Olivia: A recent study found people are more likely to have a friend of a different race than one who is just ten years older or younger. Jackson: Whoa, hold on. That’s wild. So we’re more comfortable crossing racial lines than we are crossing a single decade? It makes a strange kind of sense, though. You see it in every office, right? The silent wars. The eye-rolling from the Boomers when a Gen Z-er talks about their TikTok side hustle, and the sighs from the younger staff when a manager insists on a printed memo. Olivia: Exactly. We build these invisible walls around age, especially at work. But what if the key to success isn't about just tolerating each other or separating the generations, but actually about remixing them? Jackson: Remixing them? That sounds like something a DJ does, not a CEO. What does that even mean in a workplace context? Is this just another corporate buzzword for "get along, please"? Olivia: It’s so much more than that, and it’s the core idea in a fantastic book we’re diving into today: The Generational Remix by Lindsey Pollak. And what’s fascinating is that Pollak is a Gen-Xer who has built her entire career as a "generational translator." She’s not just speaking from one side of the divide; she’s standing right in the middle of it, helping everyone understand each other. It’s no wonder the book was widely acclaimed by major business journals. Jackson: A generational translator. I like that. My office could definitely use one of those. But I have to be honest, a lot of these books end up feeling like they just rehash stereotypes. You know, Millennials want beanbags and Boomers want corner offices. Does this book actually offer something new? Olivia: It really does. It starts by tackling that cynicism head-on. There’s a quote in the book from a manager who’s been through so many corporate reorganizations that he says, "I’ve been re-orged so many times, at this point I could probably report to a dog." Jackson: Oh, I know that feeling. I think I’ve had that exact thought. It’s that feeling of exhaustion with constant, meaningless change. Olivia: Precisely. And Pollak argues that this is the default reaction to change in most workplaces: cynicism. But the "remix" is the antidote. It’s not about throwing out everything the older generations built, nor is it about blindly adopting every new trend from the younger ones. A remix, in music, takes an original song and adds to it, alters it, and creates something new that can sometimes become even more popular than the original. Jackson: Okay, I’m intrigued. So it’s not about choosing between the old way and the new way, but creating a third, better way by combining them. Olivia: You’ve got it. It’s about taking the best of both worlds to create a smarter, more inclusive workplace where everyone can succeed together. And the book is filled with these incredible stories of how it works in the real world.

Jackson: I’m still a little skeptical. It sounds great in theory, but what does a "remix" actually look like? Give me a concrete example. Olivia: I’ve got the perfect one. It’s the story of a veteran Baby Boomer manager at a huge, established bank. He’s been there for over 25 years, he has the big corner office—the ultimate symbol of seniority—but he feels completely stagnant. He’s losing touch with the younger employees, with new ideas, and he’s worried his decades of experience are becoming a liability. Jackson: That’s a fear a lot of people have, I think. That the world is moving on without them and they're becoming irrelevant. Olivia: Exactly. So he decides to do something radical. He gives up his corner office. Voluntarily. He embraces "hot-desking," which means he sits in a different spot every single day, often next to junior employees, people from totally different departments. Jackson: Wow. Giving up a corner office at a bank? That’s like a king giving up his throne. I can’t imagine the looks he got. Olivia: I’m sure. But the outcome was transformative. By sitting with different people, he started to understand the real challenges and opportunities the bank was facing. He built genuine relationships with his younger colleagues. He wasn't just the "old guy in the corner" anymore. He felt revitalized, re-engaged, and he actually became a champion for innovation within the bank. He remixed the symbol of the corner office—a status symbol of isolation—into an opportunity for connection. Jackson: That’s actually really powerful. He didn’t just change his location; he changed his entire perspective. But does it work the other way? Can a younger employee remix the system from the bottom up? Olivia: Absolutely. Pollak shares another great story about a 24-year-old Millennial at a cosmetics company. She felt totally overlooked, that her insights into what her peers wanted were being ignored by senior leadership. Jackson: A classic tale. The "you're-too-young-to-know-anything" attitude. Olivia: Right. So she signs up for a reverse mentoring program. She gets paired with a senior executive. And what does she do? She starts taking this exec on shopping trips. She physically walks him through stores and shows him, "This is what my friends and I look for. This is the retail experience we want." Jackson: That is brilliant. She’s not just telling, she’s showing. She’s making her perspective impossible to ignore. Olivia: And it worked. The executive started valuing her opinion, incorporating her ideas into the company’s strategy. Her career took off, and she became a respected voice. Both stories show the same principle: the remix isn't about one generation winning. It’s about blending perspectives to create a better outcome for everyone. It’s a direct challenge to the generational shaming we see everywhere. Jackson: It’s so easy to fall into that trap. Making jokes about Millennials killing industries or Boomers not knowing how to use PDFs. But these stories show that’s just lazy thinking. The real magic happens when you get curious instead of critical. Olivia: That’s the heart of it. And that curiosity has to extend to the very top. It’s not just about individual actions; it requires a fundamental shift in how people lead.

Jackson: Okay, that makes sense. If the people at the top are still operating with an old-school, top-down mindset, none of this "remixing" can actually happen. It just becomes a superficial suggestion. Olivia: You’ve hit on the next crucial layer of the remix. Leadership itself has to be remixed. Pollak argues that our expectations of leaders are shaped long before we enter the workforce—by our parents, our teachers, even our early work experiences. For Traditionalists and Boomers, who often grew up with more authoritarian parenting and had more military experience, a command-and-control leadership style felt normal. Jackson: Right, the "because I said so" model of management. You do what the boss tells you, you don't ask questions, you show respect for the hierarchy. Olivia: Exactly. But for Millennials and Gen Z, that model feels alien. They’ve had less exposure to rigid hierarchies, they’ve been raised with more collaborative parenting styles, and they’ve grown up with the internet, where information flows freely, not just from the top down. Jackson: So when a manager tries to use that old command-and-control playbook, it just doesn't compute. It feels disrespectful or just plain inefficient. Olivia: It can be disastrous. And the book has this incredible story that brings it to life. It’s about a major college football coach leading his team, all Millennials, to a championship game. The coaching staff was all Boomers and Gen Xers, and their default style was to yell, to punish, to "get after" the players. Jackson: The classic tough-love, drill sergeant approach. I can picture it perfectly. Olivia: But they noticed something alarming. It wasn't working. In fact, when they yelled at these Millennial players, their performance got worse. It was actively counterproductive. Jackson: Wow. So all that screaming and intensity was actually making them lose? Olivia: Yes. So the head coach made a radical change mid-season. He implemented a no-yelling rule. He assigned mentors to players. He shortened meetings to keep their attention. He completely remixed his leadership style from a commander to a coach. Jackson: I bet the old-school sports commentators had a field day with that. Accusing him of being "soft" or "coddling" the players. Olivia: They did! He got a ton of criticism. But his response was simple and brilliant. When asked why he was doing it, he just said, "It works. We’re winning." He didn't care about tradition; he cared about results. And the results showed that a coaching style—guiding, teaching, supporting—was far more effective for this generation. Jackson: So what does that "coaching" style actually look like in an office? Is it just about being nicer and not yelling at your team? Olivia: It’s more than just being nice. It’s about being a teacher. There’s another great quote in the book from legendary football coach Bill Walsh, who used to stop drills and tell his staff, "Stop screaming, and start teaching." A coach provides clear expectations. They give frequent, specific feedback—not just once a year in a dreaded performance review. And they believe in their team's potential to grow. It’s a shift from judging performance to developing potential. Jackson: That feels like a much more human way to lead. It’s about building people up, not breaking them down. But if you’re a leader trying to do this, you also have to change how you communicate, right? The whole system has to change. Olivia: Exactly. The leadership remix is impossible without a communication remix. They go hand-in-hand.

Jackson: Right, because if you’re trying to be a "coach" but all your communication is still one-way, formal, and opaque, it’s just not going to work. It’ll feel completely inauthentic. Olivia: You’ve nailed it. And this is where Pollak says the generational differences are often felt most acutely. I’m sure you’ve heard this from a manager before: "The team isn't getting the message! But we sent them an e-mail!" Jackson: Oh, constantly. It's the universal cry of the out-of-touch manager. As if a single email blast is supposed to magically align everyone in an organization that’s also communicating on Slack, Teams, text messages, and who knows what else. Olivia: It’s a perfect example of a broken system. The old top-down, need-to-know basis of communication is dead. In a world of social media and instant information, people expect transparency. They expect a two-way conversation. And this is where Pollak tells the story of Michael Bloomberg when he was the mayor of New York City. Jackson: I’m fascinated to see how this connects. Olivia: Well, Bloomberg came from the world of Wall Street trading floors, which are these chaotic, open, information-rich environments. When he became mayor, he wanted to bring that transparency to government. So he completely redesigned the workspace at City Hall. He tore down the walls and created a massive open-plan office, which he called "the bullpen." Jackson: An open-plan office for the mayor? That’s… a bold move. Olivia: Bolder than you think. He sat at a desk the exact same size as every other employee's. He held high-level meetings right out in the open, in plain view of his entire team. One employee said that at first, it was terrifying. But then they said, "when you see the mayor hosting high-level meetings in clear sight of everyone else, you start to understand that this open-communication model is not bullshit. And that it works." Jackson: That’s a physical manifestation of transparency. It sends a powerful message that nothing is hidden. But it also sounds a little like a nightmare for anyone who needs to concentrate. Do we all have to work in a giant fishbowl now? Olivia: That’s the perfect question, because the remix isn't about forcing one solution on everyone. Bloomberg's bullpen is a radical example, but the principle is what matters: visibility and accessibility. For most leaders, it’s not about tearing down walls, but about being more present and open. And it’s about remixing how you send messages. Pollak introduces a great acronym for this: COPE. Jackson: COPE? As in, how to cope with my overflowing inbox? Olivia: Close! It stands for "Create Once, Publish Everywhere." The idea is, instead of just sending that one email, you create the core message once, and then you adapt it for different channels to reach people where they are. Jackson: Okay, break that down for me. What does that look like for a regular team? Olivia: It means you might write the detailed project update in an email for the people who like that. But you also post the key highlights and a link in the team's Slack channel. You might record a quick two-minute video summary for the people who prefer to watch and listen. And for the really busy folks, you create a "TL;DR"—Too Long; Didn't Read—with just the top two or three bullet points. Jackson: Ah, so you’re becoming a "communication chameleon." You’re adapting your style to fit the audience, rather than forcing them to adapt to you. Olivia: Exactly. It’s about offering options. It respects that different people absorb information in different ways. It’s more work for the communicator, yes, but it ensures the message actually lands. It’s the ultimate communication remix: blending different formats to create a message that’s impossible to miss.

Jackson: This is all starting to connect in a really interesting way. It feels like the book is arguing that the friction we feel between generations isn't really a people problem. It’s a systems problem. Olivia: I think that’s a perfect way to put it. The conflict we see—the frustration, the misunderstandings—it’s often a symptom of outdated systems. Our traditional models of leadership, of communication, of what an office should even look like, were built for a different era and a more homogenous workforce. They’re simply not designed for the five-generation, technologically-diverse, flexible workplace of today. Jackson: So it’s not that Boomers and Gen Z are fundamentally incompatible. It’s that the container we’re forcing them into is cracked. The "remix" is about building a new container, together. Olivia: Exactly. And that’s the real power of this book. It moves the conversation away from complaining about generational differences and towards co-creating solutions. It reframes the entire issue from a negative—"how do we manage this conflict?"—to a positive—"what incredible new thing can we build by combining our strengths?" Jackson: It’s a much more hopeful and proactive way to look at it. It gives you a sense of agency. Olivia: It really does. And Pollak gives us a very simple, actionable starting point. She says one of the most important rules for a "remixer" is to assume the best intentions. When a conflict arises with someone from another generation, pause. Instead of assuming they’re being lazy, or disrespectful, or rigid, get curious. Jackson: So instead of rolling your eyes, you ask a question. Olivia: Yes. A simple, genuine question. "I noticed you prefer to communicate by phone. Can you tell me why that works best for you?" Or, "What would make this project feel more engaging for you?" That one shift—from judgment to curiosity—can unlock everything. It’s the first step in any good remix. Jackson: I love that. It’s a small change that can have a huge impact. We’d actually love to hear your own "remix" stories. What's one small way you’ve seen generations connect successfully at your workplace? Or one "remix" you’re going to try after hearing this? Share your thoughts with the Aibrary community. Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.