When Millennials Take Over

Preparing for the Ridiculously Optimistic Future of Business

Is your organization ready for what’s coming?

Whether we are ready for it or not, the future of business is here. It’s one in which companies must learn how to move faster, flatten their hierarchies, share more openly, and operate more digitally. This “new normal” is one in which social media has permanently shifted the balance of power between individuals and institutions; and the millennial generation (soon to be the largest generation in the workforce) is pushing us to be more transparent, decentralized, and collaborative. The result? Organizations of all sizes and from all industries—especially those who cling to outdated, conventional models—are struggling to stay relevant to customers, capitalize on opportunities in the marketplace, and attract top talent.

Successful companies, on the other hand, are shifting to embrace four key capacities that will drive the future of business: digital, clear, fluid, and fast. These capacities generate the results that have been eluding so many organizations in the last decade: more engaged employees, higher-value customers, greater strategic agility, and stronger, magnetic cultures. These ideas make intuitive sense to Millennials, who are now moving into management positions, but more importantly they are at the heart of companies with the strongest and most powerful cultures—organizations that are thriving in today’s disruptive, fast-paced, and technology-driven world.

Drawing on both innovative case studies and research on Millennials in the workplace, you’ll learn how to successfully apply fast, clear, fluid, and digital in your context to drive real business results. When Millennials Take Over delivers concrete, actionable advice you can use to set your company apart as a leader—rather than a follower.

When Millennials Take Over equips leaders and organizations to become...

• <strong>DIGITAL:</strong> Embrace both the technology and the mindset that will free up your employees to innovate, be proactive, and increase your agility.
• <strong>CLEAR:</strong> Share more to increase both the speed and quality of decisions, reducing the load on middle management.
• <strong>FLUID:</strong> Empower employees at all levels to take ownership, lead change and continuously create new value.
• <strong>FAST:</strong> Anticipate customer demands, identify and solve problems faster, and leap ahead of the competition.

The only constant is change. These four capacities are the key to being able to keep up with the complexity, uncertainty and rapid shifts in our industries and our world. When Millennials Take Over is an intelligently practical guide to how you can build these capacities for your organization–starting NOW.

Notter and Grant make a compelling case for why Millennials act as a “secret decoder ring” to help us understand what drives customers and employees in today’s business climate. By adopting the four capacities–digital, clear, fluid and fast – you’ll be much better prepared to attract top talent, retain customers and stay competitive.

Daniel H. Pink, author of To Sell is Human

The old ways of managing simply don’t work for today’s employees. Notter and Grant share insightful ways to help both leaders and employees understand how to work better together by focusing on results over process. When Millennials Take Over is a powerful guidebook that needs to be in the hands of every manager to effectively start unlocking the true potential in every person.

Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, authors of Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It

When Millennials Take Over reveals what Generation Y can teach us all about creating organizations with stronger cultures and expanded influence in the market. Whatever you think of Millennials, they’ve arrived during a tectonic shift in management. Through case studies, real-world research, and client examples, this book highlights how to harness their energy and insights.

Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take

Much has been written about the arrival of the Millennial Generation in our workplaces. When Millennials Take Over gives us insights into how to turn this burgeoning fact into profound strategic advantage. Be prepared to shed your hierarchy, embrace technology, and change fast. If you don’t, someone will do it for you and to you, and you will be left wondering what the heck just happened.

Richard Sheridan, CEO, Chief Storyteller, Menlo Innovations, and author of Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love

Social technology has already been pushing us to be more open and authentic as leaders, and now the Millennial generation–who grew up in this environment–will take this to the next level. Notter and Grant have identified the four key capacities every organization needs to build stronger cultures and to attract the best customers and top talent in the Digital Age.

Charlene Li, Author of the New York Times Bestseller, Open Leadership, Founder & CEO of Altimeter Group

An intelligent book that CEOs from every industry should read. It is a rich resource that has the power to transform a work culture into one that allows any business to thrive.

Patricia Kearns, PT, President and CEO, Quality Living, Inc.

When Millennials Take Over is critical reading for anyone who wants to understand the divide in expectations between the entrenched workforce and the next generation of management. Maddie and Jamie provide a well researched, insightful and thought provoking exploration into what it might take to bridge the gap between current work modalities and future norms and behavior patterns.

Ari Lightman, Professor, Digital Media and Marketing, Carnegie Mellon University

Because Millennials are entering the workforce at an extraordinary time when our world is rapidly becoming more complex and connected, they will have a huge impact in how organizations are led and managed. That makes the impressive, actionable insights in When Millennials Take Over a must read for us all.

Kare Anderson, TED speaker on Opportunity Makers, author of Mutuality Matters and Forbes columnist

In this work, Jamie and Maddie share their insights into what makes successful modern organizations work, going beyond cliché and into the hard facts that will help leaders strengthen their culture across generational lines. Their focus on values is particularly critical for all leaders to master. Follow their guidance and build a culture that will unify your employees and place the power of transparent and diverse thinking squarely into your vision, mission and strategy.

Amith Nagarajan, Chairman and CEO, Aptify

To succeed in the Millennial Age, businesses of all sizes must become fluent in social technology and learn to pivot in the face of constantly shifting customer expectations and industry changes. As a CEO (and Millennial), I highly recommend this book for any leader that wants to stay ahead of the curve – and consistently attract the best employees and most loyal customers.

Shama Hyder, CEO of The Marketing Zen Group and author, The Zen of Social Media Marketing

It’s really refreshing to see an optimistic view of Millennials in the workforce! This book is a timely guide for any leader involved in technology and mobility, culture, and how organizations can prepare to meet the rapidly evolving expectations of employees.

Daniel Kraft, CEO Sitrion

Want to view the world through the eyes of the Millennial generation? This is the book to read! Notter and Grant make a powerful case that we are in a revolutionary moment in history with major changes taking place in business, leadership, and management. They not only illustrate beautifully, with many fascinating case studies, the characteristics of this revolution, but they also offer practical advice on how to join. They demonstrate clearly that this revolution is already naturally embraced by the Millennial generation. The rest of us can either learn to understand this world and partner with the Millennials, or feel lost at sea.

Hugh O’Doherty, Senior Associate at Cambridge Leadership Associates and Lecturer, John F. Kennedy School of Government

A scholarly yet eminently clear and accessible analysis on what Millennials—and all future workers–expect in today’s workplace, and how to optimize your organization to meet those needs and truly engage the 21st century worker.

Robert Berkman, Faculty, School of Media Studies, the New School for Public Engagement and author of Find it Fast: Extracting Expert Information from Social Networks, Big Data, Tweets, and More

The Millennials are taking over—and depending on where you’re standing, that’s either really scary or the best news you’ve heard in a long time. Drawing on a wealth of research and illuminating case studies, Notter and Grant’s book is a manifesto of change for the better. I’m ridiculously optimistic about the future. Read this book. You will be, too.

Ted Coiné, CRO of Meddle.it and co-author, A World Gone Social

When I have the opportunity to speak in front of an audience of CEOs, I typically hear comments such as, 'We don’t really need to worry about how Millennials buy because our audiences are Baby Boomers.' When Millennials Take Over, shows not only that this thinking is wrong, but that this generation is the future of your business. They give you steps to prepare for a world when Millennials will be the decision-makers. The future is now.

Gini Dietrich, CEO of Arment Dietrich and author of Spin Sucks

In When Millennials Take Over, Notter and Grant present a concise and thought-provoking look at how their research says management must change and why Millennials are the decoder rings for making this happen. As they did in Humanize, this book provides a roadmap to reach the goals they’ve identified for organizations: Digital. Clear. Fluid. Fast. Many of my clients will benefit from this book as soon as I can share it with them. Organizations do need to adapt and adopt. This book gives them some great ideas about how they can do that.

Rick Rice, CEO RTR Communications

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