Gulf Coast Business Council held its 2024 State of the Coast Symposium at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi on May 22, 2024 with 600 in attendance. The audience included GCBC members, public officials and other business leaders.
The symposium theme, “Marketplace and Workplace Trends,” featured keynote speaker Cam Marston followed by President and CEO Jamie Miller, who provided an economic update and remarks on Business Council milestones over the past year. He also provided a snapshot of Coast economic data and presented the 2nd Annual Rising Tide Awards.
The Rising Tide Awards, started in 2023 and inspired by John F. Kennedy’s quote, “A rising tide lifts all boats,” are awarded to one company and one individual each year for their contributions to the Coast. The 2024 recipients were Relativity Space, a rocket manufacturing company based at Stennis Space Center that relocated to Mississippi in 2016 from Long Beach, California, and Mayor Billy Knight, Sr., Mayor of Moss Point, who most notably has been guiding and rallying support for his City through recovery from devastating tornadoes in 2023.
Keynote Speaker Cam Marston, President of Generational Insights and host of the “What’s Working with Cam Marston” Radio Show & Podcast, captivated the audience with his poignant and relevant insights into today’s workforce. His insights and expertise have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the Chicago Tribune, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Money, and Forbes, as well as on Good Morning America and the BBC.
An expert researcher in his field, Marston knows the trends shaping the workplace. He enlightened the audience on generational differences and how employers and sales teams can benefit from understanding each generation to become more effective leaders and salespeople.
He presented stats comparing previous eras to today in categories such as: young adults living with parents, average age of mother at first birth and age of first marriage. He also used his own family to comment on parental and societal trends, showing a photo of his daughter’s swimming ribbons, including 7th and 8th place ribbons all the way down to 10th and 11th place ribbons, pointing out the that we’ve taught our young people that any amount of effort, regardless of outcome, is worth recognizing with a trophy or a ribbon. Now they expect recognition for low levels of effort
He talked about how parenting styles have evolved over the years and how each type of parenting style, from “Mr. Rogers neighborhood parents” all the way through to helicopter parents, drone parents and even bubble-wrap parents, has affected the workforce. The recent generation entering the workforce has also been affected by other factors such as isolation with COVID-19 and increased smart phone use, resulting in young people entering the workforce that are about 5 years behind where they were just 10-20 years ago. This is most apparent in their social skills and problem solving abilities, telling the audience that it’s now up to employers to fill that gap.
A copy of the presentation, including both Marston’s and Millers remarks can be viewed HERE.
GCBC appreciate its generous sponsors of this event Sponsor Ingalls Shipbuilding, Breakfast Sponsor Mississippi Power and Flagship Sponsor Hancock Whitney and many others.
