Generational Con Man

I read an article this week by Mark Liston. He's a recruiter and he is also a generational traitor and a pathetic social masochist.

Here's the essence of what he says: I'm a baby-boomer and we're awful. Why? Because we're workaholics. We love blackberries. We can’t text message. And we have old Beatles records in the garage.

We have old Beatle records? Is that a sin now? No, but he treats it like one just so he can suck up to Gen Y.

He goes on to say: You guys are better than us. We had race riots. We went on peace marches. We went to Woodstock. We ducked bullets at Kent State.

Does anyone really think that Mark Liston ducked bullets at Kent State? Or that he was involved in a race riot? Of course not.

Mark is just an ordinary guy -- and so is his audience. In fact, there's probably less difference between Baby Boomers like Mark Liston and Gen Y than between any two generations in the last 100 years.

The proof is in the pudding because for the rest of his article Mark gives advice to Gen Y and none of it has anything to do with generational differences at all. Here's a sample of what he says:

The most useful class I took in school was typing.
No one asked to see my report cards at any job I ever had.

Don’t worry about knowing what you want to do 20 years from now.

All of us who thought we knew changed our minds

Don't worry about working with people older than you. It's no big deal

It's not bad advice but I was in a rage for three days after I read thisarticle because of the oily, contemptible, cowardly way in which Mark rushes to appease the barbarians.

Then I started to think: Hey, this is actually a fantastic article because it's so stupid that it undercuts its own lies. First the guy says, "I'm dumber than you" and then he says "So, why don't you take my advice?".

Then I realized something else. My friend, The Funny Banker, tells me that when you come right down to it, selling is lying. Mark is a salesman and, apparently, he knows that if you flatter people you can feed them any kind of baloney you want.

In the comment section underneath this article, the Gen Whiners lap this stuff up. "There's a sucker born every minute," said P.T. Barnum and Generation Y is proving him right.

Audio version

Reference: Back to the Future — A Recruiter’s Thoughts

Mark Liston has many more articles of the same calibre. His blog is here

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Liston on May 15, 2009 at 6:38pm

What a great conversation.

We just got back from a cruise and I couldn't get on line or even check e-mails. It was probably good.

Sandra, you described our world so well. Good calculation. I was a freshman in 1969 but worked at an outdoor theater when I got my drivers license and watch Woodstock every night.

So many of us, like me, had kids so very young and we were still growing up ourselves and didn't do a good job of getting them ready for life.

I ran my first office as a General Finance Manager before I was 21. Everyone generalized "young people" as irresponsible, not very credit worthy, etc. Being that generation I took exception to it. Jen, so much like you having to take the rap and people thinking that EVERYONE is the same - based on their generation. Not fair. Absolutely not fair.

My dad died of a heart attack when I was in 8th grade and my only sibling was 18 years older than me. Got married at 18 and never finished college. So I was a kid raising babies. Life was/is hard.

Some of my best friends has been laid off in the past 6 months. Others fear for their lives with their current positions. Jen you are absolutely on target. And that has been my point.

Boomers just need to remember their/our pasts. We owe Gen Y to give them advice based on our experiences. They, of course, don't need to heed it. But if we don't share it . . . shame on us.

Seems to me people like Sandra are priceless. They share. They care. They offer advice without it sounding like preaching.

See_Jane_Recruit said:

Tied to my current location. My boyfriend and I just signed a lease for 13 months. He has 9 years seniority in his union and loves what he does. Not to mention most of my family is in the area, including my aging Grandmother who I owe my life too.

Sandra McCartt said:
Jen,
Can you relocate or are you tied to your current location?