Bridging the Boomer--Xer Gap: Creating Authentic Teams for High Performance at Work

by Hank Karp

In this surprising and sure-to-be controversial look at today's workplace reality, Bridging the Boomer-Xer Gap separates fact from fiction about what it will take to effectively integrate the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891061592
• ISBN13: 9780891061595
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Good Read!

The three authors - consultant Hank Karp, organizational development executive Connie Fuller and academic Danilo Sirias - admit they began their project with some hypotheses about the differences between Boomers and Xers. One of the most powerfully suggestive was the theory that Xers are much more individualistic than Boomers, which has the potential to create some worrisome issues for managers. Although their statistical analysis found some support for this notion, it also revealed, paradoxically, that Xers are real team players, perhaps even more so than Boomers. The authors do their best to write around that awkward fact, but the fact stubbornly remains: when it comes to working on teams, only seemingly subtle differences separate Boomers and Xers. The book offers a lot of reliable, proven tips about team management, so it is worthwhile. However, its credibility is somewhat damaged by the authors' repeated references to differences and gaps whose existence seems pretty minimal, even in the eyes of their own research. While that may make this seem like a curious book about a solution to an elusive problem, we recommend it to those who are also pursuing solid, general team management guidance.

Enhanced with research from nearly 400 surveys

Bridging The Boomer-Xer Gap, the collaborative effort by Connie Fuller (Organization Development Specialist, AG Communication System, Lucent Technologies) and Danilo Sirias (Assistant Professor of Management, Saginaw State University) is a dynamic and informative work, enhanced with research from nearly 400 surveys, and specifically written to aid business leaders in uniting supervisors and workers from both the Boomer and the Generation X generations. Stereotypes about Boomers and Xers are justifiably dismissed and replaced with solid strategies for promoting teamwork expressly created to bring the generations closer together for a more productive corporate future.