BoSUSA25 | Chika Emebo and Mark Stephens | When Four Worlds Collide - Turning Generational Diversity into your Superpower

Proud Zoomer Chika Emebo is going to fill in the missing gaps for you with some assistance from avid Gen Xer Mark Stephens. So let’s get rid of those cliches, dig into the real differences between the four generations, and focus on practical actions and ideas which you can take home to implement and make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

1. Chika Emebo (Gen Z) / Mark Stephens (Gen X)
When Four Worlds Collide –
Turning Generational Diversity into your Superpower

2. We are going to talk about
❖The terrain
❖The destination
❖The journey
…and there will be audience participation!

3. The Terrain
❖Four generations in the same workplace for the first time
❖90+ years of lived experience side by side
❖Different habits, expectations and communication styles
❖Can cause friction or fuel success
The landscape we’re navigating today

4. 4 Generations in the workforce
❖Baby Boomers (1946-1964)
❖Generation X (1965-1980)
❖Millennials (1981-1996)
❖Zoomers (1997-2012)
(all with their distinctive experiences, caricatures, cliches, strengths)

5. Something from 1968

6. 1968
❖Expensive land lines
❖Much more limited choice - 3 channels of live TV
❖Concerns over large scale immigration (‘Rivers of blood’ speech)
❖Political killings in USA (Kennedy/Martin Luther)
❖Antiwar protests (Vietnam)
❖Russia invading neighbouring countries (Czechoslovakia)…
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

7. Generation X
❖Forgotten generation
❖Latchkey/ MTV generation
❖‘Children’ of Thatcher/Reagan
❖Witnessed the whole tech revolution
❖Slackers, cynical, and disaffected / pragmatic and independent
❖Had a free University education…

8. My formative years were 1980/1990s
Do you recognise…

9. Something from 2001

10. 2001 - Very different in some ways
❖Expensive smartphones
❖Limited choice of 100+ cable channels, still nothing to watch
❖Large scale immigration, much more multicultural
❖9/11 attacks
❖Anti-globalisation…

11. Generation Z
❖Zoomers
❖Unforgettable generation - chronically online
❖Raised on TikTok, YouTube and memes
❖Obama experience
❖Entering adulthood during the pandemic
❖Not slackers - just prone to shiny object syndrome
❖Juggling student debt and side hustles…

12. My formative teen years were 2010s
Do you recognise…

13. Even Gen Z can struggle with tech

14. Baby Boomers (Dinosaurs)
❖undisputed rulers the earth for 165 million years
❖rewrote the rulebook on everything
❖still here - hiding in plain sight…

15. Millennials
❖Grew up “IRL” and migrated online
❖Told to “follow your dreams”… then hit by 2008 crash
❖Teased for buying avocado toast/lattes instead of houses
❖Entered the workforce during the Great Recession
❖Largest share of today’s US workforce (36%)…

16. How/what events we witnessed has profoundly shaped us
❖Civil rights movement and Vietnam war
❖First man on the moon
❖Watergate
❖Fall of Berlin Wall
❖End of Apartheid
❖9/11
❖Growth of PCs/Internet
❖Financial crisis
❖Covid
(child, adult, read about them)

17. Do you remember when you heard about the death of
❖John F Kennedy (1963)
❖Martin Luther King (1968)
❖Elvis Presley (1977)
❖John Lennon (1980)
❖Diana Spencer (1997)
❖Michael Jackson (2009)
❖Osama Bin Laden (2011)
❖Elizabeth Windsor (2022)
Day we realise our own mortality

18. Profound impact on
❖Confidences
❖Skills
❖Emotional versus abstract thinking
❖Mental models
❖How we communicate…

19. The Destination

20. People
❖Gallup workplace poll 2025
❖% engaged
❖31%
❖% Actively disengaged
❖17%
I stay here because I like the people…

21. Your Team
The A-Team

22. Diversity is a key feature not a failure
Every Star team needs its Ringo 

23. The journey

24. Rules for the journey
❖Curiosity mindset - everyone is here to learn and grow
❖Stereotypes are like models (wrong but sometimes useful)
❖Non judgmental and mutual respect
❖Be mindful of ‘generational fears’
We are all after the same outcome…

25. Run experiments!
Let the data decide…
❖Locations - WFH, coffee shop, library
❖Communication
❖Meetings
❖Informal training sessions

26. Tribes bond over shared experiences
Whatever comes through that gate, if we stay together we survive… 

27. Us or Them
Humour is a good indicator of team culture

28. Mix things up
Try stuff and see
❖Make mixing the default
❖Create mixed groups for tasks
❖Mentoring works in all directions - reverse and peer…

29. JTBD - not just for sales…
The question is not whether this conversation is
happening… it’s whether we want to be a part of it

30. JTBD for reviews
JTBD Hiring & Careers – with Katherine Thompson

31. Foster a “small” mindset
❖Small group, big passion
❖Clear communication: meetings with purpose
❖Play to strengths: we cover each other’s gaps
❖Shared wins: one team, one mission
❖Adapt quickly: change the plan, same destination…

32. Encourage diversity where ever possible
Encourage people to express themselves

33. “How I work”
❖Part of onboarding
❖Opt in
❖Flexible feedback options

34. How to make it relevant to Gen Z?
Develops PDF libraries to help its customers display PDFs.

35. It’s not just what, it’s “how” and “why”
❖Impact
❖Learn across generations
❖Autonomy
❖Flexibility
❖Confidence and purpose
Space to grow and make an impact

36. Over to you…
We want to hear especially from the Boomers and the Millennials…

37. In Summary
Generation Core Strengths Clichés Key Differences
Boomers
Strong face to face communication
Work ethic and loyalty
Leadership experience
Resistant to tech change
Entitled/lucky generation
Overly traditional
Prefer stability and hierarchy
Value in-person interaction
Long term career focus
Gen X
Work-life balance pioneers
Adaptable problem-solvers
Analog-digital bridge
Cynical "latchkey kids”
Skeptical of authority
Forgotten generation
Value autonomy
Offline influencers
Results over process
Millenials
Digital fluency
Purpose driven
Collaborative team players
Job hoppers
Need constant praise
Entitled to perks
Champion flexible work
Prioritise culture fit
Continuous learning focus
Gen Z
Social media natives
Entrepreneurial mindset
Diversity champions
Always online
Overly sensitive
Poor interpersonal skills
Frequent feedback expected
Comfortable job-hopping
Mental health priority