Hardwood Floors April/May 2017

BUSINESS BEST PRACTICES FINANCE

Talking Across the Generations about Finances

Generational conflict at home and work is not a new concept. Did any of you Baby Boomers attend Woodstock despite the pleadings otherwise from your Traditionalist parents? How many Baby Boomers are now struggling with Millennials at work because they question everything, even during their first day on the job? Conflicts among the generations may not be new, but what is different is that with all the rapid changes, the generation date ranges are getting shorter, causing there to be a greater number of generations working together than ever before. Generation X (born 1965- 1980) was bashed by Traditionalists (born before 1945) and Baby Boomers (born 1945-1964) for many years before the Millennials (those born approximately 1981-2001) came along for all three of the previous generations to join in the battle against. Now parents and teachers also are engaging with the generation of those born after 2001, and those children are quickly approaching working age. With all of this in mind, it is no wonder that generational differences are such a hot topic right now. Learning to understand others is an important skill to develop to help work through these generational differences, especially as it relates to money both at home and in your business. How many of you have the following questions or concerns? • Do you struggle to get through to your children about the value of owning their own business or starting a solid career? • Do you have aging parents and find it difficult to discuss finances with them? • Do your children shut down when you try to talk to them about important topics like money? You can start the process of feeling more in control of these matters by being armed with a little knowledge, some actionable steps, and a lot of patience.

Knowledge as Armor

You don’t need to spend hours a day reading to be knowledgeable enough to talk with your family members or co-workers about money. Whether you agree with them or not, a great place to start is to work on seeing things from their perspective. The book “Sticking Points,” by Haydn Shaw, is a potential resource for gaining this sense of perspective. The author spends much of the first part of the book going into the “ghost stories” of each generation. Reading through these stories makes it easier to have empathy for the different ways generations handle life situations. A key takeaway from this book and other similar resources is that you can’t change the perspective of other people, but you can learn to appreciate them and combine strengths to work together more productively. There are many resources out there on technical knowledge related to money. You will want to go into any conversation with a minimal level of knowledge. A financial adviser would be a great resource to consult with before approaching your family member or co-worker. They typically have years of experience working with multigenerational families and their finances. Investing a little time will go a long way in helping you accomplish your goals related to money, your business, and the success of your children or employees.

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