Millenials- the EPIC generation
My good friend Tim Elmore is one of the leading experts on understanding the Millenial Generation. He is the founder and President of Growing Leaders, a great organization focused primarily on helping college students and those who work with college students to become better leaders.
I recently had the chance to join Tim while he was training coaches part of the University of Oklahoma Athletic Department. Tough assignment for me……In the room were coaches from basketball, football, soccer, tennis, track, gymnastics, golf, and several other teams.
One of the things Tim discussed was the idea of the “next generation” of Millenials being an E.P.I.C. Generation. Thought this was interesting. Here is what he meant, and very useful in understanding the 20 somethings that are on your staff or your team.
1. Experiential- all about the 5 senses. Sensory engagement is critical and a reality in terms of what Millenials have grown up with.
2. Participatory- want an experience to be customized. Millenials have grown up in a participatory culture. Don’t just listen. Actually want to participate. This is very important in terms of creating a work environment/team culture that is attractive to 20 somethings.
3. Image-Rich- all about pictures, video, large screens, large TV’s, high res pics on your phone, etc. Pictures/video are an incredibly powerful learning medium for Millenials, vs. just text. Especially in terms of memory.
4. Connected- information is constant for Millenials. Text, facebook, twitter, phone, email. This can be both a positive and a negative. But still a reality.
I HIGHLY recommend you buy Tim’s new book Generation iY when it releases later this summer. It’s a must have resource if you want to understand the Millenial Generation, and how best to lead them.
EPIC is a great concept that Len Sweet has been using for about 10 years now. I think it is incredibly true. When I was planning a worship service for college students in Phoenix in the early 2000s, we used EPIC to help plan an experience that would connect with this generation. It was a great and memorable concept to teach others.
Brad…thanks for the post today on Tim and our trip to OU.
I also wanted to get back with Scott on his comment above. Tim is a huge fan of Dr. Sweet’s and we definitely credit him with coining the term EPIC. We were privileged to have Len speak at our National Leadership Forum a couple of years ago and he has continued to be a good friend and supporter of Growing Leaders. We admire his work and appreciate the positive impact he’s had on the work we do with students.
EPIC is a concept is a great concept that Dr. Joe Fadul has been using for more than twelve years.
1. Experiential- all about the 5 senses. Sensory engagement is critical and a reality in terms of what Millenials have grown up with.
2. Participative- want an experience to be customized. Millenials have grown up in a participative culture. They don’t just listen. Actually want to participate. This is very important in terms of creating a work environment/team culture that is attractive to them.
3. Image-Driven- all about pictures, video, large screens, large TV’s, high res pics on your phone, etc. Pictures/video are an incredibly powerful learning medium for Millenials, vs. just text.
4. Connected- social networking is constant for Millenials. Text, facebook, twitter, phone, email, podcast. But this can be both a positive and a negative.