So talk to me about that, the difference between how, let's say, an older person leader may perceive mental health and how the younger generation is perceiving it.

Yeah, it is two different viewpoints.

In fact, in the book, there's nine areas that I discovered that leaders are not on the same page with the Gen Zers.

And I try to cover those nine areas.

This is one of them.

So the first and foremost thing I would say is make sure and acknowledge we realize this is an issue.

Don't say, you lazy, you know...

What would you ask Robert, and why? I think...

So I want to talk about insecurities and I want to know, going back to those days, what were some of your biggest insecurities or growing pains that you had when you were a young professional that people looking at your career today would never guess?

Yeah.

Wow.

That's a great question.

I would say I entered my career, like many do, as a people pleaser.

I wanted everybody to like me.

What leader doesn't want to be liked by the people? But that's a little bit like a politician.

Okay, I want to, this is a little bit of a repeat question, but I wanna be specific about parts of it, okay? So tell me, Tim, why do you think some of the leaders feel threatened by the expectations younger employees have today? And by expectations, I mean, for example, payment expectations, raises, parental involvement in their work, viewing their work as an extension of their hobbies, those types of things.

... to you about this topic?

Yeah.

Well, the backstory is, uh, hopefully interesting to your listeners.

I've been studying the emerging generation since I was the emerging generation.

So for 45 years, I've been looking at boomers as they were the new kids on the block.

And by the way, the older generation thought the boomers were gonna go to hell in a handbasket.

Uh, in fact, the term generation gap was coined in the 1960s when the baby boomers were starting to enter the workplace.

What's the, what are the one or two things you really hope people get out of this, and who are you aiming to help most?

seeing do that well?

Yes.

Well, yes, there are.

In fact, believe it or not, it's not a ministry, but John Deere, you know, that makes the tractors and all the farm equipment, they do this brilliantly.

So when you walk into the building, whatever that building is, but for them it's an office building, they have up on the wall, welcome, you know, Josiah or, you know, Janet or whatever.

So glad to have you here.

They get to their cubicle, and there is a gift waiting for them on the keyboard, the keypad.

Yeah,

[laughs]

Many, many, many Gen Z-ers want their career to be microwaved.

You know, "I wanna be VP when I'm 25, own the company when I'm 35." I'm, I'm being facetious here, but they do wanna accelerate it, and we wanna go, "No.

A great career is in a crockpot." So think about a microwave and a crockpot just for a minute.

If I put a hot dog in a microwave and it's done in minute and a half, another minute and a half, I don't even wanna eat that rubber thing, [laughs] you know-

Yeah.

But you put good food in a slow cooker, it gets better and better and better with time.

I think good careers are in a crockpot, not a micro- Good marriages, crockpot, not microwave.

[laughs]

Many, many, many Gen Z-ers want their career to be microwaved.

You know, "I wanna be VP when I'm 25, own the company when I'm 35." I'm, I'm being facetious here, but they do wanna accelerate it, and we wanna go, "No, a great career is in a crockpot." So think about a microwave and a crockpot just for a minute.

If I put a hot dog in a microwave, and it's done in a minute and a half, another minute and a half, I don't even wanna eat that rubber thing, [laughs] you know-

Yeah.

But you put good food in a slow cooker, it gets better and better and better with time.

I think good careers are in a crockpot, not a microwave.

Good marriages, crockpot, not microwave.

Yeah

... that's a, that's a killer.

So let me tell a quick story.

When our kids were growing up, we were talking about emotional intelligence when they were late elementary school, already at 10 years old, and our kids thought they had mastered this EQ issue, and then we thought, "Oh my gosh, this is ridiculous." So we started building exercises into our family routines.

Our first one, Jenny, was my wife and I decided to throw a party for our adult friends.

We had our kids host the party at 8 and 12.

So at first the kids thought, "Oh my gosh, this is ridiculous.

Were you gonna say something about that?