Navigating the Aging Population in Business with Avivah Wittenberg-Cox

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox is CEO, writer, speaker, coach, consultant, change agent – depending on the call and the context. She is a global expert on 21st century leadership, gender and generational balance, longevity and the future of work and careers. She is a Harvard 2022 Advanced Leadership Fellow and is helping individuals and organisations manage the transitions and extensions of the 2nd and 3rd Quarters of 100-year lives. Themes summarised in her latest graphic book Thriving to 100 – Through Life’s 4 Quarters. She is an Ambassador for the Stanford Center on Longevity, and the Global Peter Drucker Forum, and sits on the Boards of the National Innovation Centre on Ageing (NICA) and the Chartered Management Institute’s ‘Everyone Economy’ Board. She is also an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University in Chicago. In 2023, Avivah was inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame.

As the CEO of 20-first, Avivah works with organisations focused on capturing the competitive advantages of the future of work and the impacts of changing demographic trends on talent and markets. Author of WHY Women Mean Business (Wiley), and 7 Steps to Leading a Gender-Balanced Business (HBR), she is also a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and Forbes, as well as a sought-after speaker with three TEDx talks. Avivah was given a Lifetime Achievement Award for Gender Balanced Leadership by PWN Global, was named one of the world’s 40 Most Inspiring Women Over 40 and was recently featured in a Financial Times article on how women are changing the future of management.

In her own 1st and 2nd Quarters of life, Avivah grew up in Canada, attended the University of Toronto as a joint Computer Science/ Comparative Literature major, went to Paris for a year and stayed for 30, completing an MBA at INSEAD along the way. Avivah holds 3 passports (CDN, F, CH), lives in London with her sculptor/ magistrate husband and visits her two grown, gender-balanced children, a son and daughter based in Dakar and New York. She is tracking her own path through her 60s and all things longevity in a weekly newsletter called elderberries.

In this episode, Avivah takes us into the world of generational balancing. She explains the complex dynamics of demographic change, the unique attributes of people throughout different quarters of their lives, and the profound impact of longevity on businesses and economies. Avivah emphasizes the importance of breaking down stereotypes between employers and older workers along with confronting ageism. This episode highlights the significance of adapting to the Q3 generation's needs for businesses to thrive in today's dynamic landscape.

Topics covered during this episode include:

• Why it's important to understand demographic change.
• The Q3 generation and the impact of living longer lives on businesses and economies.
• The difference in negotiating strategies that differentiate Q2 from Q3 individuals.
• Why the demographic shift of the number of older individuals being on par with younger ones is significant.
• How the future of aging and the role of intergenerational engagement is evolving.
• Why preventive care is crucial in an aging world.
• How stereotypes and misconceptions between employers and older workers can be broken down.
• The potential role of AI in performance evaluation.
• How the world is designed for Q2 individuals and the need for this to change.
• The importance of gender and generational balance in businesses.
• The impact of an aging population on consumer buying decisions.
• Why the benefits of gender and generational balance can give businesses a competitive advantage.
• How life expectancy varies across different populations and countries.
• Why it's necessary for organizations to engage with the older workforce.
• The issue of ageism and how it can be addressed effectively.
• How AI can help potentially save us from ageism.
• The importance of individuals being adaptable and lifelong learners in an aging population.
• How Q3 individuals can prove their value to employers through demonstrating learnability, curiosity, growth mindset, and tech skills.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avivahwittenbergcox/