In the beginning, it looked like a serious mismatch. She was an experienced businesswoman, suit and all. He was a young, high-tech creative director in blue jeans and a ponytail. She was a communications consultant, a speech coach and he was a skeptical client sent there by his boss. Both were opinionated and outspoken and they clashed.

But each of them had a job to do and, over time, as they worked together—exploring their values and beliefs about work along the way—they developed a genuine mutual respect for one another.

She is Lynne Lancaster, an optimistic and confident Baby Boomer, and he is David Stillman, a resourceful and independent Generation Xer. Bridging their own generation gap helped them see that generational issues existed in their respective lines of work. If they were having such a hard time finding common ground, it was likely others were experiencing similar challenges at work.

Five years after that first stressful meeting, following countless observations and discussions, Lynne and David became business partners. They co-founded a company they named BridgeWorks "to bridge the gap between generations by helping people look beyond their own perspectives to understand the events, conditions, values and behaviors that make each generation unique."

BridgeWorks celebrated its fifth anniversary January 1. During those five years, the company conducted numerous surveys, met with focus groups and consulted with large and small businesses in all sectors of the economy. Generational issues are clearly seen as the newest and hottest form of diversity on the business scene today, affecting recruiting, retaining, managing and motivating—and ultimately the bottom line—in the workplace and in the marketplace.

What could be done about this? BridgeWorks' answer was and is to help businesses 1) avoid generation gaps through better understanding of who the generations are and what makes them tick and 2) equip them to repair the damage following a generational collision.

Until now, this has been accomplished primarily through keynote speeches, seminars and workshops. Lancaster and Stillman are nationally known for their energetic, witty and wise presentations, each of which is highly customized, motivational and content-rich. They get rave reviews for their business insights, humor and visually captivating multimedia support. As experts, they raise awareness of the issues, offer practical strategies for dealing with them and help clients get results.

Today, in addition to their presentations, they offer their newest work—a book titled "When Generations Collide: Who They Are. Why They Clash. How to solve the Generational Puzzle at Work," published by HarperCollins. In their characteristically entertaining and engaging style, they use the written word to introduce us to the:

Traditionalists: Born between 1900 and 1945, 75 million strong, and best described by the word "loyalty." This generation was defined by events such as the World Wars, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. They learned early on that by working together toward common goals, they could accomplish anything.

Baby Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1964 and 80 million strong, their descriptive word is "optimism." They were raised to believe anything is possible and are intensely competitive. Television was the single most important influence on this generation.

Generation Xers: Born between 1965 and 1980 and 46 million strong, their defining trait is "skepticism." They grew up seeing every major American institution called into question. Media of all kinds have sprung up in their lifetime, the most significant of which was the personal computer. And, finally...

Millennials: Born between 1981 and 1999 and 76 million strong, they are described as "realistic" problem-solvers. Millennials feel empowered to handle whatever comes along and are collaborators who embrace—and expect—diversity. Millennials came of age as technology moved closer to people via cell phones, pagers and the Internet.

The authors discuss the generations in the workplace, how their expectations and reactions differ when it comes to feedback, training, managing and rewarding and what to do about the differences. Much of their material comes from their national Generations survey that revealed statistics, such as: 60 percent of Traditionalists said they have no clearly defined career path where they work; 30 percent of Gen Xers said they get their phone bill more often than relevant feedback; and the majority of Boomers said it would be easier to recite the ingredients in a Big Mac than their company's mission statement!

They use real-life people and situations to illustrate their points, demonstrating that much of the subject extends beyond the workplace into our personal lives. In the beginning two generations "collided" but this time, the outcome was a success story. e

BridgeWorks' co-founders wanted more than a firm simply to do their accounting—they wanted a partner and found that and then some at Lurie Besikof and Lapidus and Co. LLP. The firm introduced BridgeWorks to speaking opportunities with various business forums, helped challenge and shape business strategy and helped to manage the dollars and cents. You can learn more about BridgeWorks and "When Generations Collide" from their Web site, www.generations.com.