Wayne Gretzky and the Young Generation
Wayne Gretzky attributed his success, in part, to his ability to “…skate to where the puck is going, not where it’s been”. This was among the skills that made him a great hockey player. This same skill can help companies and individuals be more successful in business. Yet it’s not what comes natural to us. Have you seen young children play hockey, soccer, or similar sports? A child’s first instinct is to go where the puck or the ball is, resulting in a highly ineffective throng of players. In business, it can also be hard to go where others are not. It requires instinct, thorough analysis and understanding of a market; and, most importantly, confidence to stay the course.
With all the chatter about Gen Z and Millennial workers being “different” (often translated as “lazy”) we’ve recently experienced the opposite in searching for a junior member to join our San Francisco-based team. Firstly, joining the commercial real estate business to focus on office leasing is not the most obvious career choice these days. It’s no layup. No get rich quick scheme. Also, the startup phase of our business, in the best of markets, is challenging. We describe it as a 3-year journey during which (assuming a good team, excellent training and mentorship, resources, etc.) one can learn the business and begin to build a career. This journey will be many things, but lucrative is not typically one of them.
We think of Gretzky’s famous words because the young people we’ve met have metaphorically skated where the puck is going to be. Yes, where and when we work is changing. Yes, the office markets will transform and there will be significant losses. But we believe the office product will continue to matter. Somehow, despite a decidedly different generational narrative, these young people also share this view. They realize it’s going to be tough to build their career, but they’ve concluded it’s better to do so now because they’ll be able to learn more in a hyper-competitive environment. They want to use the downturn to learn so they can be more effective when the market comes back, figuring they won’t be making much money during the early days anyway.
We’re inspired by these young people, by their confidence and willingness to embrace risk. They’re smart and ambitious. Most importantly, they’ve given a lot of thought to who they are as individuals, to how they “fit” in this industry. Indeed, they’re making the decision to join this industry with far more intention and clarity than I had when I joined some 30 years ago. We seem to have an enduring need to label generations. But it’s quite possible we’re getting it wrong, choosing our labels poorly. If our recent experience is any indicator, there’s some amazingly talented young professionals out there ready to play like Gretzky.