Generations at War Like the 1960s? Really?

http://www.michaelpage.com.sg

The usually staid Financial Times management blog swan dives into inflamed emotions this week with a post by the chairman of the UK’s Channel 4, Luke Johnson. His claim: relations between the generations in the workplace are more strained than at any time since the protest happy 1960s:

It is not just the usual strife between ambitious youngsters and older incumbents waging a rearguard action to maintain their grip on power. Rather, this conflict reminds me of the battles between young and old in the 1960s over the Vietnam war, and the gulf of misunderstanding between them.

Johnson explains that, especially in media, bosses who are likely to be in their 50s, “are unlikely to be ready to reinvent what they and their company do,” and are psychologically unable to preside over radical reinvention. Instead of wistfully watching old business models crumble, these old-timey execs should take his advice and,

Hire as many bright young things as you can afford and hope their dynamism will counteract the inevitable conservatism of an existing institution. The media trade could learn from the technology industry, which is subject to wrenching structural upheaval at regular intervals.

While no one can dispute the deep and fearful decline in legacy media and the generally greater understanding of new media among younger members of the workforce, I think Johnson may be taking things a bit too far. Media execs don’t seem content, as he says, to continue the “demoralizing task of managing decline with no salvation in sight.” Companies of all stripes are throwing themselves at any innovation that might save them, even Channel 4, which last night featured Twitter interviews with Conservative party members on its nightly news cast, and has anchor Jon Snow regularly remind viewers of his blog.

The problem isn’t an unwillingness to change (though I am sure there are greater and lesser degrees of denial out there). The problem is that no one, including us in the earlier stages of our careers, is sure what will generate enough revenue to support quality content. The companies I’ve worked at haven’t had a war vibe, but instead more of a communal clutching at anything still afloat as the ship sinks. We’re all in this together. It’s just that this doesn’t always seem to be the most optimistic of outlooks. Am I wrong?