How It All Began
On the morning of Monday, January 14, 1997, 22 bright twenty-somethings began their follow-up management program after a year of work. Aart was their guest lecturer and was shocked by what he saw. The fresh perspectives were gone, and their energy was much lower than a year before. “What happened to you?” he asked. They looked at him in surprise. He pointed out what he observed, which shocked them again. “Why don’t you gossip a bit about your practical experiences?” Aart suggested. “I’ll just listen.” The recurring theme: their intentions to innovate were stuck in the entrenched habits of older generations. Aart thought to himself, “I don’t know yet how, but I’m going to do something with this.” Their practical analyses were razor-sharp, and for Aart, it was the start of a long journey exploring “the innovation potential of successive generations in organizations.”
He first explored this actively by having these young professionals tackle meetings and decision-making processes in ways that energized them. This generated innovations that also boosted energy for older generations and brought a fresh wind to their organization.
During his doctoral research between 2000 and 2007, Aart discovered that while philosophers, historians, and sociologists had ideas about the function of generations in societies, no comprehensive theory or research existed. He collected all fragments, added his own discoveries, and built a generational theory. The core idea: successive generations bring “updates” into organizations for outdated habits. Our habits have a shelf life; beyond that, repetition becomes destructive for people and their work communities. Outdated habits drain energy and dull organizations, gradually reducing their survival chances. In other words, organizations need the updates of successive generations to stay current, survive, and remain attractive employers for all generations—from youngest to oldest—a topic increasingly relevant in today’s tight labor market.
Aart developed a unique research method. With small groups representing all generations within an organization, he maps out outdated habits and the updates each generation brings—literally. Everything is recorded on video. The summaries provide a clear picture of the update processes and actions that can better support them, including the outdated habits that everyone wants to leave behind. This is not always easy, as older generations often act on autopilot, making some habits hard to change. The advantage of this method is that everyone can observe and collaboratively form insights and actions.
A key discovery by Aart: a generation’s updates result from changes in upbringing. To visualize these updates, for example of Gen Z (2000–2014), he organizes research sessions with their parents to explore differences in parenting compared to their own upbringing. He also conducts organizational research sessions with small groups of Gen Zers to see what generates the most learning or work energy. This provides a clear picture of their updates.
Continuously, he studies hundreds of organizations to understand how update processes from successive generations can be better supported for the benefit of all generations and the organization as a whole.
He has recently begun researching the youngest generation—sometimes called Generation Alpha (2015–2029)—the students of tomorrow who will enter the workforce in about ten years.
