Kenneth W. Gronbach

“The United States is about to experience a monumental cultural shift, and Gen Y Millennials are the catalyst,” says Kenneth W. Gronbach, expert in the field of demography and generational marketing. Read his encouragement to Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2020 as he highlights significant demographic trends and life realities to help them determine their strategy for embarking on this next wave of opportunity.

So, you are approaching forty, big deal. Most of you could easily live into your nineties, so you are not even halfway through this life. My advice to you? Make the most of it. How? Get a handle on what is next and prepare. Demographics is a wonderful common-sense forecasting tool that precipitates accurate revelations. Really. So, let’s have a look into the demographic crystal ball as it relates to you. For the sake of this writing, I am going to consider you all part of the 88 million Generation Y Millennials born 1985 to 2004. Gen Y is the largest generation ever born in the United States. A few of you are actually Generation X born 1965 to 1984, but hey, close enough.

 The United States is about to experience a monumental cultural shift, and Gen Y Millennials are the catalyst. Yeah, you. I have been warning my audiences and readers to stop living in a white bubble and to lose the bigotry. It is 2020. By 2045, white non-Latinos will be a minority in the U.S. How do we know? Simple, the young people who will shape the United States fifty years from now are already born. And they are very diverse. Much more diverse than the white non-Latino adults that dominate our demography today.

So why are you millennials the catalyst? You don’t see race, religion, or color. You see people. It’s how you were raised and taught in school. In addition, you take the anti-bullying issue very seriously. You marry outside your race, religion, and color routinely. As a result, the skin tone of the average American will be slightly darker 25 years from now and red heads will be almost extinct. (If you have redheads in your family, hang on to them because they could be worth serious money.) Black Lives Matter is an idea whose time has finally come. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the diversity of the BLM protesters and demonstrators. What do you see? They are complimented by young whites, Latinos, and Asians in significant proportions. Eighty-eight million diverse Millennials will lead America to the place we were meant to be: One Nation Under God.

Most of you 40 Under 40 are entrepreneurs: risk takers who enjoy a challenge. So, let me offer up a significant human resources challenge that you must address as you embark on your tenure as leaders. In Dr. Nicholas Eberstadt’s recent book, Men Without Work, he reveals that the United States currently has 20 million men between the ages of 25 to 55 who do not work because they are felons and cannot be bonded/insured. They are the product of the war on drugs in a nation that incarcerates more people than any other nation on earth. Did we solve the drug problem? No, we created a new one.

One-third of our labor force between 25 to 55 is idle. Let’s look at the numbers. There are about 60 million men in the United States between 25 to 55 years old. One third of them cannot work. Of the 20 million felons who cannot work, 5 million are white, 5 million are Latino, and 10 million are African American. How many African American men are there in the U.S. between 25 to 55 years old? About 10 million. No, that is not a misprint. We have crippled the African American culture by locking up their males. We have dealt with symptoms of racism rather than addressing the causes. I pray that the Black Lives Matter movement will be the beginning of the end of this gross injustice. So, what is the big challenge? We need, as a nation, to put felons back to work. You need to figure out how to hire them, to train them, to restore their dignity, and to return them to their role as contributing members of society. You can do it. You have to do it.

When the pandemic exits the United States, it will be a different place. Just look back at the changes that took place after 9/11 and 2008. Let me just give you a list of some of the sea changes we can expect in the next ten years:

1. Manufacturing will return to the United States because China decimated its labor force with 37 years of the One-Child Policy. China will also fall out of favor with the world in general because of its role with COVID-19.
2. High net worth Westerners from the European Union will immigrate to the Americas in force because of cultural issues with their principal immigrants: Muslims.
3. Eighty million Baby Boomers, now 57 to 76 years old, will exit the labor force of the U.S. by the millions creating a talent vacuum that will suck in skilled, cyber, multi-tasking Millennials by the millions. This will cause the United States to flourish.
4. The E.U., Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan, and South Korea will diminish in power and influence because of their extremely low fertility rate. No kids and eventually no adults/taxpayers.
5. Mexico has perfect demographics but will be considered a failed state because of the absence of a working government replaced by criminal cartels. It could well be annexed by the United States.
6. India could blossom economically if it could get a handle on its disastrous distribution of wealth.
7. The population of the world is currently at about 7 billion and will increase to about 10 billion by 2060 before it begins to recede.
8. The population of the continent of Africa could double to two billion because of Africa’s extremely high fertility rate and the introduction of modern healthcare, technology, and education by Africa’s new friend, China.
9. So, my 40 Under 40 friends, it is a new world. There will be no lack of opportunity. Make the world a better place and remember, “Wait and see” is not a plan. What is your strategy?Be well,Kenneth W. Gronbach

About the Author: Kenneth W. Gronbach is a gifted keynote speaker and nationally recognized author, expert, and futurist in the field of Demography and Generational Marketing. He makes the science of shifting demography come alive with real life examples which make it relevant to today’s culture, business climate, and economy. With nearly three decades experience in retail advertising and marketing, Ken saw the direct results of shifting demographics in his clients’ profits. Eventually, his passion for the subject changed the direction of his career, to the benefit of readers of his books and attendees of his keynotes and other presentations.