My oldest daughter starts an internship at Deloitte this year. She’s capable and motivated. She’s also walking into a professional environment that is wildly different from what it was even a few short years ago.
I started my career more than a few short years ago. Back then, success had a simple formula: be the first one in, be the last one out, and always ask for more work. Effort was measured in hours. Visibility was measured in face time. That commitment still matters — I’m not going to tell my daughters that hard work doesn’t matter. But I am going to tell them that hard work alone won’t cut it anymore.
They need to work differently — and so does everyone else.
What working differently actually looks like
From my experience as both a CEO and a father, I’m genuinely impressed by Gen Z’s fluency in digital communication. They text. They message. They send voice notes. That’s very useful when communicating with each other. But it has its limits, even in this hyper-digital moment. Building trusted relationships is more important than ever.
