The Bridge Between Eras: Navigating Generational Communication with Cameron Pappas and Ellie LaFever
Vonda got kicked off her own podcast this week — partly because it's her birthday week, and partly because Lori wanted her guests to speak freely. Those guests: Cameron Pappas, owner of Norton's Florist in Birmingham, Alabama, and Ellie LaFever of Flower Clique — two millennial leaders who have both worked under a parent in the business. What follows is an honest conversation about generational communication, sparked by a young florist at NextGen Live who stood up and asked how to get his older boss to listen to his ideas.
Cameron's full-circle story
Norton's Florist was founded in 1921 — 102 years old — and Cameron's dad bought it in 2002 from the third generation of Nortons, who happened to be the family's next-door neighbor. Cameron washed buckets through middle and high school at $5.50 an hour, became a CPA, then left public accounting in 2015 when his dad invited him to join the shop so they could spend time together as his mom's early-onset Alzheimer's progressed. He met his wife Katie three days after starting. He and his dad worked side by side for seven years before his father passed away from liver cancer in November 2022 — his best friend and business partner. Nine months later, Cameron says he's finally getting comfortable making decisions his own way.
What they kept from their parents
From his dad, Cameron keeps two things: "the customer is always right" — because florists are service businesses that happen to sell flowers — and loving people, which he calls both his strongest and weakest trait. His dad's handwritten sticky note of values is laminated and taped to Cameron's monitor.
From Vonda, Ellie keeps the work ethic: a boss who will outwork everyone, wash buckets alongside the newest high schooler, and teach corrections directly but kindly. And intuition — Vonda never writes off a team member's mood or pushback; she digs for the why behind it, and does it privately, never calling anyone out in front of the group.
What they're doing differently
Cameron guards what he calls "life-work balance" (in that order) for his four-year-old and two-year-old: shutting work off in the evenings and learning that "Norton's isn't going out of business if you don't do this tonight." He also replaced his dad's 30,000-line daily metrics spreadsheet with a weekly week-over-week comparison. Ellie, who tests before she jumps while Vonda launches at full speed, says the two of them are beta-testing new projects together — and both working on outsourcing, since neither naturally relinquishes control. Cameron's mentor put it best: "you can do everything for a season, but you cannot do everything forever, or you will burn." Delegate and elevate.
How to pitch an idea up a generation
Cameron's honest tactic with his dad: plant the seed, water it, and a few months later it would come back as Dad's idea — "Let's do this!" But he also saw the wisdom behind the resistance. They argued for three months about a break-even downtown store Cameron wanted to keep open; his dad closed it on February 24, 2020 — three weeks before COVID emptied the building for six months. The older generation often sees the big picture from 10,000 feet.
For the young man at NextGen (they nickname his boss "Uncle Jim"), Ellie's advice is to name the problem directly and humbly: acknowledge the boss's wisdom, say you don't feel heard, and ask to meet in the middle. Cameron adds: having the guts to say that shows leadership — but keep your chin up, remember there's more in play than you can see, and stay respectful of wisdom, because "our generation thinks we know everything. We don't." And it will take more than one conversation.
Recognition, feedback, and the telephone game
Neither guest craves personal awards. Cameron redirects holiday praise to the team that made 2,000 arrangements, took 2,000 orders, and ran 2,000 deliveries — and practices "praise in public, punish in private," having learned the hard way what public correction does to a room. Ellie shares a reframe for the compliment-averse: a compliment is the other person being vulnerable, so accept it. On feedback, both want it straight — no compliment sandwiches, no "we need to talk" formality. And Cameron's plea to every employee: bring the issue to me, not to each other. Otherwise it becomes a telephone game, and what finally reaches the boss isn't what was actually said.
The proof his approach works: Norton's has 24 employees, six with more than 15 years of tenure and one with 42 — and a driver who recently earned a customer's thank-you call for knocking on a door just to warn about a hornet's nest, no delivery involved.
Key takeaways
- Approach an older boss directly and humbly: acknowledge their wisdom, say you want to be heard, and expect it to take more than one conversation.
- The resistance often holds wisdom — leaders at 10,000 feet see costs and risks the idea person can't.
- You can do everything for a season, but not forever: delegate and elevate before you burn out.
- Praise in public, correct in private — and ask your team to bring problems to you, not to each other.
- Give feedback straight; skip the compliment sandwich and keep it casual and direct.