Starting at the bottom and clawing your way to the top of the corporate ladder worked for baby boomers and their parents.

But, that model of success no longer applies to the modern workplace, which features workers and customers who are increasingly interconnected, culturally diverse and are playing by a different set of rules, a workplace expert said Thursday.

Seth Mattison is founder of the company Futuresight and advises corporations about emerging trends in the workplace. He provided a big-picture view of how the workplace is changing during the Billings Chamber of Commerces annual meeting.

Mattison showed a slide with a graphic detailing a pyramid-shaped corporate structure, with the chief executive at the top and a base of low-level workers reporting to middle-management supervisors, who then report to the top brass. Its a familiar structure for just about anybody who has held a job.

His next slide provided a much different picture. An almost random pattern of interconnected dots and squiggles represents how people increasingly interact with each other through the Internet and social media.

We live in a half-changed world where the structure of the organization chart still exists, Mattison said. But that often conflicts with the network of connections that are familiar to the younger generation.

Most baby boomers grew up in households where parents were the main source of knowledge. They gave orders and doled out punishment whenever the kids stepped out of line. Modern families are populated by children who have grown up with the Internet. Increasingly, youngsters are showing their teachers and parents how to use technology.

This represents a big shift in society. For the first time, the younger generation is helping older people learn and adapt to new ideas and technology, he said.

He illustrated that point by showing a series of magazine covers depicting young entrepreneurs who struck it rich while still in their teens or 20s.

How many times did you see a teenager on the cover of business publication when you were growing up? Mattison said.

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Futurist urges Chamber to be open to learning from young workers