When I started my career, I was indoctrinated into the corporate aristocracy culture. What is corporate aristocracy? Like the days of old when the world was ruled by Kings & Queens and a privileged few, corporate aristocracy refers to the ruling few of a corporation. The common names for this corporate aristocracy are the “C” executives: CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, CTO, etc.

During my stint as an underling, I was expected to stand in awe of the corporate penthouse executives and offer nothing but the most expeditious service and response. I worked my way up the corporate ladder with this culture over the last decade and a half but along the way something odd happened, each successive generation seemed to care less and less about the corporate aristocracy.

Today’s youth, and I’m talking about people in their 20′s, all want instant gratification, reward and recognition from everyone with hardly putting in any effort. I think this partially derives from the “everybody gets a trophy after the soccer match” syndrome: everybody is a winner (even the losers).

I’ve had a few situations where a couple of these twenty-somethings said or did something inappropriate in the vicinity of executives and the kids didn’t even flinch. In a previous life, these kids would have been gone but with the labor market so tight for *good* talent, everyone puts up with it.

I’m not sure where we will end up in a decade or two more because as 80 million boomers retire and the echo boomers take over, the world will be a totally different place run in a totally different manner and we will likely see the total end of corporate aristocracy.