And generation X?

"They are a generation utterly adapted to the idea that today's technology will soon be superseded by something which is already appearing over the horizon. Things like e-mail, mobile phones, fax machines, personal computers, the Internet, interactive media and even virtual reality are all rather ho-hum." It has led to generation X always seeking to keep its options open, Mackay says.

Bruce Tulgan, founder of Connecticut-based Rainmaker Thinking, last year concluded a 10-year workplace study in the US exploring generational attitudes to work, and he describes generation Y, which already constitutes 15 percent of the workforce in the US, as overflowing with self-esteem (see "Generation Flex", page 92). "Their facility with information technology makes them would-be experts on everything and they are mastering a new just-in-time strategic approach to thinking, learning and communicating." And while they are new to the corporate racetrack, Tulgan believes they are "poised to be the most capable and most demanding generation in history".

So will generation X and generation Y make good CIOs?

Executive search consultant James de Siun of Chifley Search says that the skills, track record and characteristics that are most in demand when enterprises seek to hire new CIOs are (in order): leadership, business acumen, management expertise, technical vision, ability or keenness to handle or facilitate change, superb communication skills, experience of more than one industry, ability to attract and or develop talented people, international awareness and cultural fit. It is not a list that is age-dependent, although the challenge for young or wannabe CIOs would be meeting the experiential requirements. If they can overcome that hurdle, talented Xers and Yers should be a match for baby boomer peers.

What would almost certainly differ, though, is the way that younger workers would tackle the demands set by their employers. For example, when it comes to technical vision and change management, Tulgan says Xers and Yers take a just-in-time approach.

He says their planning approach is to "evaluate which contingencies seem most likely at any given time based on the best current information". These generations, Tulgan says, "set long-term goals for guidance, but focus detailed planning efforts on short-term goals. [They] brainstorm multiple contingencies and prepare skeleton plans for every conceivable scenario and revise and adjust on an ongoing basis - and when unforeseen contingencies occur re-evaluate everything."

Although these two generations (X and Y) may have undergone a Darwinian-style evolution in order to cope with constant change, "short-termism" is no longer something that fazes boomer CIOs. In fact in Generations Mackay quotes IBIS analyst Phil Ruthven as saying: "The baby boomers have been the shortest-term thinkers of probably any generation in more than 100 years."

Is that fair? Not according CIO baby boomer John Loebenstein. "I haven't seen Ruthven's data or heard his arguments. I'm surprised by the comment. I don't consider myself to be a short-term thinker," he says. "In a cursory glance around I would make the generalised observation that gen X and Y are incredibly short-term thinkers. So many of them seem to have abbreviated attention spans - they flit from one fad to another quite rapidly."

He does say, however, that planning horizons have seesawed in his nine-year tenure at the St George Bank from the then five-year planning horizons, back to two years and now between three and five years. To a degree, planning horizons are forced on CIOs by the organisation they serve. Tenure, however, is more personal, and Loebenstein's nine-year tenure might strike generations X and Y as an extraordinary commitment. According to Tulgan, like planning, they approach employee loyalty on a just-in-time basis.

"If you ask Xers or Yers for that matter: 'Are you loyal to your employers?', they will most likely say: 'Yes.' Indeed Xers and Yers are far more likely to answer that question in the affirmative than older more experienced people. However, if you ask the next question 'Where do you think you'll be in six months?', Xers and Yers are likely to say: 'That depends on my best offer.' We call this just-in-time loyalty. And it makes sense. It is not the kind of loyalty you get in a kingdom but rather the kind of loyalty you get in the free market. You get exactly what you can negotiate," Tulgan says.