Professional Report

and competitive leaderboards. A tenant in your portfolio could easily be part of a loyalty program with a Sky-Miles-like suite of benefits. A visitor to a property data-base could be on-boarded effectively with “advance to the next level” promotions and contests. Charles “Chuck” Coonradt, who wrote some of the seminal books on the subject including Scorekeeping for Success and Game of Work, went a long way towards showing that “a well-constructed game framework simplifies our working lives so we can focus on getting great results.” Gaming increases engagement for everyone, but especially for the Millennials.

Rule #4: Data Driving

We have moved from microprocessors to sensors. Our world of logging into a computer was long ago replaced by today’s wearable technology, vast data sets, and powerful algorithms. We’re used to carrying multiple devices that check our heart rate, count calories, control thermostats and lighting and pay our bills. Today’s generation is tuned to know metrics in real time, and we’d be smart to jump on board. We need to embrace systems that provide data about our customer base and their behaviors. Millennials want us to know how they spend their workdays (great for an architect or property manager); what parts of the deal process produce the most conflict (info we could capture through quantitative research delivered through social media or even a text campaign); and even what just-in-time info would be of most value to brokers as they drive around scouting properties (info we could capture with the aid of GPS technology). This is the 21st century version of purchase histories, qualitative and quantitative survey data (like Yelp reviews) and browsing activity.

Rule #5: Embrace Diversity

Accept it -- your future colleagues won’t be anything like you. For one, they are less likely to be married: According to Pew Research, “just 26 percent of Millennials are married. When they were the age that Millennials are now, 36 percent of Gen Xers, 48 percent of Baby Boomers and 65 percent of the members of the Silent Generation were already married.” They also may not belong to a political party or a church. Half of Millennials now describe themselves as political independents and 29 percent are not affiliated with any religion. And, Millennials are the most racially diverse generation in American history. Almost half are non-white, the highest share of any generation, driven largely by Hispanic and Asian immigration. So, what are the implications of that? To accept this new, multicultural world as one of possibility rather than constraints. It may mean being able to connect with working professionals and potential clients in other communities and even countries. It may inspire you to join an ethnic business alliance or to explore a new market (one of my colleagues has been an early mover into Cuba). I like the idea, because it’s too easy now to categorize by religion or country of origin. As diversity grows, the fact we are all equally different – and not equally alike – will be the glue that bring us together.

The year 2025 is a mere 10 years away, so our industry needs to begin its conversion now if we want to be fully unpacked when the wave arrives. While the new way of doing business will organically appeal to the millennial generation, I think it will also resonate with older folks. Valuing competency, thought leadership, purpose, mission and equality are truly noble pursuits.

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