Baby Boomer Strategy #1: Legacy creation

Cathy A. Rodgers, PhD

The worldview of the Boomers (Looking into the Boomer Worldview) provides suggestions for organizations that are undertaking change efforts. You may capture the commitment of Boomers by linking a vision of the future to the creation of a valued legacy. In so doing, you can help Boomers recapture the role we once held—that of passionate change agents who hope to leave behind a world better than the one we found.

As Boomers approach retirement, we are reexamining who we are and how we want to be remembered. If honest, most will discover that many dreams have not been realized; that survival in organizations, no matter how successful an individual has been, is not what we believed life would be. This provides a fertile opportunity for organizations undergoing change.

If the purpose of change is to truly create something of value, enrolling Boomers as champions will serve you well. There is, however, an important caveat: the change must offer more than an improved bottom line. Rather, if what you plan will enhance efficiency and, as such, really provide increased opportunity for employees to focus on creative, innovative, challenging or compelling tasks, great! If the change is socially responsible, not just as a marketing tool but in a genuine way, count us in. If you want to capture our knowledge and/or experience such that it will improve the future for others, ask our help. But be really clear that we are not easily conned into believing there is broad based value when the primary outcome is financial. We’ve been playing that game for the past 30+ years and are discovering that it is not very fulfilling.

Once you have a clear idea of how your change effort can make a real difference for employees, the community, the world, the environment, enroll us in it. Or, better yet, ask a group of influential Boomers from the organization to help expand the original change idea to incorporate valued benefits. This offers the dual benefit of: 1) providing Boomers the opportunity to influence the goal, a valuable onboarding strategy for people whatever generation they are and 2) ensuring that there really is a credible result from the undertaking.

For those of us still inside organizations, some are beginning to see that they are no longer those with the most valued ideas. For those thinking about retirement, some are wondering what we will do when hobbies no longer provide enough. In both cases and the myriad of other permutations, rallying around an exciting vision of the future provides both a meaningful role as well as an opportunity to leave a part of the world a better place.