Seth Mattison

Interview with Seth Mattison

What is the message you hope people take away from your presentations?

It’s time to get past the superficial stereotypes. It’s time to get past the labeling. It’s time to move to a place of acceptance and recognition that in order to compete in the new world of work you have to be able to harness the power and potential of ever generation.

To be brave enough to bring every generations’ voice to the table. To create a culture of authentic and transparency. It can’t be about who’s right and who’s wrong, who’s better and who’s worse. It’s about celebrating our differences and leveraging them to create a powerful competitive advantage.

How are your keynotes unique?

Our keynotes are a fast paced, action packed experience from the moment we hit the stage. They’re customized, relevant, hard hitting, and impactful. You think you’ve heard the generations topic but I can promise you’ve never heard it told in such an insightful and relevant format.

We bring 15 years of experience to the stage. 15 years of interviews, research, and audience interactions that helps us get to the stories behind the statistics. Focusing on the real world challenges that ever person deals with in the new world of work. We’ll validate your suspicions, debunk the myths and leave you with actionable take home tips you can implement right away. Well also have a whole lot of fun.

Can you elaborate on one of the big differences which managers should be aware of when managing multiple generations?

For the first time in our modern day workplace the younger generation that is showing up has a stronger understanding, a stronger grasp on the most powerful and disruptive tools we using to run business; technology and social media. Technology and social media are changing the way we do business. They’re changing the way we interact and communicate with each other internally. They’re changing the way we interact with our customers and the younger generation innately understands how these tools work. It’s second natural to them.

Now at the same time…we as the younger generation have never been more lacking in real world work experience. We’re showing up with less work experience then any generation before us. Where other generations had jobs as paperboys or grocery clerks, laborers and waitresses, we took AP classes and violin lessons in the summer. Great experiences but not the kind of work experience that teaches young people what it’s like to show up early and stay late and do the work.

As a result we’re lacking a basic understanding of some of the important interpersonal skills that are needed on the job. Things like communication, conflict resolution, leadership, and general business skills, all of which the more seasoned generations have in spades. These generations have decades of wisdom and knowledge, and experience that only comes from having a few grey hairs.

The challenge leaders face today is to find a way to harness both and get both sides of the equation to share their talents with one another because neither side can do it alone. We as the younger generation can’t do it without the help of our more seasoned folks and I strongly believe that organizations will struggle to remain relevant and on the cutting edge without tapping into the power of the younger generation as well.

If leaders can learn to communicate and connect across these generational divides and get their people to share your talents, they will create an unmatched competitive advantage in your marketplace….I truly believe that’s where the power lies.

Can you give 3 tips for companies who wish to attract young talent?

• Provide specific examples of the performance you expect: Be extremely clear with expectations with Millennials. Even things that you think are common sense, spell it out for this generation. Don’t make the assumption that they know. They don’t.
• Connect the dots for Millennials – Communicate how the work they’re doing makes an IMPACT on the organization and your customers.  Connect them to the meaning. Work has to be more than just a pay check.
• Remember to have fun! Most important – remember to celebrate. Especially their birthdays. Trust me it’s a national holiday in their homes!

What is the best experience you have had as a keynote speaker?

Having someone come up to me in an airport who saw me speak months early and say how we changed their entire perspective of their workforce. How they changed their mind about firing a few people and had instead choose to implement a few of the tips we had talked about during the program. As a result their workforce was more engaged than ever before. People didn’t get let go that otherwise might have.  Wow! You just never know whose life might be changed by the messages you bring. It was an incredibly humbling experience.