4-Quarter Lives

In this episode of 4 Quarter Lives we tackle the complexities of longevity, ageing populations, and the evolving business landscape that accompanies these global shifts. While longevity science progresses at a breakneck pace, societal norms and economic structures lag behind, posing significant challenges. Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with demographic strategist Bradley Schuman. Together they take a deep dive into how businesses that leverage age diversity can outpace the competition and why addressing the unique challenges women face in midlife could be a game-changer for innovative companies. They also explore the critical skills that will define success in the future workforce, highlighting the importance of curiosity, creativity, and compassion.  Bradley Schurman is Founder and CEO of Human Change – a global strategic research and advisory firm helping public and private organizations understand the challenges and harness the opportunities of demographic change, with a focus on population ageing. Human Change works to ensure that these subjects are considered across organizational strategies from human resources, marketing and communication, public policies, and product and service design. Schurman is also the author of “The Super Age: Decoding Our Demographic Destiny”, which examines how this shift is driving social and economic change around the world. Prior to launching his company and authoring the book, Schurman was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of EconomyFour, where he led business development in Asia and Europe. He also served at AARP – the world’s largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of older people – where he was Director of Global Partnerships and Engagements.  Some Useful Links: * Website - Human Change * Book: The Super Age: Decoding out Demographic Destiny * Newsletter: newrulesmedia.substack.com  Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Michael Clinton, a visionary leader and former President, Marketing and Publishing Director of Hearst Magazines. They discuss the evolving workplace, the benefits of age inclusivity, and the transformative power of media in shaping societal views on ageing. Michael shares his perspectives on how businesses and content creators can contribute to a more inclusive environment that values experience and longevity. Michael Clinton is a writer, photographer and former magazine publishing executive. He was publisher of GQ magazine from 1988 to 1994, senior vice president and executive VP of Condé Nast until 1997. He then joined Hearst Magazines as senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer. From 2010, he was President, marketing and publishing director of Hearst Magazines and served on the board of The Hearst Corporation. He remains special media adviser to the CEO. He has written many books and his latest, published in 2021, is his eleventh, ROAR: Into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It's Too Late). The book draws its title from an acronym: * Reimagine yourself* Own who you are * Act on what's next for you* Reassess your relationshipsThe book describes how people can transform themselves later in life and pursue a new career trajectory by "rewiring or 'refiring' for what could be another 30 or 40 years of life". Michael also runs a joint venture business with Hearst called roarforward.com.  Michael is also an avid traveler and runner. He has visited more than 123 countries, run races in over 60 and run marathons on all 7 continents, including Antarctica. A former board member and supporter of Starlight Children’s Foundation, he is also the founder of Circle of Generosity, a foundation that grants random acts of kindness to people in need. He has a degree in economics and political science from Pittsburgh University, an MBA from Pace University, an honorary doctorate from Pace and, after retirement, in 2021 earned a Master of Science in Non-Profit Management from Columbia University. He lives in Manhattan, New York, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Some Useful Links: * Michael’s JV website: Roar Forward * Michael’s book: ROAR Into the Second Half of Your Life * Forbes article by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox: 5 Steps to Longevity Leadership – Is Your Business Ready?  Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of 4-Quarter Lives Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Ann Francke, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, about the pivotal role of management skills in supporting and enhancing longer career spans. They uncover startling statistics, including that 82% of managers receiving no training upon promotion, resulting in what's known as "accidental managers", and the sobering reality that only 42% of managers are open to hiring workers over 50. Their conversation touches on the unique challenges women face as they enter the third quarter (Q3) of their careers and the huge importance of managers in shaping workplace culture and team member wellbeing. Ann describes CMI's extensive research on ageism in the workplace, strategies to support older workers, and the significance of leveraging the talents of a multi-generational workforce. Together Ann and Avivah explore how individual behaviours can influence organizational culture and how managers can become catalysts for an equitable and inclusive work environment.Ann Francke is Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, the UK's leading professional body for management and leadership with an international member community of over 200,000. She started her career at Procter & Gamble and has held senior executive positions at Mars, Boots, Yell and BSI. She is an expert in Management and Leadership in the workplace, speaks frequently in the media and at conferences and is a regular columnist for The London Times. She’s the author of ‘Create a Gender-balanced Workplace,’ published by Penguin, and the ‘Financial Times Guide to Management.’ She holds several Board positions and Honorary Doctorates for her work in management and leadership and is an ambassador for the 30% Club.Some Useful Links:* The Everyone Economy. A project, as part of CMI’s 75th anniversary, to understand the current state of inclusion in the workplace. Age was one of six characteristics looked at.* Age in the Workplace. As part of the Everyone Economy, CMI published a discussion paper examining the evidence base around age inclusion.* The Workplace in Review: Age. Part of CMI’s documentary series on barriers to fairness and inclusion in the workplace. This 20 minute episode focuses on age in the workplace.* Over-50s at work: 'You feel your usefulness has passed'.  A BBC article from January 2023 citing CMI research into managers' openness to hiring older workers. Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of 4-Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Pedro Pitella to explore the innovative work of global healthcare company Sanofi in fostering an inclusive work environment through Generations+, its intergenerational Employee Resource Group (ERG). Pedro is Head of People and Culture for Sanofi Brazil, and global lead for Generations+. The conversation explores the importance of age diversity in the workplace and the valuable insights Sanofi has gained in shaping the way for a diverse and inclusive future. From tackling age justice awareness to updating company policies to serve an ageing customer base, Avivah and Pedro discuss why a multi-generational workforce is not just a social justice issue, but a business imperative, and the practical steps Sanofi is taking to make an impact both locally and globally.Pedro Pitella has 20 years of business operational experience followed by 18 years in positions with increasing responsibility in Human Resources. Prior to joining Sanofi he worked in multinational companies including C&A, Citibank, Procter & Gamble, Mondelez, Johnson & Johnson and Makro. His first-hand business operational experience has been invaluable for developing HR strategies to support organizational growth and transformation. He holds a Production Engineering Degree from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and an MBA from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, and has lived and worked in Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico.Some Useful Links:* Sanofi’s Employee Resource Group approach* Sanofi’s ERG ‘Allyship Guides’ Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of 4-Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Helen Tupper, Chief Executive of Amazing If, a company redefining careers for individuals and companies. Together they explore the intricacies of career transitions during midlife and how organizations can support these changes. The conversation also delves into personal experience, highlighting the essential balance between work and life. Helen Tupper is co-founder and CEO of Amazing If, a company with an ambition to make careers better for everyone. Together with her business partner Sarah Ellis, she is the author of two Sunday Times bestsellers The Squiggly Career  and You Coach You. Sarah and Helen are also hosts of the podcast Squiggly Careers which has had 4m downloads and their TED talk, The best career isn’t always a straight line, has been watched by almost 2m people. In 2023 Helen was awarded a place on EYs International Winning Women programme. Prior to founding Amazing If, Helen held leadership roles for Microsoft, Virgin and BP and was awarded the FT & 30% Club’s Women in Leadership MBA Scholarship.  Some Useful Links: * Amazing If website. * Book: The Squiggly Career, by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis * The Squiggly Careers podcast. * Helen Tupper’s LinkedIn   Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the 4-Quarter Lives podcast, we delve into the intricate world of career transitions and identity change with renowned expert Professor Herminia Ibarra of the London Business School. As we navigate the realities of career shifts, Herminia shares invaluable insights on why these transitions often take years, not months, and the importance of managing expectations during this journey. We confront the myth of discovering a "true self" and explore how identity is actually mutable, shaped through experimentation. Herminia guides us through the often "dark, messy middle" of career change — a period of confusion and uncertainty that paradoxically serves as a fertile ground for growth. We also discuss the significance of connecting with others in similar phases and practical steps to initiate change, such as reactivating dormant networks and embarking on side projects. Join Avivah Wittenberg-Cox and Herminia Ibarra for a deep dive into the evolving landscape of career transitions in today’s fast-paced world. Herminia Ibarra is Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School. Prior to joining LBS, she served as Professor on the INSEAD and Harvard Business School faculties. An authority on leadership and career transition, Thinkers50 ranks Herminia among the top management thinkers in the world. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network, a judge for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award, a Fellow of the British Academy, the recipient of the Academy of Management’s Scholar-Practitioner Award for her research’s contribution to management practice, and Governor of the London Business School. Herminia is the author of best-selling books, Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader and Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career. She writes regularly in leading academic journals and business publications including the Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, is the author of numerous best-selling business case studies, and speaks internationally on leadership and organizational transformation. A native of Cuba, Herminia received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University, where she was a National Science Fellow. Some Useful Links: * Herminia Ibarra’s book on career transitions: Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career * Herminia Ibarra’s website * Latest Harvard Business Review Article: Why Career Transition is So Hard * Harvard Business Review Article: Reinventing Your Career – When It’s Not Just About You  Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

Join Avivah Wittenberg-Cox in this episode of 4-Quarter Lives, as she sits down with Victoria Tomlinson, the innovative mind behind Next-Up. Next-Up is revolutionizing the way we think about retirement and the roles of older workers in today's workforce. We delve into the outdated concept of retirement, the challenges faced by older employees, and the importance of intergenerational working for successful companies. Victoria shares her expertise on how Next-Up assists employers in engaging with their seasoned staff through workshops and an online platform, turning apprehension about later life stages into excitement and motivation. We also explore the unique struggles of older workers in finding purpose, the significance of planning early for life transitions, and practical tips for creating a fulfilling post-retirement life. Tune in for an insightful discussion that challenges the status quo and offers a fresh perspective on retirement and the workplace. Victoria Tomlinson founded her second business, Next-Up, five years ago at the age of 63, and has developed an online platform to help employees coming up to unretirement, as well as running workshops for pre-retirement partners in professional firms. She has spoken at TEDx on A Generation of Wasted Talent. A former director of EY in London, she ran an award-winning comms and digital business for 30 years. She was founding chair of Women in Leeds Digital, increasing the diversity of digital teams. She chaired the management division advisory board for University of Leeds and sat on Northern Ballet’s board for eight years. She is on HMP Askham Grange employment advisory board to help ex-offenders, is a Teaching Fellow of Lancaster University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She has coached chief executives and directors, mentors start-up businesses, young people, ex-offenders and those transitioning into retirement. Next-Up’s own podcast, Re-think Retirement, helps people with inspiration and ideas for unretirement. Some Useful Links: * NextUp website * NextUp Podcast Rethink Retirement  Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Season 5 of 4-Quarter Lives, a podcast exploring the profound impact of longer lives and careers … on everything: countries, companies, couples and careers. Thanks for all your support and listening over the past year, we love all the feedback and reactions. Please keep it coming! In this season Avivah Wittenberg-Cox will start by investigating the scary, exciting and urgent topic of career change. Why is it so terrifying, how can we do it better, and why (and how) can companies help their talent to transition more smoothly across our 60-year career spans?Introducing Richard Alderson, CEO CareershiftersThis week, Avivah talks with Richard Alderson, CEO of Careershifters. After his own feeling of serious stuckness in his late 20s, and his subsequent successful and life-changing shift, Richard Alderson has devoted his career to convincing people that they can successfully change careers. He’s spent the last decade working with thousands of individuals and companies. In this podcast, he shares his learning and data. For example: * what are the 2 big issues that block career-shifters, * the 6 phases of transition that people go through when moving, and * the single most important success factor of a career shift.Created in 2006, the aim of Careershifters is to help motivated people who feel stuck in the wrong career to find and move into fulfilling work. The starting point is helping more effective career changes, with personal fulfillment at the core. Using a combination of coaching, community and technology, and drawing from entrepreneurship, psychology and design thinking, Careershifters  now has an online community of over 180,000, helping people make both individual career moves, and to develop the mindset for confidence in making future shifts. Careershifters is a B-Corporation, a business that consciously balances purpose and profit and considers the impact of its decisions on workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.After a number of years in the corporate world, Richard Alderson became disillusioned with what he was doing and quit his job in search of something more meaningful. Seeing a gap in the career guidance and support market, and following a programme at INSEAD Business School in Social Entrepreneurship, he founded Careershifters.Some Useful Links:* https://www.careershifters.org/* https://www.careershifters.org/career-change-test (free assessment to discover your career change stage)* https://careerscanchange.co.uk/ Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

In this wrap-up episode to the latest season of 4-Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox reviews the 10 fascinating conversations she has had over the last 10 weeks. Her discussions with Haleh Nazeri (World Economic Forum), Philip O’Keefe (Ageing Asia Research Hub) and Emi Kiyota (Singapore National University) explored the challenges presented by aging populations, at a regional and national level. She followed this with conversations about the implications of older workers and customers for companies. James Root (Bain & Co), Michael Fossat (Schneider Electric), Lisa Edgar (Saga), Sibylle Le Maire (Club Landoy) and Lyndsey Simpson (55 Redefined) discussed their research and organizational responses to the issue. Finally, she looked at what all this means for individuals, their careers – and career prospects. Her conversations with Mona Mourshed (Generation: You Employed) and Julie Miller (AARP) provided fascinating insights for all of us. As Avivah concludes, The season has been a good example of what she has been aiming to do with 4-Quarter Lives - namely to chart the impact of the new longevity on careers, companies and countries and the complexity and inter-relationships between these areas. And to show how generational balance is to the 21st century what gender balance was to the 20th. Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s 4-Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with Sibylle Le Maire, Executive Director of the media group Bayard, based in France. She is the Founder and President of Club Landoy, which consists of 24 member companies and is focused on the impact of demographic transitions, aiming to bring out new approaches and innovative solutions for social progress. Today, a third of the French (and developed world’s) population will spend a third of their time in ‘retirement’. This is something that has never previously happened in the history of humanity. This raises many questions and will profoundly change social balances, and economic and personal trajectories. Club Landoy explores this phenomenon, and stimulates business awareness of the impact of longer lives. Sibylle Le Maire worked in the publishing industry in London before joining Bayard in 2002 as head of overseas sales rights. In 2009 she was appointed Deputy Director of the Group’s International Business Development Unit and, in 2017, executive director of audience and information of websites notrefamille.com and notretemps.com, and General Manager of Bayard Media Development, a subsidiary of Bayard in charge of diversification and B2B and B2C development for the group. She is also the Founder and President of ViveS Media, the first 100% digital media in France dedicated to the relationship between women and money. She is a board member of Forces Femmes, an association that supports women over 45 in their efforts to return to work and set up their own businesses, and of Orpea, a major provider of care services. Some Useful Links: * Club Landoy website  * Bayard website  Get full access to Elderberries at elderberries.substack.com/subscribe