I love the following article, so many truths, so many of us don't want to hear. But whatever industry you are in, whether it be the Promotional Product Industry selling printed caps and t shirts or filling trade show bags with balloons, brochures and stickers, the principal is the same. The digital world impacts us all. Have you noticed in your office the age of people doing certain jobs. Are the stereotypes changing? Is there Ageism? Love to hear you experience.
'7 reasons people think you're too old to work in digital'
Have you
become too old to work in digital? If you are over 40, there are more than a
few digital leaders who may think so -- people who think you are past your
sell-by date. While the average age of digital marketers has increased over the
past several years, it's still an industry that seems to favor the younger set.
I am well
over 40. Over 45, in fact. And over the past year, I have seen far too many
remarkable talents shunted aside -- people passed over for new roles or unable
to find new jobs. And more than a few of them have told me that ageism is a
significant cause of their troubles.
Hey, America
is a youth culture, and marketing is right dead centre in that obsession. So my
shrieking about ageism is unlikely to do anything to address the issue.
But perhaps
there are ways that we 40-plussers can examine our own behaviours and personal
styles and make changes that dramatically reduce the odds that we will be
victims of ageism. We can make changes, in fact, that prove we are essential to
the furthering of this industry in the years ahead.
This piece
is intended to drive just that sort of personal self-examination. As such, it
is not a rose-scented anti-aging cream that will transform us into bright-eyed
25-year-olds. Instead, the idea here is to review some common bad behaviours to
identify the things we do that make us seem less relevant. Then to nip those behaviours
in the bud.
Here are
seven such behaviours to begin your soul searching.
You complain
about the young
Many
over-40s spend a great deal of time taking the personal inventory of their
younger co-workers. We say they are lazy, sloppy, self-entitled, and far too
needy of feedback and reinforcement. Is it surprising, then, that younger
decision makers make the same sort of unfair generalizations and criticisms
about us?
Let's start
by debunking the "Millennials suck" meme. Millennials manage to
juggle multiple work tasks all day long. They grew up in a world where speed
and responsiveness are more important than methodical thoroughness. If they are
agency side, they probably juggle six to a dozen accounts when you and I had
only one or two to think about when we started.
As a group,
they expect more promotions and feedback than did we, but perhaps it was our
expectations that were made too small rather than theirs too big. After all, if
you don't ask, you don't get.
Next, let's
remember that judging individuals by group stereotypes demeans them as individuals.
After all, it's wrong for us to be collectively judged as clueless dinosaurs.
The same applies to our younger cohorts.
Finally,
let's remind ourselves that if we have contempt for the skills and abilities of
younger people, we shouldn't be surprised when they reflect that contempt.
You isolate
yourself
The
effectiveness of marketers is limited if they fails to listen to the panoply of
perspectives that surround them. This is particularly true in an age where each
generation has such remarkably different life experiences, expectations, and
world views.
By staying
in the thick of an organization -- soliciting perspective, creating an
atmosphere of mutual respect, helping (and learning from) people with fewer
years of experience -- we stay relevant, improve our marketing acumen, and gain
the admiration and loyalty of those around us.
Most of us
benefitted from mentoring in our early days as professionals. We have a
responsibility to continue that great tradition with the next generation.
You build a
personal fortress
In speaking
with several HR pros for this piece, I heard that many older execs in
organisations try to create centres of personal control in order to make them
essential to the organization. The thinking is that they can't fire the only
person who really understands the email program, for example.
While this
might have been an effective self-preservation strategy in the past, the
dynamic nature of digital is constantly undermining the value of static skill
sets. Fifteen years ago, the 50-year-old guy who held the keys to the direct
mail channel probably enjoyed a measure of job security because DM was such an
important business channel. But these days, relying on your expertise in a silo
is no assurance of safety. First, the need for integration across silos has
become acute. Second, no individual can stay abreast of developments, even
within a narrow specialty. You need to be connected to others to keep your
skill set and knowledge fresh and relevant.
When you put
up walls, or simply don't make an effort, you remove yourself from the nucleus
of your organisation and grow progressively less relevant with every passing
day.
You read
instead of experience
Keeping up
with the trade journals is one thing, but actually experiencing digital
innovations is quite another. There's a reason why it (used to be) called
interactive. There is no way to understand Pinterest without having an
account and spending some hours on it. Twitter seems ridiculous when you read
about it. But using it creates the personal revelation of its incredible power.
Now, there
are dozens of platforms launched every week, so it would be impossible to try
everything. But that truth does not absolve you of the responsibility of using
things that are gaining traction in the market. For those of us who remember
body counts on Cronkite, keeping up holds extra challenges because we have more
ideas and experiences jammed into our brain cells already. But to be part of a
medium whose goal is to transform society, you need to break out the
metaphorical shoe horn and constantly stuff more ideas and experiences in.
When I
interview people, I often start by asking them how they use Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. "I don't" is not a good answer
for any of these questions, regardless of your age. By contrast, it is
perfectly OK not to be a constant user of these platforms. But not having even
tried something that millions of people turn to every day is a sign of industry
irrelevance, whatever your age.
Ultimately,
a marketer of any stripe needs to have real empathy for the lives, opinions,
and experiences of people. You cannot understand how Pinterest is changing
someone's life without using it. No journalist can make it clear, and no focus
group summary can provide clarity. Just as it is natural to wonder about the
fit of a prospective traditional media person who doesn't watch TV or read
magazines, so too is it natural to question the commitment of digital people
who don't have the curiosity necessary to immerse themselves into its most
important innovations.
You aren't
mobile enough
Perhaps the
biggest shift taking place in digital today is the transformation of the web
from a PC-based medium to a mobile-based one. Actually, in many parts of the
world, that transformation is yesterday's news. All over Asia, the percentage
of people accessing the web from their phones and other mobile devices is far
higher than those using full-sized computers. In the U.S., that shift is expected
in the very near future.
Because
older digital folks didn't get their first phone when they were 10, we can be
tempted to view digital concepts from a PC-centric perspective. If you aren't
regularly trying new apps or exploring websites from a tablet or phone, that
temptation is routinized into a narrow and outdated worldview.
First,
change your behavior. Remember that experience drives perspective in digital.
Force yourself to start from the perspective of mobile digital access. Find
personal behaviors that can be enhanced with mobile apps. Stay abreast of the
mobile ecosystem. If you are interviewing, shake things up by first discussing
the mobile implications of something. Then shift to PC. If you are part of a
team working on a new project, start with mobile.
You don't
act the part
A blasé
personal style undermines your perceived relevance when you are surrounded by
young people filled with a passion for driving change. A couple of decades ago,
you might have been able to slow down at some point -- to coast until
retirement.
But the days
of the 40-year man are way behind us. In a world where having six, eight, or 10
different jobs over the course of one's career is not at all unusual, you need
to maintain your drive to innovate and excel.
If you've
ever been tempted to say, "We've always done it this way," I hope you've
been able to restrain yourself. If not, it probably makes sense to start
looking for an empty box in which to store your personal effects for the escort
out of the building.
In digital,
precedent is something to be attacked, not defended. Digital innovations up-end
the status quo and the people who vainly try to enforce it.
You don't
look the part
One's
physical appearance changes over time. Gravity and all that. But in an image
business, we need to be conscious of the impression we create. People use the
totality of our physical selves as a heuristic to decide whether we will fit
in.
The wrong
personal style, clothes, work style, etc., can put unfortunate distance between
you and your colleagues. If you work in an office where flip-flops and ironic
T-shirts are the norm, wearing a tie starts you off in a hole with a shovel of
dirt on your head.
Sheryl
Sandberg is a great example of someone who has transformed her personal style
to fit a new environment. Contrast how she looks and dresses now to her earlier
days as head of sales for Google. From couture fashion to denim, and with her
jeans and T-shirts, she creates the impression of someone who fits as a leader of
Facebook.
For women,
being judged by appearance is a lifetime reality. Women know not to walk into a
W+K interview in a Brooks Brothers suit and an Aqua-Netted bob reminiscent of a
Republican county committeewoman. For men, the importance of "look"
can be a bit of a surprise. But the decision to be a part of digital must bring
with it a willingness to be flexible with things that we might prefer to leave
as they are.
Conclusion
Ageism is
outrageous, unfortunate, and very real. I know far too many people my age and
older who are out of work or have been placed in unchallenging low-relevance
roles. We can complain about it, or we can fight it. Success in this battle
ultimately requires that thousands of us show people the error of their
discriminatory ways by combining our invaluable experience with a willingness
-- actually an addiction -- to change, stay relevant, marshal multiple
generations, and lead.
If you stop
for a second to reexamine the behaviors outlined above, it's easy to see that
they are not limited to the more mature set. The one thing that is certain to
life is that we will all grow older over time, so these are behaviors and
issues that we would all do well to address -- whether we are 23 or 63.
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