By Michael Neufeld

Let me first begin by explaining the title.  It is merely an attention grabber.  I have no hard feelings towards your grandma....

Urbandictionary.com defines "cramping my style" like this: "When somebody is just in the way of your stylistic expression of freshness; the individual is putting a damper on the mood." 

We have all felt that our voices, opinions and needs have not been heard or met at some point in our lives. I am certain all of us have had someone rain on our parade, try to squash our ideas or simply just not understand our point of view. And I am willing to bet that in some of those instances, it was a matter of generational differences. 

For the most part, generations are similar, but one thing is certain; times have changed.  From generation to generation, things have changed dramatically: the way we dress, the music we listen to and even the way we treat people. Generational differences are part of our everyday life. These differences are a part of how our community grows.

I have listened and spoken to many of our community's leaders who are part of Generation X (1961-1981). They feel frustrated by those in the community that do not like or want change, regardless of how necessary it is. I have also spoken to community leaders who feel discouraged because their level of energy does not match with their superiors or the general public that they serve. Most vividly, I recall listening as one of our county leaders spoke of the older generation of citizens in our county that oppose change at every opportunity they can, even describing them as highly organized and well prepared. Lets be honest, our community is largely made up by an older generation. Change is not always accepted. However, change is happening whether we want it or not. Our community is growing, and for change to happen, we need an energy level that fits the rate of growth. I know our community leaders see this, and that is why they are looking to the younger generation for thoughts, ideas and leadership.

There are many people in this county that see change as a bad thing, but we must remember that healthy growth results from proper stewardship of our assets. Healthy growth must be well managed. To properly manage the growth that will inevitably take place, we must mentor and train the next generation of leaders in this community. While this may not be a primary focus for the Charlotte County Young Professionals, it is certainly a byproduct. Business is not as usual for the next generation. We're politically disconnected, underutilized at work and discredited in the media. For young professionals, it's time to change the dialogue, sharpen our ideas and engage ourselves in our community.

Like all generations, Generation X had defining moments that shaped them and permanently changed how they see the world. To understand them, it is important to understand their perspective. In her book Live First, Work Second, Rebecca Ryan describes Gen X'ers as skeptical, savvy, self-reliant and swift. There is a common misperception that generations follow the behavioral and attitudinal path of the previous generation. In other words, whatever you're like is what your kids will be like. If this were the case, baby boomers would never have protested the Vietnam War or even have questioned authority. Likewise, Gen X'ers wouldn't have job-hopped and Millennials (1982-2002) would not be such great team players. 

Young professional organizations aren't your father's Rotary and Kiwanis clubs. Young professional organizations are digital. They're real-time. They're agile. Young professionals, like all people, want to make their communities better places to live, play and work. What's different is that young professional organization's use tools, technology and their networks in different ways. Sometimes, young professional organizations take on issues that other generations don't see - or don't understand. Young professionals embrace change and provide the vision and energy that is needed for positive change to happen.

What young professionals in large cities want for their community is not much different from what they want in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. Past wisdom says that tax incentives and landmark developments are needed first to attract the companies that will provide the jobs that will attract the workers. Perhaps it's time to rethink that logic. The new logic being that talented, young workers will develop companies that will provide the jobs. Rather than focusing on attracting new businesses and buildings, perhaps our community leaders should be pursuing a better quality of life. New plans should include sidewalk cafes, local music and an energized entertainment area. Consideration to arts, culture and downtown living should be replacing old ideas about building new department stores and riverfront towers. A community that has sidewalks full of people after work, local music all the time and people attending arts events on a regular basis would be a dream to the younger generation.

Generational blind spots certainly don't make the task of taking in the thoughts and feedback from our citizens any easier for our community leaders. This is why I'm excited about the opportunity to educate county leaders about the benefits and impact our young professionals organization has in our community. We're bridging the generational gap, so to speak. The Charlotte County Young Professionals will be hosting a town hall meeting in the very near future to promote open dialog with our community leaders and the younger generation of citizens in our community.

For more information, call Michael Neufeld, President of the Charlotte County Young Professionals at Michael@ccyp.info, or explore CCYP's website at http://www.ccyp.info/.