Kids! I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today! Kids! Who can understand anything they say? … Why can’t they be like we were, Perfect in every way? What’s the matter with kids today?

Those are the lyrics from the song “Kids,” from the Broadway play “Bye Bye Birdie.” Though you might think they were written about today’s generation of young people, the song was written in 1959. In 1959 there were no computers, cellphones, Internet, video games, cable TV or iPods.

Most companies have multi-generational salespeople and multi-generational customers. The more experienced salespeople and sales managers are always criticizing or blaming youths for what they are not, what they don’t bring to the table, what’s wrong with them and why they’re not more like “us.” It’s referred to as a “generation gap.”

FACT: Generation gaps are timeless. They have applied to EVERY generation of kids and adults for the past 200 years.

These days, people over 40 have tried to segment kids by category. Gen-this or gen-that. How about “gen-smart” or “they’re a generation smarter than we are”? How about “gen-Facebook”? Many older people, like fools, are trying to block it or control it. Good luck! The government of Egypt tried to do the same thing, and the kids won. Same with Twitter.

Instead of telling me what’s wrong with kids, embrace the now generation by understanding what they embrace:

• They embrace new.

• They embrace now.

• They embrace next (change is great – it means cooler, better, faster).

• They embrace technology.

• They embrace the Internet.

• They embrace speed.

• They embrace texting.

• They embrace (and value) free time.

And if your computer’s broke, who is gonna fix it? KIDS!

There are other realities of youths. They dress differently (more relaxed), they speak differently (less or zero political correctness), and they communicate differently (my granddaughter Morgan told me she would rather text than talk).

So the real challenge is to understand one another.

The younger generations, whatever their challenges or faults may be, are clearly technologically superior. They’re also willing to eagerly accept what’s next rather than fear change. (They line up outside the Apple Store for hours to get the newest product.) And they’re leaning away from professional toward friendly.

Is it right? Is it wrong? Neither; it’s different. But different is not bad. Different may in fact be better, and in this case, I believe it is.

I believe that new, now, next, technology, Internet, online, speed, texting, games, video and free time are all good things – and at some point may actually lead to greater productivity and greater profits in any job function and in any company.

You cannot dictate freedom to use or not use social media; it’s too late for that. You can shut it off at work, but everyone is still getting notified on his or her smartphone, and that might be good or bad for you, depending on your actions.

The business world, the work world and especially the sales world are upside-down. Opportunities abound. If you want to win, befriend youths. And youths, if you want to win, befriend experience.

Together, take advantage of every opportunity in this slowly rebounding economy. Don’t fight each other; embrace each other for who you are and what your talents are, and you will win.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by email at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2011 Jeffrey H. Gitomer