Why All Age Groups Are Important In The Workplace

The executives of a ninety-year-old company were invited to an industry conference. The patriarch was a 4th generation child of the founders. He was 80 and served as chairman.

The CEO was his son, he was half his age and quite energetic. The CEO's son too was in the business now that he was on a long university break.

This company was tasked with sharing at the conference their long road to dominance over 7 generations.

So the three men sat in their boardroom and began to put together their presentation. Their topic was: "The Next 90 Years."

And they agreed to first give a synopsis of the first 90 years before sharing their projections and outlook for their next century of existence.

On the day, all three went on stage with their joint PowerPoint presentation. The order of presentation was puzzling at first. The youngest took the audience through the first 90 years of existence and delved deep into the watershed moments that got them to pole position. He articulated them as if he had been around from inception and the crowd applauded the young man's presentation.

Next was the CEO. He talked of the present-day challenges of the business and what they had done thus far to manage them. Many in the room could relate with his drift because they too were experiencing similar difficulties. He gave them a sneak preview into the future and left it for the patriarch to share their vision moving forward.

The chairman acknowledged the fact that he won't be around long enough to witness the outcome of their vision but he delivered it in a manner that left no doubt that he had the company at his fingertips.

At the Q & A session, most delegates wanted to know how a man at 80 navigated the technology-based future with so much ease, having captured their imaginations with unmistakable clarity.

He looked at the two younger men for a good 10 seconds then he said: "at my age, there are no more lies to tell. We switched presentations with my grandson."

As it turned out, both took turns enlightening the other with their presentations for several hours back at the office. Then they decided to switch them.

The old man wanted his grandson to appreciate their common heritage and the young man wanted the grandfather to appreciate the future of the business world.

For the lad, it was an orientation session and for the patriarch, it was a reverse mentoring one.

This example, much as it is from a family-based business, nevertheless, applies to other businesses too, save for the bloodlines running the business. Every business benefits from institutional memory as much as it does from operational energy and innovative insights.

The business world is an ecosystem where some relationships aren't as obvious to the casual observer. And even when the young ones mistakenly step on a live wire, the older guys know what buttons to press and which strings to pull to restore the rhythm whilst repairing the damage.

In most traditional African setups, every age set played a key role in society. Young boys went to herd livestock as their female agemates fetched water and firewood and stayed close to their mothers. When the boys came of age, they underwent a rite of passage that initiated them into manhood. They then became a part of the army that protected the community.

The older group now got promoted into an intermediate category pending their successful raising of young boys into manhood directly or through agemates. They would then assume the mantle of leadership as the older men became community elders.

What is interesting, is that everyone of these age sets was best left to handle certain unique things as they emerged. And as one got older, their importance to society increasingly moved away from their muscular strength to wisdom-dependent challenges. The buttons passed from one age set without hustle.

In the same way, the workplace or the broader ecosystem needs these age sets but playing their roles. Overstaying at one role denies upward growth to the rank and file. It also denies the organisation the energy levels commensurate with the tasks at hand.

But a total disregard for them partially or wholly is a recipe for mayhem. They come in handy in those Haley's comet-like tasks.

In one instance, a certain government official inspected export-oriented companies after every five years, and one man from the old guard's wing was needed to take them around and to respond to all questions correctly. This brings to the fore the need for them even if the procedures are well written out.

They may look like a liability on the books as they are needed less often but never throw them away. That single day of institutional memory at work could be worth the entire business in monetary terms, depending on the immediate challenge.

But equally, the old must never be allowed to bully the younger chaps at work. If everyone is correctly placed then the resultant harmony is beneficial to the organisation.

Let me end it with the example of the company that went high-tech. Under the guidance of a cost-cutting executive, it documented all its processes and coded them into their new digital operations. At the end of it all, the company only needed a third of the original staff complement.

And so two-thirds were laid off. Because of its new efficiencies, this company began to win new contracts and executed them at a reasonable fee and an impressive turnaround time.

Unfortunately, the system crashed when several demanding clients had come on board and needed to be serviced urgently. The thin staff force was overwhelmed and the organization had little choice but to recall several of the old guards laid off earlier.

They asked for two-year contracts before helping out with the pressing assignments. The company yielded to this demand and got its work done very well. Clients were happier with the personal touch that had vanished with the downsizing. Experience and institutional memory saved the day. The clients demanded that the old guys needed to be part of their service experience or they would take their business elsewhere.

Sometimes when the new broom doesn't sweep better, then, old is gold.