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Age Matters: Bridging The Generation Gap

 
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Today’s show was inspired by an episode of the television show Monk, called Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy.  In case you’re not familiar, Monk is the “defective detective”. He has an amazing gift to see details that don’t fit, but those same traits lead to his idiosyncrasies.

During this episode, Monk and his team are at the murder scene of a young woman when they get called to another case – the gruesome murder of a young man. It’s believed that the two murders are unrelated.

However, there’s a serial killer on the loose who will kill again in 36 hours, according to the note he left on the young man’s body. The mayor immediately calls on the FBI. They send in a very high-tech unit staffed with young techno-savvy agents.

A tug-of-war ensues between Monk’s team and the young agents. They think Monk’s methods are outdated. Monk thinks they are missing something.  In the end, he puts the pieces together and realizes that the two murders are related.

So here are 5 lessons we can learn from Monk and the young agents.

#1 – Just because “we’ve always done it this way” doesn’t make it right.
For example, there’s a lead on the case. The young agents, using their technology, find the fastest way there. Monk and his team dismiss it because of all the red lights. The young agents, using their technology again, turn all the red lights green.

Lesson: Don’t resist change. If there’s a better way, don’t be stubborn – adopt it.

#2 – Just because it’s new doesn’t make it better.
The young agents could profile suspects with their technology. Unfortunately, that led them to a totally innocent person. Meanwhile, Monk solves the case with old-fashioned methods – getting inside the mind of the killer.

Lesson: Focus on getting the right result. Then find the most efficient way there, whether that’s old or new.

#3 – Speed is good but only if you already have direction.
See the bigg picture before you dive into the details. Then you’re ready to move fast!

#4 – Don’t view each other as competition.
The two sides felt that they had something to prove – that there way was better. Had they worked together, they could have solved the case faster. Appreciate the differences – your respective strengths and weaknesses. Focus on how you complement each other because there are lessons to be learned on both sides.

#5 – Age doesn’t matter when learning new ways, even if they’re old ways.
Some wisdom is timeless. There may be leading-edge ways to use that timeless wisdom. But remember this, they’re both valuable!

Speaking of technology, can you imagine trying to explain to Monk how to subscribe to our RSS feed?

It’s an easy way to quickly browse our daily show topics. Click on the link at the bottom of today’s blog to subscribe. There you go – technology made simple!

Our bigg quote comes from J.B. Priestly, who said:

“There was no respect for youth when I was young, and now that I am old, there is no respect for age – I missed it coming and going.”

You may be a young gun or you may be an old fart. Just don’t let the age difference keep you apart.

Or you can bridge the generation gap … and be young at fart!

Next time, we’ll discuss the seven step system to solve any problem. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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(Image by Jeff Kubina, CC 2.0)