At a recent Intuit Firm of the Future event, I was speaking about improving processes and how that allows businesses, including accounting/bookkeeping firms, to hire and retain millennials.  After I was finished, a woman came up to tell me a story that I just had to pass along.

She was in a meeting recently with her team, made up of three millennials and three non-millennials. She shared her frustration of working with the younger generation.  She said they are all in the same boat, and the non-millennials are rowing really hard, and the millennials are sitting there watching them work and it is very frustrating for everyone.  One of the millennials in the meeting stopped her and asked, “Why are we rowing?  Why don’t we get a motor on the boat?!”

This moment was pivotal in changing this woman’s mind about millennials, and really highlights the differences between the generations.  We often think that the way we’ve been doing things have been good, but often someone, perhaps someone even much younger than us, has an idea we should really consider.  Granted, they may not have the years of experience we have, but that doesn’t mean the idea is completely without merit.  Getting different perspectives and suggestions on how to do things more efficiently can be game-changers in what we do.

So where are you in the boat – rowing like you always have, or working to find a motor?