The Baby Boomer Hierarchy

Some years ago for a consulting project, I spent considerable time venturing into the wilds of American wealth culture, documenting how rich people spent their time and money by using classic methods of cultural anthropology. In my “Wealthology” research, I found that there were five different psychological profiles or personality types of rich Americans, each kind comprising a subculture all its own. Not surprisingly, the study got quite a lot of attention (I was called “the Margaret Mead of plutocrats” by Slate.com), as Americans are notoriously fascinated with the lifestyles of the rich (and famous).

An unexpected and I believe even more interesting finding came out of the research, however: Over time and with more money, I learned, the American rich tended to evolve as human beings, becoming, in a sense, “better” people. Riffing on Maslow’s hierarchy, I proposed that there is a kind of evolutionary ladder within American wealth culture, with those values associated with some millionaires falling “lower” on a scale of meaning and purpose than those of other millionaires. This important idea emerged out of my fieldwork indicating that most of the American rich were a “work in progress,” trying to grow as human beings by swapping out personally defined interests and needs for those of others. Those individuals who had found a “higher” purpose in their lives by somehow making the lives of other people better were infinitely happier and more secure (richer, so to speak) than those primarily interested in the acquisition of things or even experiences, I discovered — something that posed enormous implications for how we all might choose to live our lives.

In the research for and during the writing process of my book Boomers 3.0, I found a remarkably similar yet equally unexpected thing: Many baby boomers are going through an evolutionary process much like that of the rich, developing as human beings as they get older. There appears to be a kind of existential hierarchy within boomer culture grounded in the pursuit of meaning and purpose, as individuals strive for the next level along with their unique journey of life. There are three levels within baby boomer culture, I suggest, with individuals moving “up” the hierarchy as they further evolve as human beings. The first level is what I call Self-Directed behavior; the second level is Group-Directed behavior; and the final is Other-Directed behavior. Self-Directed behavior is generally me-oriented, meaning it revolves around the individual’s wants or needs; Group-Directed behavior is generally communitarian in nature, meaning it involves multiple people having something in common; and Other-Directed behavior is dedicated to people other than the individual.

BABY BOOMER HIERARCHY

Level 3: Other-Directed

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Level 2: Group-Directed

^

Level 1: Self-Directed

This boomer hierarchy serves as an interesting model of baby boomers’ life course, contending that people often “improve” as they age by moving away from self-oriented wants and needs to those of others. Going further, such a model also offers insight in terms of how to most effectively relate to baby boomers in their third act of life. If indeed boomers are on a kind of journey in which they are moving towards group- or other-directed goals in order to find greater meaning and purpose in their lives, it would be in all of our best interests to try to support them along that voyage. Both individuals and organizations should ask themselves how they can be seen as an agent of altruism, and how they can help boomers reach a destination of wisdom or self-actualization. Enabling tens of millions of people to become more empathetic, wiser, and happier human beings is obviously a win-win proposition for everyone and one that should thus be embraced during this exciting time in American history.