It was an unusual dinner party.
The guests were from different generations. We gathered around a table in the garden of the host’s beautiful Los Angeles home and talked about the future. There was no jockeying for position or dominance at the table. No debates. Nobody indulging their addiction to being right. We listened to each other.
At 80, I was the oldest at the table. The youngest was 17. He was a brilliant young man with a bright future ahead of him, but not someone whom I might approach in a social situation. Over dinner, we connected. We listened to each other.
After dinner we sat and talked. I was learning from him, and he was learning from me.
There was a millennial at the table who told us he wrote a poem about how his cell phone helped him to be more human. I never would have guessed that this man would ever write a poem. We said goodbye with a hug. Over dinner, we connected.
This was the official launch of Generations Over Dinner, a dinner party challenge to gather multiple generations at the table. The goal is to inspire multigenerational experiences and sharing and to model the type of world we want to see.
There are seven generations living in our culture today. Most are living in their own silos and not talking to each other. Some are at war with each other.
– The Greatest Generation — born 1901-1924 (ages 121-98)
– The Silent Generation — born 1925-1945 (ages 97-77)
– Baby Boomer Generation — born 1946-1964 (ages 76-58)
– Generation X — born 1965-1980 (ages 57-42)
– Generation Y — born 1981-1996 (ages 41-26)
– Generation Z — born 1997-2012 (ages 25-10)
– Generation Alpha — born 2013-2025 (ages 9-1)
What if we could build bridges between these generations and learn from each other?
We can.
Host a Generations Over Dinner party and start changing the world now.
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