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MILLENNIALS, OPINION, STARTUP, THE STARTUPS ECOSYSTEM

By Alan Mak (@AlanMakUK), UK Group Board Member at Havas Worldwide; President of Magic Breakfast, a leading children’s charity; Ambassador for youth summit One Young World; World Economic Forum Young Global Shaper

21 March 2014: Earlier this year, Telefónica carried out the largest and most comprehensive survey of adult Millennials ever conducted. Over 12,000 young adults, aged 18-30, across 27 countries, were asked how they felt about the world in which they live, how technology impacts their lives, and their personal goals and dreams. The Global Millennial Survey, carried out in partnership with the Financial Times, presented a generation that is constantly connected, tech savvy, optimistic, and who believe strongly that technology creates opportunities for all. Yet, Millennials also expressed concern about the economy, and in particular a large proportion said worrying about “professional progression… kept them up at night”: 63% of respondents said Generation Y found it difficult to progress from school/college to the workplace.

The Survey confirmed something academics had long suspected: your 20s are tough. But as the University of Virginia’s Dr. Meg Jay says, they are also your “Defining Decade”. Your 20s are a developmental “sweet spot” because 80% of life-defining moments happen before the age of 35, including marriage, children, career and family choices. One of the best ways of super-charging your career and personal development is to take on leadership roles, such as starting a business, social enterprise or joining a board, whether in the private, public or charitable and voluntary sectors.

Like Telefónica – who have launched bold initiatives like Think Big, Wayra, Campus Party and Talentum to nurture next generation leadership – I also passionately believe that Generation Y leaders can, and should, have a big role to play in organisations’ decision-making, especially in the corporate boardroom. As Telefónica’s global COO, José María Álvarez-Pallete said in London, for our generation, Generation Y, you don’t have to be grey to get on.

Businesses that want to stay ahead of the competition – especially in customer-facing sectors like retail, media, technology and finance – need Gen Y to help them understand and respond to the big trends that are already shaping the future: harnessing the power of technology from mobile advertising to geo-location; understanding tomorrow’s customers; responding to the desire for more responsible business; and gaining a competitive edge in emerging markets.

Following the global financial crisis an irreversible (and positive) emotional shift has taken place: we all now expect business and management to be done differently, and done better. Businesses from banks to supermarkets are having to re-define their values and become more transparent, accountable and sustainable. Such changes range from Marks & Spencer’s “Plan A” (which overhauls every aspect of their business model) to efforts like TheCityUK’s Next Generation Vision, the UK financial services sector’s Gen Y-led plan to reshape their industry. Havas’ Global CEO David Jones explains it best in his best-selling book “Who Cares Wins”: “For business, the price of doing well is doing good”. Gen Y has grown up with, and instinctively understands, this new thinking, and is best placed to lead the change from the top. For us, the world has moved on from Milton Friedman’s famous quip that “the business of business is business”.

Rapid cultural change has been matched (and driven by) rapid technological and demographic change. Today’s consumers are heavily influenced by social media, which has given them more access to information about how companies do business than ever before. If the industrial revolution gave power to corporates, the digital revolution has empowered the consumer. As Jones says, “…there’s not been another time in history when the youngest people understood the most about what is going on in the world“. In fact, 36% of respondents to the Global Millennial Survey said knowledge of technology was the key driver of future success – topping understanding economics or able to speak a foreign language.

Generation Y business leaders can add value by acting as cultural translators, helping their colleagues navigate the new business environment

That’s why, for example, Starbucks appointed social media guru Clara Shih, then 29, to its Board, hoping she would “bring fresh insight” to their business, whilst technology start-ups like Mind Candy and consumer brands like Kellogg’s, Red Bull and Sony are drawing on the expertise of Gen Y’s teenagers to help them shape their strategy. As President & Trustee of Magic Breakfast, one of Britain’s leading children’s charities, I have the privilege of championing the fight against child hunger and poverty by setting up breakfast clubs in primary schools, helping businesses like PepsiCo, Morgan Stanley and Pearson channel their values into social action on the ground.

As traditional models of business leadership break down, demand for Gen Y leaders who understand these changes will only rise. Globalisation has created increasingly complex decision-making environments which require new skill sets and fresh perspectives that were simply not around when many of today’s boardroom executives entered the labour market. In the fast-paced, digitally-enabled, multi-cultural and multi-lingual market place, every company now needs to balance Gen X’s experience with Gen Y’s dynamism, inherently global outlook, digital aptitude and understanding of responsible business. And adding a Generation Y perspective, as Cambridge University Alumni Advisory Board (on which I serve) has done, can be a powerful antidote to age-related groupthink in an era when the world is getting younger.

Alongside Starbucks and Cambridge, Havas, one of the world’s leading global advertising, communications and digital groups, have led the way in empowering Generation Y. Together with David Jones, Kate Robertson (Havas Worldwide’s Global Co-President), founded One Young World, an annual summit that brings together 1500 Gen Y leaders from 190 countries backed by Telefónica as well as other leading global businesses including Barclays, Clifford Chance and PwC.

Last year, Kate Robertson also appointed me to her UK Board, working with six market-leading group companies. And harnessing the skills and talents of Gen Y is a trend that’s already being noticed at the highest levels: June’s Telefónica/FT Summit in London reflected a growing trend in Gen Y’s leaders coming to prominence led by “Millennial Leaders”, the “Global 11%” subset of the Millennial Generation identified by the Survey who will drive change through technology. London-based former private equity investor turned entrepreneur Mandeep Singh is an outstanding example. Together with two business partners, Singh has launched StreetHub.com, a pioneer in providing “click and collect” services to independent stores, helping high street shops and independent boutiques compete through new technology and innovation.

Peter Cave-Gibbs, one of London’s leading headhunters, sums it up by saying, “Age is just a number in business now. At Board level, Chairmen are looking for outstanding leaders who can help them succeed in today’s global marketplace. Gen Y business talent is highly educated, multi-lingual, comfortable with change and technologically adept. This generation will change the way business is done forever.”

Whilst your 20s are tough, they are also the best time to get ahead in your life and your career. It’s the decade where you can expect to work the hardest, and if that’s the case you might as well work smart too: focus your energies on achieving roles that position you as a leader (I’ll provide some tips on how to do this in my next blog). Doing so will make your 30s – and the rest of your career – much easier, happier and more fulfilled. What are you waiting for?

Read Part 2 from Alan here