I have always put time into ‘Sharpening the Saw,’ as Steven Covey would say. Marketing products gets down to psychology and I have always been fascinated with all the variant forms of ‘How-to’ influence/affect the human condition towards a set outcome.
Also interesting in these post-recessionary times rife with ever evolving economic change, that chaos has become a fact of life in the modern business environment.
I have always surfed an ever-changing tide of music production and performance gigs also while maintaining technology marketing positions. Then one day, after over a decade in a marketing position with a multinational music product company, I found myself back in the roller coaster reality of running my own marketing consultancy as a full time endeavor.
When I happened across Robert Safian’s Fast Company article “Generation Flux Meet The Pioneers of a NEW Chaotic Frontier,” it had a particular resonance. According Safian, in the Generation Flux times that we now live, “new companies–even industries–rise and fall faster than ever: Witness Apple, Facebook, and Amazon; witness Research in Motion, Blockbuster, and MySpace; witness the iPad and, yes, cloud computing. Accepted models for success are proving vulnerable, and pressure is building on giants like GE and Nokia, as their historic advantages of scale and efficiency run up against the benefits of agility and quick course corrections. Meanwhile, the bonds between employer and employee, and between brands and their customers, are more tenuous than ever.”
And the part of Safian’s thesis that I agree with most in fact live , is business life today can shift radically every three months or so…
Generation Flux describes the people who thrive in this environment. It is a psychographic, not a demographic–you can be any age and be GenFlux. Their characteristics are clear: an embrace of adaptability and flexibility; an openness to learning from anywhere; decisiveness tempered by the knowledge that business life today can shift radically every three months or so. What’s interesting is how the psychographic is described as the first generation that is not about age but mindset. I have worked in the music industry for decades and often with people much younger. It has never been an age thing as so much as what somebody brings to the table and respect for creative contribution.
For me, living Gen Flux, north of 40 as a music/marketing/technology and production consultant, has equated to a range of projects. I have provided marketing/PR strategy, business development and marcom services to a cohort of music technology companies and iOS developers; a technical software how-to-book publisher, primary education instruction organization, and a life sciences company, as well as mixing/mastering artist releases and composing/producing music for TV.
Certainly, the range of services I have provided has been all about adaptability and resourcefulness. My reality is the byproduct of circumstance and the only prescription for many of different Generational cohorts. Viva la Gen Flux psychographic!
It’s not quite the Wild West but for many, irregardless of demographic, professional lives today are becoming ever more nomadic, digital, flexible and spirited.
About Generation Flux: Generation Flux Meet The Pioneers of a NEW Chaotic Frontier and The Secrets of Generation Flux.
Not Generation Flux specific, suggested reading: 
EVIL PLANS: Having fun on the Way to World Domination by Hugh MacLeod.
Here are two great books published by 99U who is on a mission to provide the “missing curriculum” that every creative person and team needs to make ideas happen. 99U is part of Behance, a team devoted to empowering and connecting the creative world.
Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build an Incredible Career 
Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind
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4 thoughts on “Flux Capacitance”
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Great post and great site in general! You clearly have a great deal of experience, and your insights are quite valuable.
To your post: Safian is dead on. At first mention of “General Flux” – in fact, any newly-termed “generation” – I instinctively feel it doesn’t apply to me; I see these as twee new marketing terms for the ever-increasing types of generations behind me, not ahead of me. At first it felt he was describing the new teens and 20-somethings.
But I was heartened to later read that this might be the first generation to be term-limit free! It’s all inclusive, anyone can “join.” Finally, it appears, I have my OWN “generation!” I’m not a Boomer, Slacker, X, Y or Zer, I’m “Generation Flux!” Although…
I’m not sure I quite qualify in terms of my ability to adopt and adapt, to quickly embrace or transition. I fear I am a Luddite, in many aspects of life. I’m an old dog in a middle-age shell. I’d LOVE to be more agile in all aspects of life, but traditionally I haven’t been (though some might beg to differ, having had to rebound from 5 layoffs, often ending up in a completely different market than the last).
But I really identify with the idea of Generation Flux, given that flux has really been the only constant in my career.
To wit: Recently I had an opportunity to land a position in another state, and the notion of Flux even tied in there: over the course of our conversations (and 2 inteviews), the position itself changed several times, even going from full time to part time!
So thanks for bringing Safian’s theory to my attention. It’s making my mid-life job search — and career reflection —
easier to digest. I’ll definitely be checking out more of his work.
And I’ll be following your site too. I look forward to future posts.
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