When Is an Employee Too Old to Cut the Mustard?

Reader Jenni Lukac from Barcelona brought to my attention an article in the current issue of Advertising Age reporting the firing of 54-year-old George Hayes by ad agency McCann Erickson allegedly because of his age. As a result, the beleaguered agency, which has lost a number of marquis clients recently has found itself on the wrong end of an age discrimination lawsuit.

The lawsuit states: "The ultimate goal of McCann-Erickson was to replace its older workers with younger employees, based not on performance, but on McCann-Erickson's discriminatory desire to create a more youthful image, which McCann-Erickson felt it could achieve by ridding itself of its older employees and replacing them with younger employees."

Perhaps the folks at McCann and its parent, Interpublic Group of Cos., which is also a defendant in the law suit, should pick up a copy of The Wisdom Paradox by internationally prominent neurologist Elkhonon Goldberg. While young brains can well outperform old brains in some mental feats, old brains – even old brains afflicted with Alzheimer’s – can out perform younger brains in mental tasks.

Goldberg illustrates that fact anecdotally by citing famous scientists, artists, statesmen and others who expressed themselves in their specialty with undeniable wisdom despite impairment in mental processes in comparison with younger brains. The crucial difference is summed up in a single word: wisdom.

Erik Erikson once opined, “Lots of old people don't get wise, but you don't get wise unless you age.'' Wisdom can have unfathomable economic value to a company. The counsel of a wise employee could save a company caught up in a swirl of challenging events or point the company toward a major marketplace achievement.

We are only now becoming able to assess the power of the older brain in quantitative measure. Sophisticated fMRI scanning equipment permits scientists to eavesdrop on brains while their owners are thinking. Some of what they are learning about older brains is truly astonishing. For instance, older brains tend to make heavier use of both sides of the brain – the logical, reasoning analytic left brain and the sensuous, feeling, emotional right brain. The result is more holistic perceptions of reality – or in other words “a more complete picture of reality.”

So, companies that think they are saving money and looking better to clients ought to reconsider the worth of wisdom. No one is ever too old to cut the mustard in some useful fashion

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Comments

[Atare E. Agbamu]

David --

Shame on McCann-Erickson!

-- Atare

[Mollie Foti]

Of course, I'm a bit prejudiced, being one of the so-called "old" brains (and 54 seems pretty young to me!) But, haven't they read any of the articles about how the market is increasingly driven by us oldsters?

Personally, I think companies would be much better served with a combination of young and old. Different perspective make for different ideas with a balance of wisdom and new thinking.

[David]

Mollie,

Not only are different perspectives valuable, but the members of the "new customer majority" -- folks who outnumber adults under 40 by 136 million to 86 million -- literally process information (read marketing messages) quite differently than younger adults do.

Thanks for your comment.

DBW

[joared]

To say that this sort of age discrimination is appalling is an understatement. As much as things change, they remain the same to paraphrase some unknown source.

I wonder, too, if other factors may be at work in the interest of a company ridding themselves of older employees. Not only do they want youth, they want to pay the lower salaries youth and inexperience requires.

Also, am aware of an attitude that may prevail in some instances, that older workers can be "more fixed in their ways," than younger ones. The implication is that they will be less trainable to the company way.

I would suggest,also, the older worker might be more inclined to think twice before overextending themselves for the company benefit, unless they have realistic knowledge their efforts will be appreciated in meaningful ways rather than vague assurances.

[paul@eucap]

Well there is an upsurge of retirees starting companies according to CNN.

More retirees opting to launch startups

The so called Grey Entrepreneur is employing himself

[Your lucky you left the stock is worth shit now]

McCann Erickson will fold by 2015, I work for them currently and no one cares about the brands just a paycheck.