In your book, you profile the current generation of entrepreneurs, like Tony Hseih of Zappo’s. What differentiates them from the old school?
What we’re seeing is the convergence of nonprofit and for-profit, social entrepreneurship. We’re seeing these almost hybrid companies — profit with purpose. They’re selling consumer goods or services, but there’s a “give” built into their business which attracts customer loyalty.
Why is philanthropy so important to this generation?
One big reason is this is the first interconnected generation, so we’re well aware of what’s going on the world. If there’s a disaster in Haiti, we know almost instantly. We’re part of this borderless world.
The other big thing is, a lot of us were raised by baby- boomer parents who were socially conscious. It’s easier for us to be philanthropic and to wear our causes on our sleeves, so to speak.
What can the average Joe in a cubicle learn from your book?
Everybody I interviewed acted in one way or the other as a positive disruptive force, within their industry or within their own lives. Within your own life, it’s asking yourself “Why am I doing what I’m doing? Why did I choose this career or this project or these people to work with?” It’s about surrounding ourselves with the types of people and projects that we want to be associated with.
Something else we address is the concept of failure. Most of these folks failed repeatedly. But they view failure as a hurdle, a hiccup they can learn from.
As a 29-year-old, what do you think is the biggest misconception about millennials?
I think it’s going to be less about getting a job. I think we’re going to see a surge in people starting their own companies. I also think there’s going to be a migration toward working for smaller to mid-size companies as opposed to going to straight to the biggest firm on Wall Street.
That this is a generation with a sense of entitlement. At least with my peer group, I think it’s the exact opposite. This is a generation that is very in tune with the world. Very motivated. They want to do well while doing good.
We were taught growing up that we could do anything if we work hard. So we have a lot of wide-eyed, we-can-solve-the-world’s-problems types of attitudes. There’s some skepticism about that. But the important thing to remember is these bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young people are affecting global change and doing things no one thought possible.