We hope that this short article will help managers better understand Millennials and that readers can benefit from our findings—the five key things to do to inspire Millennials. Yes, inspire, not just manage, because organizations are operating in challenging times, and Millennials have a lot to offer to organizations that adopt techniques that will inspire them.

The Millennial Generation (born 1981–1995) is 76 million strong, and many managers seem to have great difficulty understanding and inspiring them. And that creates a problem, because they comprise 36 percent of today’s workforce, a percentage that will grow to 46 percent by 2020. Managers who learn how to truly inspire Millennials to contribute their talents to address the many challenges facing organizations today could far outperform their competitors.