Baby Boomer Insights

Boomers as entrepreneurs: we'll rule the future of business

On Friday, I got the opportunity to speak at one of my all-time favorite conferences, the annual meeting of the Women Presidents' Organization. The impressive group is made up of women entrepreneurs around the U.S. and Canada who run companies that collectively generate $8.3 billion in annual revenue. These aren't hobbyists - they're serious, smart business executives who really know their stuff. To the person, everyone I met was very impressive  and inquisitive.

The theme of the conference was innovation and my presentation was about how to generate great ideas that drive innovation. I argued that the best ideas often come from process and explained the seven steps Edelman uses to arrive at some of the ideas behind our best campaigns. (We call it the Pioneer Thinking Roadmap and it is a very thorough, facilitated process that works regardless of the size of the company.)

Attendees also heard from one of my all-time favorite authors and big thinkers, Malcolm Gladwell, who introduced the world to the concept of the tipping point.

One thing I especially enjoyed about this particular conference is that most of the women are boomers who are very enthusiastic about their companies and very willing to share their best practices with one another. I learned, btw, that 68% of WPO members do business with one another.

Maybe part of the kinship I felt was driven by the fact that my own company, Edelman, is a privately-held boomer-led company. Sure, we have our share of Gen Y and Gen X, as all agencies do, but for the most part, the senior management is made up of boomers who have extensive experience in business and a thirst for independence and creativity. Even the folks who run our digital practice are boomers, a fact that surprises those who assume only the "kids" understand or care about the digital revolution.

Boomers play a very important role in  business growth and will continue to do so for the next couple of decades. Already, 50-year-olds make up a quarter of the workforce and a full 40 percent of the self-employed. Look for this trend to grow in the coming years as boomers retire from Corporate America to start their own businesses. Perhaps you've heard it said we don't retire, we rewire.

So what are the implications of this rewiring? It is significant and includes, among other things:

> Companies with a large boomer employee population need to have strategies in place  to tap into this brain trust in a way that ensures skills transfers before the "brain drain" occurs;

> Companies that service small and medium businesses need to understand that these businesses will increasingly be run by smart, experienced boomers who will be demanding, creative and very inquisitive. They'll want to do business with people they believe are as smart as they are.

Perhaps the most important insight of all is that no one in any generation should assume retirement looks a certain way or that boomers are eager to abandon the corporate workforce just to travel and watch the grandchildren. We're just as likely to start travel companies that specialize in multi-generational travel!

In other words, what I witnessed at WPO is a glimpse into the future, one that includes independent thinkers who will run the economic engine and be very choosy about where they buy their fuel. Are you ready for them?

Boomers seek "encore careers": retirement no longer a given

On Sunday, I was picked up by a car service to be taken to the airport for a business trip and one of the first things I noticed was that the driver appeared to be in his early 60s and looked like the quintessential business executive. So I used the opportunity to ask him about his occupation.

It turns out he retired from a Fortune 500 company about six months ago following a career of 32 years, with his last position being as a COO. After three months of "being bored" he decided to start a new career.

He went on to say that he actually gave a lot of thought to what he would do and finally settled on being a limo driver because of the flexible hours and interesting conversations he might get to hear between  preoccupied business executives. (I loved his honesty.) He reported that, so far, he hadn't been disappointed. He has picked up stock tips, learned the inside scoop on companies he read about later in the paper, and even met a couple of famous people.

"Ward" is a great example of the trend in Boomer retirement: not retiring at all. Most intend to work well beyond the usual retirement age of 62 or 65, in part because we' re vital and like working, but also because we aren't financially ready to call it quits.

Today's NY Times carries an interesting interview with author Marc Freedman about "encore careers" in which he discusses the phenomenon of Boomers choosing to re-career rather than retire. His observations and research echo that of my company.

Edelman and its marketing research arm, Strategy One, in July conducted in-depth research on Boomers called the U.S. Boomers Insights and Implications Study, and learned that Boomers don't consider themselves "old" until 74. Some 78%  say, "I have opportunities in life," and 75% agree that there is less pressure to act or feel in certain ways. Add it all up and it begins to make even more sense that Boomers  aren't following the work pattern set by our parents.

I get excited when I meet Boomers who are doing unexpected things (like retiring from corporate America to drive a limo) and realizing that limitations are usually self-imposed and it's perfectly alright to eschew them. No wonder Corporate America is worried about "boomer brain drain."  It's becoming more obvious that Boomers actually have options and we're not afraid to exercise them!

Boomers and Long Term Care Insurance: Most aren't covered (even though we think we are!)

This  "open enrollment" season may be the one that changes your life. Employees in corporations across the country find themselves trying to decide just how much insurance they should buy. My husband and I have compared our company plans to see who should carry what coverage.

Only recently have I given much thought to Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI). My parents bought a policy 25 years ago when they were in their late 50's and as I was reviewing it in preparation for having to potentially seek long-term care for them, I started thinking about my own future and how Ralph and I need to consider whether our coverage is adequate. If you're Boomer and you haven't been through this exercise of figuring out your LTCI needs, keep reading for some shocking information.

Here are a few results of a survey just released by America's Health Insurance Plans (Full disclosure: this study was conducted for AHIP by Strategy One, the research arm for Edelman Worldwide.):

> 1 in 4 Boomers think they are covered for long term care, but they aren't;

> 75% of Boomers aren't really sure what LTCI provides;

>54% of Boomers think Medicare will pay for their long-term care (it won't);

> 44% assume "other health insurance" will pay for long-term care;

> 41% of Boomers haven't even discussed the subject of long-term care in the past 12 months.

I certainly understand that Boomers are healthier, living longer and are more vital than previous generations, but facts are facts. One day, most of us will need some kind of professional care beyond what we can provide for ourselves or have provided for us within our families. And the cost of long term care continues to rise. It seems to me Boomers who aren't already considering LTCI are behind the eight ball. It won't get any cheaper.

AHIP is recommending that people check out the Long-Term Care Champions Network, where you can learn more about how to stop the rising costs of long-term care. The group is dedicating the entire month of November to calling attention to the need for people to understand long-term care and the need to plan for it.

So, while insurance is on your mind during this "open enrollment" season, it seems like a good time to at least discuss your own needs and plans.

Why hiring Boomers and Matures may be a company's best hiring strategy yet

"When most employers talk about diversity, they're rarely talking about age." So says Gary Phelan,  speaking on behalf of Outten and Golden, an employment law firm in New York. He was responding to the assertion that people older than 50 have a much harder time finding a job than those under 50.

Phelan is right if you go just on the numbers.  In 2006, it took the average worker age 55+ some 22 weeks to find a job, compared to 16 weeks those those under 55. What's more, candidates under 40 were 50 percent more likely to get called in for interviews. So, what's up with that?

Apparently, many employers assume that Boomers and Matures will be 1) too expensive; 2) overqualified; 3) not technologically as astute as younger workers; and 4) more likely to use health benefits and, eventually, retirement benefits. Like anything else in this world, those are generalities, though, and not all will bear out with each worker who happens to have inhabited the earth for five or more decades.

Shortsighted companies fail to acknowledge that by 2014, there will be an overall increase in employment of 17 million and 11 million of those potential workers will be 55+. Seems like it would be a good idea to start embracing the Boomers and think more about what they offer and less about what they might not.

For instance, studies show we Boomers are, generally speaking, more dedicated to our work, and we bring  experiences and perspectives  younger workers simply can't offer. Moreover, it turns out that because we're more likely to be health conscious than previous generations, we're relatively healthy and we have fewer dependents who rely on the company health plan.

According to the AARP, 80% of Boomers plan to work past retirement, so the opportunity for companies to take advantage of the wisdom and experience of Boomers is  unprecedented.

The way I see it, Boomers looking for work need to learn how to make their past experience relevant to a company's current needs. Meanwhile, companies need to consider the impending labor shortage, especially in certain areas like nursing, and be more open to the idea of hiring outside "the norm."

In short, sometimes we all call the world dirty, when in fact we just forgot to clean our glasses.

How to embrace aging: advice from someone who does it well

Yesterday, I went to the Atlanta History Center to hear a lecture by Connie Goldman, author of The Ageless Spirit. Connie is 75+ years old and still a vital, interesting and entertaining woman.  As a long-time producer and interviewer for NPR, she has built quite a following over the years. I can see why. She single-handedly debunks many myths about getting older and does so with such warmth and grace.

Here are some interesting insights she offered:

> We tend to focus too much on what we lose as we age. Why not concentrate instead on what we gain, such as wisdom, patience, insight, a slower pace?

> We don't look the same or think the same as when we were younger, nor should we. Celebrate the fact that you continue to grow. Growth is far more important than youth.

> Ask yourself, "Who am I now that I'm not who I was?" Quit living in the past and recognize the wonderful gift of reinvention. We should grow whole, not old.

Her most sound advice, though, was that it's not too late to embrace aging. She certainly wasn't suggesting we quit the gym and grow old gracefully; rather, she was advising that we all need to start looking at "youthing vs. aging" and recognize the culpability we have in maintaining the negativity about growing older. After all, we're the ones who influence the attitude of those younger than us.

Research shows that by 2022, the 50-64 population will grow by 50 percent and the 65+ population will grow by 32 percent. Meanwhile, Gen X and Gen Y populations COMBINED will grow only 3 percent. In other words, down the road, there will be way more of "us" than "them."

Once again, Boomers are blazing new trails,  changing the way the world looks at getting older. Consider how wildly popular the  Dove For Real Beauty and Dove Proage campaigns have become. Look for that trend to continue as companies wake up to the fact that their relevance is directly tied to how they interact with this powerful poulation.

How is your company embracing its aging workforce through positive messages and encouragement of its Boomer population?

Ignore Boomers and they'll go away (and take their knowledge with them)

While lunching with a Boomer friend recently, he was bemoaning the fact that his company seemed to be putting all its training dollars into sending its 20-somethings to classes to learn about new technologies, while the Boomers were encouraged to invest their time in learning more about retirement planning.

What a short-sighted view! Clearly, the executives at this company  are underestimating not only the desire Boomers have to learn new skills, they apparently don't understand the  mindset, nor even the statistics about Boomers and retirement.

Despite all the talk about the impending drain on the workforce when Boomers retire, the numbers tell us the end isn't coming quite so fast.

Boomers, as you know, are defined as those born between 1946 and 1964. But it is important to consider the how the actual birth numbers break down in the post-war years . According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, there were 3.4 million people born in 1946, the first year of the boom, yet 4.3 million born in 1959, toward the end of the boom. That means there are far more Boomers in their late 40's and early 50's than there are in their  late 50's and early 60's.

Do the math and it becomes clear that the biggest retirement years are most likely going to fall between 2014 and 2028. That means there are still a lot of good years left to tap the talent that Boomers have, as well as continue to invest in them. I can't think of a single Boomer who is trying to just get by at work until they can quietly exit.

It would probaly surprise this particular group of executives, for instance, to learn that Boomers are often more willing to relocate for a job than younger employees. Gen Xers frequently turn down opportunities to move because they like to stay in the area when they have developed relationships. Boomers, on the other hand, are often up to trying something new, especially once they become empty nesters.

Companies that have offices in multiple locations would do well to think about how to tap the talent and vitality of 50-year-olds to run these offices, rather than assuming their primary option is to groom 35-year-olds so they'll be ready in 10 years. Boomers can be ready now. And they're very competitive, for the most part. So don't count us out as less ambitious just because there's alittle snow on the roof.

Smart company executives  see Boomers for the true treasures they are - knowledgeable, enthusiastic workers who want to give back and are willing to do so by mentoring others while getting today's job done.

Ignoring Boomers and failing to invest in them will accomplish one thing: they will go to companies that do value their expertise. And when they do, they'll take a boatload of knowledge with them right when a company needs it most.