Passing Torch to a New Generation - Maybe, Wait on That in Politics and More

In the Pennsylvania US Senate race newbie to politics Mehmet Oz is stumbling. The same thing is happening in Ohio with J.D. Vance. 

Power brokers in the GOP may be getting it: Don't risk elections on the unseasoned. Politics is a complex game, with even more volatility than we in business navigate. So, instead of positioning and packaging a race as one of those passing the torches to a new generation, stick with the proven-out politicos. 

Sure, there is lots of media coverage of the need to clear government of the geriatric set.You know, the Donald Trumps kind who are in their 70s. But they know how to win elections.  

The same raw recognition of the need for experience in other fields could slow down the current generational wars.

Interestingly, in an article in Insider about being chairperson of law firm Paul Weiss at age 63, Brad Karp cites what the new generation - that is, junior lawyers - brings up in town meetings. Much of it screams a lack of understanding of business principles. 

For example, there was a criticism that Paul Weiss isn't a market-maker in salary increases. That law firm waits for the market-makers such as Cravath to announce first. The business reality is that those announcements involved big money - manpower is a major expense in law firms - and it's reckless to go out there with a number without a solid feel for what is going on in the market. Also those young lawyers had a short memory. Not too long ago Paul Weiss had instituted a round of off-season bonuses. 

It has been cool to take on Generations X, Boomer, and Silent. That ethos reaches back to the late 1960s counterculture: Make those over-30 look foolish. The severe recession of the early 1970s put an end to that. The same could happen in this global economic slowdown.

Sure, there are categories of business such as social networks which demand digital natives, not members of pre-internet generations. Actually, at Meta Mark Zuckerberg may already have aged out of the dynamics of that niche. As an entertainment platform versus for social connection TikTok is making him come across as out-of-touch. 

The challenge, though, is for the aging to compensate for the falloff in energy. Usually that entails letting go of parts of a lifestyle such as taking care of a house or traveling or being supportive of folks who drain us. 

The analogue is when we first got our careers going in our 20s. That mandated one-dimensional focus. The same thing plays out now for us over-60. For both my communications clients and the ones for coaching, I witness an extreme willingness to do what it takes to remain a presence in their professions.

Your career issues in 2022. Complimentary consultation for coaching, job-search materials, and interviewing. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text 203-468-8579.