OK, so the manager who drives a Buick frowns on your Facebook fixation. It's time to put aside generational differences and work together to not only survive the recession, but thrive.

The economic downturn could ratchet up the level of collaboration and understanding between workplace generations. We call this potential movement, "Generation Job-One," and think it portends good things for Americans' professional and personal lives. We'll explore our theory at a meeting of The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Jan. 21, 7:30-9am, at the Royal Banquet and Conference Center (http://raleighchamber.org/jan_wamn.aspx).

What's Generation Job-One mean? Simply that for everyone – Gen Y, Gen X, Boomer – getting paid is, more than ever, job one. That common imperative could mean breaking down traditional generational walls and banding together to get the job done. We could see a greater exchange of skills and values, and emerge from the recession a more well-oiled work force.

Baby Boomers, Gen X and Millennials have long clashed over differing approaches to communication, technology, team work and work-life balance. But the pressure of the recession may necessitate more collaboration, both in corporate settings and on the entrepreneurial front. For example, Boomers and Gen Y might compromise on common flashpoint issues such as punctuality and career-track, while mentoring each other on technology and networking.

A year ago, we published a piece with Fast Company examining Gen Y's perspective on the downturn: http://www.fastcompany.com/article/millennials-rising-recession-road-map-gen-y. Here, we're taking the exploration a step further, to include everyone.

And, being from different generations ourselves, we'll also debate the merits of U2 vs. Radiohead, "Star Wars" vs. "Lord of the Rings," trucker caps vs. skinny jeans and John McEnroe vs. Roger Federer. We KNOW you have strong opinions on those. Come, sound off!