Joho the Blog
An Entry from the Archives

So this German Shepherd dog walks into a telegram office, takes out a blank form and writes:

"Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof."

The clerk examines the paper and politely tells the dog:

"There are only nine words here. You could send another 'Woof' for the same price."

"But," the dog replied, "that would make no sense at all."

I'll try to explain why in generational terms, but I might be very wrong about all of this and just trying to force a hedgehog into a pastry bag because that's all I've got.

When the Great/Silent generation were in charge of corporations, they were heavily influenced by their military experience. And for many, the height of "good presentation" was Bob Hope. So they all wanted to have their Bob Hope moment and lead with a joke.

Now the Boomers/Xers are in charge of corporations. Boomers value sincerity and philosophical insight, so they are more likely to emulate Hallmark commercials to start a presentation. Remember it was with Clinton/W.Bush that we saw the institution of "Here's a story about Maude Petersen, a mother of 6 trying to keep her job and earn her associates degree..." as part of every State of the Union address. Both Clinton and W. are prototypical Boomers.

When Xers take over the reigns of corporate power, presentations will probably be dominated by attitude rather than sincerity and a search for truth. Think Dennis Miller or Lewis Black. They will want presentations to be entertaining, sarcastic and convey a sense that even they don't really take this stuff seriously. Here we are now, entertain us.

I won't go into how I think the Millennial generation will do presentations, but I can avow that Powerpoint will be part of the equation.

Of course, I could be wrong.

As a representative of that unacknowledged space between the Great Generation and you Boomers, I find Bob's theory rather disconcerting.

But it makes a lot of sense. I'm a fan of Lewis Black, but have a limited tolerance for a lot the edgy sarcasm in current humor. However, I have even less tolerance for the overblown and probably faked sincerity and sensitivity those State of the Union guests are supposed to convey. Some awareness of the danger of taking ourselves too seriously is healthy.