Podcast Summary: "Two Percent Is A Pretty Scary Number. Go Ahead, @ Me."

Podcast: Becoming You with Suzy Welch
Host: Suzy Welch (NYU Stern Professor, author, business journalist)
Episode Date: September 30, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Suzy Welch unpacks the uproar around her recent Wall Street Journal op-ed exposing a striking finding from her values research: Only 2% of Gen Z share the top values that hiring managers seek. Suzy walks listeners through the methodology, passionate responses (from praise to outrage), and what this generational mismatch means for individuals, companies, and society. She dissects four major "buckets" of public reaction, shares pointed comments from both supporters and critics, and reflects on the personal cost and reward of leading provocative public conversations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Why This Data Hit a Nerve

• Suzy recounts a week of intense feedback after her WSJ piece, including a prominent national politician reaching out ([00:45]).
• The revelation: Only 2% of Gen Z respondents share the most prized employment values of hiring managers.
  • Her article, titled "Is Gen Z Unemployable?" (not her choice!), sparked a massive reaction: "People's heads exploded." ([02:30])
• Suzy’s intent: To describe a cultural and economic phenomenon, not to assign blame or lambast any generation ([13:05]).

2. The "Values Bridge": Explaining the Research

• Becoming You methodology: Helps people discover their purpose by identifying three data sets—values, aptitudes, and economically viable interests ([04:30]).
• Values Bridge: A tool developed with 100 questions to help individuals rank their top motivations and desires (values) out of 16 categories.
• Definition:
  • Values = Motivations, not virtues. "Values are just choices." ([06:35])
  • The gap between values and living them = "your authenticity gap."
• Dataset: Over 67,000 people have taken the Values Bridge, providing robust data, including generational breakdowns.

3. The Controversial Data

• Gen Z’s Top Three Values:

  1. Eudaimonia (self-care, leisure)
  2. Voice (authentic self-expression)
  3. Non sibi (helping others)

• Hiring Managers’ Top Three Values:

  1. Achievement (visible, outward success)
  2. Scope (love of learning and growth)
  3. Work centrism (loving work for work’s sake)

• The Crunch: "Only 2% of Gen Z have those three [managerial] values in their top values." ([11:30])

  “That sound you hear is everybody’s head exploding.”
  — Suzy Welch, [11:52]

4. The Four Buckets of Public Response

Bucket 1: Agreement — “You’re Spot On”

• Many hiring managers and business leaders validated the finding strongly ([12:24]).
• Sample comments:

  “I see one in 50 that I would want as an employee. They want money. They dislike the idea of having to work... They were never taught the value of an earned dollar.”
  — Employer, [12:45]

• Suzy’s perspective: Not passing judgment, just flagging a consequential misalignment ([13:05]).

Bucket 2: "This Is Nothing New" — Generational Hand-Wringing

• Numerous messages dismissed the finding as age-old: the classic "old people complain about young people" ([14:30]).

  "You might as well have picked up an article from 20 years ago... all the way back to Socrates."
  — Listener, [14:32]

• Suzy’s counter: The magnitude is new—2% is unprecedented, especially in context of looming economic changes like AI job shifts ([15:10]).

Bucket 3: Gen Z Responds — “Don’t Blame Us”

• Gen Zers themselves pushed back, naming older generations as architects of the world’s problems.

  “Your generation gave us climate change, school shootings, terrorism, racism, LGBT hate. You did this to us and now you want us to live by your values. No, thank you.”
  — Paraphrased DM, [16:55]

• Other Gen Z comments questioned whether work centrism is even a meaningful or valid top value:

  “Work centrism seems void of meaning or fulfillment.”
  — 23-year-old, [17:59]

• Suzy asserts: All values are personal and valid, but each comes with tradeoffs. Values shouldn’t be imposed across generations ([18:50]).

Bucket 4: Blame — Parents, Schools, Society

• Many respondents wanted to pinpoint a cause:
  • Parents: “A generation of parents giving gold stars and trophies to everyone just for showing up. People crave honest feedback.” ([22:07])
  • Education: Critiques of impractical curricula, social media, and coddling ([23:35])
  • Economy/Tech: “Almost the Gen Z has no choice…just responding to gigantic economic forces…” ([24:45])
• Suzy’s stance: All may play a role. Her expertise and aim are to help individuals bridge these gaps, not assign blame ([25:33]).

5. The Personal Impact: Speaking on the Leading/Bleeding Edge

• Suzy reflects on being in the public eye and weathering fierce opinions—even personal attacks ([26:00]).
• Shares support from a confidante:

  "It’s never easy to be out on the leading edge, or here substitute 'bleeding edge' due to the ferocity of the comments…those who feel most threatened tend to be the most condescending and hurtful…Take them all as compliments. You hit a nerve and are pushing boundaries.” ([27:00])

• Her conclusion: Growth and authenticity require courage and a tolerance for pushback. She encourages listeners to embrace discomfort as part of "becoming you." ([28:20])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On data’s impact:

  “The point of my article...was not to criticize Gen Z. The point...was to point out a phenomenon...and there needs to either be a bridge built or something needs to happen to address this.”
  — Suzy Welch, [13:05]

• On generational divides:

  “I can’t stand the Gen Z stare. I get it all the time in class...I just think it’s rude.”
  — Suzy Welch, [11:00]

• Pushback on universal values:

  "No one dies happy they spent their life achieving more. People want fulfillment and meaning, not financial growth at any cost to their actual lives...
  ...I have to push back on this. I might be on my deathbed saying that."
  — Suzy Welch (in response to Gen Z value arguments), [18:50]

• On blame:

  "If parents reaped it, they’re going to sow it. The kids that they raised...are going to be needing their help financially to live in this world."
  — Suzy Welch, [22:50]

• On standing firm under criticism:

  “When you stand up, male or female, and say, 'I have an opinion,' you have to be ready for people to say, 'I really disagree with you. And I hate you.' I just think we all should stop saying that.”
  — Suzy Welch, [26:40]

• Empowering others:

  "When you are in the process of becoming you, you are stepping out of your comfort zone by definition...there are going to be people who come for you...Either you believe in you and what you’re doing or you don’t."
  — Suzy Welch, [28:20]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:45 — Suzy introduces the Wall Street Journal op-ed, talks about national politician’s call.
• 04:30 — Overview of Becoming You methodology and the Values Bridge.
• 10:00 — Generational values data: Gen Z vs. Hiring Managers.
• 11:52–13:05 — The 2% finding and Suzy’s intention for the article.
• 12:24–13:05 — Examples from supportive hiring managers.
• 14:30–15:45 — “Nothing New” critiques and Suzy’s counterarguments.
• 16:55–19:30 — Gen Zers’ feedback and Suzy’s pushback on value imposition.
• 22:07–24:40 — Buckets of blame: parents, education, the economy.
• 26:00–28:20 — Personal reflections on public criticism and leadership.
• 27:00 — Supportive message on being on the “leading edge.”
• 28:20 — Closing thoughts: Courage and the cost of authenticity.

Takeaways

• Generational values misalignment is real and significant—only 2% of Gen Z overlap with what today’s hiring managers hope for.
• The real issue isn’t who’s right or wrong, but what the consequences are for individuals pursuing lives “by design” versus “by default.”
• Values are neither virtuous nor static—they are personal, chosen, and come with tradeoffs.
• Bridging generational understanding requires dialogue, respect for differences, and an openness to consequences, not blame.
• Standing for change—or surfacing uncomfortable truths—means being willing to weather public pushback, an inevitable part of "becoming you."

Suzy finishes with encouragement: even if you’re in the minority or facing criticism for your authentic self or beliefs, it’s better to be on your own “leading/bleeding edge” than live by default or in fear.

For more, follow Suzy Welch on social platforms. And, of course, "keep becoming you."