I didn't get access to my first computer until I was 18 because they cost you about 2-3 months salary when I was growing up. I embraced technology along with most of the free world and can now build one from scratch. With what I taught myself from countless hours of mind-numbing research I can troubleshoot the majority of common software & hardware issues that plague the electronics world. My point is that you don't have to grow up with it to understand it; you simply have to be open to the learning process. It's not easy--nothing worthwhile ever is. With most of the technology-incompetent individuals I've met the problem is with their drive, not the hard drive--they're simply too lazy or uninterested to learn something new. It irks me when people imply that your learning ability starts to regress at an extreme rate when you reach middle age. Good grief, an overwhelming number of the most brilliant minds in the world were born before computers were more than science fiction. Look, either put your mind to use and contribute to the advancement of society or step out of the way to make room for someone who will...at a minimum you should quit acting like you're too old to learn--that's just a fool's excuse. On the other hand, maybe I shouldn't encourage learning; it just makes for tougher competitors in the workplace :)

I'd rather do business with a techie visionary that sees the possibilities than a set-in-his-ways old man that can't get out of his mental box.

And, yes, that goes for the election too.

Is this a sideways shot at Obama? When I saw the blurb on the website, I thought you were taking a shot at Obama and saying that you would feel more comfortable with McCain (who admittedly says he can't and doesn't use the Net or e-mail) versus Obama who has been caught on camera responding to e-mail on his Treo or Blackberry.

To answer your question....you know...it depends on the business we are talking about. But I will say this...when I have to sit down and write stuff out and slip pictures into notecards to my cousins who don't use e-mail....I think....man....this is a pain.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing used people to count down in Chinese and English, paint pictures, perform Tai Chi in patterns, and to run about the globe that rose from the center of the arena. No doubt computers were used for the design and control, but it was humans who carried out the tasks in unison. The point I am making is that highly specialized new technology needs to be paired with the ageless strengths of the mind and body if it is to be effective. Innovation, design, and aesthetics persist while raw technology continuously changes.

Finally, we get to the nexus of the generational issue. The young and hip use an artificial test (do you text message?), or are you on face book, which only should apply to those that are seeking human contact. These technical skills have no, and I repeat, no connection to understanding and operating of a business, whether bricks and mortar or virtual. I have owned and operated both types. The young, hip, and self-absorbed confuse their "hippness" with actual subject matter mastery, good judgment, and advanced strategic thinking, which most don't possess, AS THEY DON'T HAVE EXPERIENCE with such matters. It might not be that someone who doesn't use the tools of the current marketplace will lose out, but to make the over-technical the first qualification of a job, is, well, self-congratulatory and self-absorbed, just like the young workers of today. They aren't better at anything other than over-rating their skills with some very bad attitudes thrown in. They are doing everyone a favor by showing up.

credibility is everything in business

I would actually skew towards the techno-weenie, all other things being equal.

It's because I've generally found that someone who has yet to learn the new ways of business and, let's be honest, the whole world is a rigid, perhaps intransigent person who will only get more difficult as technology leaves them behind.

If John McCain does not understand the basics of e-mail, I don't see how can he understand the concerns of citizens surrounding more complex issues like Net Neutrality, etc?

If a person is going to lead our country to a brighter future, doesn't it seem like they should keep up with the times?

Not being able to use the internet is the electronic equivalent of not being able to read.

You also act as if technology is a nice addition to business, however, businesses are absolutely dependent on technology.

Being technology savvy does is not something people do to be hip. That is like saying people learn to read because it is hip. People learn to use technology so that they can function normally in a world that is driven by technology! That is why kids are taught to use computers in the school systems.

To think, a man with all the resources in the world at his disposal... and to be so out of touch? Clearly his ambitions don't rest in the realm of global understanding. If you don't care about the technology that runs the modern world it may be time to consider a nice luxury assisted living home.

We hire people all the time who don't have all the skill sets you might need. The question to me is, are they predisposed to growing and learning in the role and what's the ramp up time involved. Although we typically liken this to learning substantive knowledge, it clearly applies to everything that enhances a person's value to the company - including IT knowledge.

Sounds like a perfect situation to partner this type employee with a millennial, where they could learn from each other.