The number three myth about Generation Y is that they don't know very much and they have short attention spans.

I'll tell you why I think this is a fundamental misunderstanding: It used to be that we could count on the fact that if a person had reached a certain level of education, there was a shared knowledge base that we all had in common. There were just certain things that everybody knew. And that's no longer true. But it doesn't mean they don't know anything. It just means they know different things.

And remember, this is a generation that has grown up in a tidal wave of information. There's more information produced in an hour than all of us working together could master in a lifetime. Meanwhile, technology has become more and more complex, but easier and easier to use. So their information management tools of choice are menu-driven information systems, social networking technology, Wiki technology----real time information management tools. This doesn't mean they have short attention spans. It means that they have learned how to think, learn and communicate in sync with today's information environment.

And remember, this is where we're all headed. We're all headed toward a world where we focus on multiple things at any given time. We're all headed toward a world where we answer questions instantly at our fingertips using technology. We're all headed toward a world where we may not have the information in our heads but we know we have it available at our fingertips.

Because of today's information environment, most Gen Yers PROBABLY walk in the door with more information in their heads than anyone ever has.

But I PROMISE YOU they have more information available at their fingertips than anyone ever has.