Why 70 Is the New 50

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He's very free about sharing the mistakes he made and what he learned from them. He can talk to a businessperson for just a short period of time and share wonderful insights into the problems that the person is facing and what should be done.

Competence is related to skills and abilities—things that are learned through education and training. The half-life of a skill competence (for example, new computer language) is short; the half-life of wisdom is long. All older people do not acquire wisdom. The ones that do are very valuable and should be considered for retention, if they want to continue to work.

What's holding organizations back from actively retaining or rehiring older workers?

There are two reasons: 1) inadvertent discrimination and misunderstanding about the skills, motivations, and attitudes of older workers, and 2) fear that they won't be able to get rid of poorly performing older workers. This is the big unspoken issue. Up until now, organizations have let many poor performers "coast to retirement." Given the chance to continue to work, organizations fear that many will want to stay longer and that organizations will have to face up to poor performance.

How are progressive organizations dealing with older workers?

They're getting select older workers to stay on longer. They are rehiring select people after they've retired (sometimes necessary because of how their benefit plan is structured). They are hiring select older workers who have retired from other organizations.

I am emphasizing "select" people—the people who have the critical skills, knowledge, contacts, or wisdom; the people who are successful in their current jobs and wish to continue to work. I am not suggesting that organizations should try to get everyone to work longer. For organizations, retaining successful people is a good bet because it is highly likely that their past success will continue on in extended employment.

How do you select the right people for retirement management.

In retention or rehiring situations, the company has to rely on its performance management system and the good judgment of people who know the individual. When a person is basically retaining the same job responsibilities, then the decision should not be difficult—past job performance should predict future job performance. When a person is going to assume new responsibilities such as becoming an internal coach, then the unique characteristics of those jobs must be matched with the personal characteristics of the individual.

Selecting older workers from outside the organization is more difficult because, like any hire, you don't have as much information about the individual. Companies have to do a thorough job of interviewing, particularly emphasizing motivation. Certain tests are quite effective in identifying competence but I highly recommend the use of job simulations, because they allow individuals to demonstrate their acquired wisdom.

It will be very difficult to generalize about baby boomers because of the large diversity represented. There will be boomers in their seventies who are truly like their parents in their fifties and there will be people who look old and act old. The diversity must be recognized by organizations in making selection decisions and in making policies.

Thank you for this valuable information. If this trend continues, I wonder if 70 will become the new 40! I am feeling younger already! How do our readers contact you?

I'd love to hear from them. They can reach me at bill.byham@ddiworld.com

Goldsmith's new book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, was recently listed as America's best-selling business book in The Wall Street Journal. He can be reached at Marshall@MarshallGoldsmith.com, and he provides his articles and videos online at www.MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com.