Tapping the “Fountain of Youth” Career

The stuff of legends has become a biotech reality.

In the 16th century, Ponce de León searched for the fabled “Fountain of Youth” with its magical waters that supposedly could cure illness and reverse aging. Immortal youth apparently was a perquisite of exploration—Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. was said to have encountered a healing “River of Paradise.”

Ponce’s and Alexander’s excellent adventures didn’t elongate their lives. (Ponce died at 47 and Alexander at 33.) Today, however, biologists, biotechnologists and other scientists are hard at work cracking the code on aging.

In the early years of the 20th century, the average American lived to just over age 49. Since then, an additional 30 years has been tacked on, for an average life expectancy of about 80 years. Now, thanks to the biotech version of the Fountain of Youth, science is looking to expand longevity even further. One day it may be possible for humans to routinely live to a healthy and vital 120—a feat almost accomplished by Misao Okawa of Japan, who had been the world’s oldest person until she died recently at the venerable age of 117.

Bioethical debates aside, the prospect of humans becoming modern-day Methuselahs has implications in every aspect of life—and will no doubt change the work paradigm. It is preposterous to consider that our idea of “retirement” stems from the Social Security Act that dates to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first term, becoming law in 1935. Today, AARP defines an “older worker” as someone over 50. (Like every other 50-year-old in America, I have received my share of AARP membership invitations and Social Security benefits projections.)

Today, people are staying in the work force longer – some by necessity, but many more by choice. Maybe 50 years ago it made sense to move to Sun City, Ariz., bask in the warmth and play shuffleboard until dinner was served at 4 p.m. But that’s not today’s reality. In a recent Korn Ferry survey, 75 percent of respondents indicated that they would work past age 65.

The previous century’s ideas of how long people can or should work are no longer relevant today and will be even less meaningful once life expectancy expands to the triple digits. One day, age 50 or 60 could very well be the midpoint of a career—or maybe even the opportune time to switch from one professional discipline to another! Sound far-fetched? It’s not! Our entire mindset must change with today’s reality: The days of the gold watch after 25 years of service are long gone!

Imagine when career longevity becomes the norm and not the exception. Our entire ecosystem and infrastructure will need to be transformed, from expectations of pensions to Social Security to health care. The workplace of the future will take age diversity to another level, with four and maybe even five generations working side by side, interacting and learning from each other. With more job mobility becoming the norm, people who have eight jobs before the age of 30 might end up with 20 or more by the time they finally decide to retire (if at all).

With exponentially expanded careers comes an even greater need for continuous learning in order to be relevant for a longer period of time. More and more, people will have careers that evolve with the changing needs of the global marketplace and the rapid explosion of technology. This means keeping pace by expanding one’s skills, competencies and experiences.

To be adaptable means not only being able to “swipe left” and “swipe right,” but also learning and applying lessons from the past to the present – knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do. This is the essence of a leadership trait we at Korn Ferry refer to as “learning agility,” which we have found to be a perennial predictor of success.

Today’s college is yesterday’s high school. Tomorrow’s master’s degree will soon become, if not already, today’s college. Learning does not end with a diploma that’s essentially a plaque on the wall, but should span a lifetime of new challenges, direct feedback, self-reflection and getting the job done resourcefully. At every age, learning agility taps one’s ability to be highly self-aware, to be comfortable with complexity, to work with and through others, to drive results in first-time situations and to have passion for new ideas.

I recently asked a celebrity-type CEO (who will go unnamed) what he thought were a couple of the most important traits of a leader. In a deep Southern drawl he said, “Well, first, I was born at night, but not last night.” In other words, street smarts to “read a room”—people and situations. The second, he said without hesitation, was curiosity, which is the prerequisite for continuous learning.

Those who don’t adapt to new and evolving demands for knowledge and skills will be as relevant to the work force of tomorrow as buggy-whip makers are today. “Evolve or become professionally extinct” is the Darwinian rule of the work force—no matter how long you live.

Looking ahead, with the reverse-aging of biotechnology and the power of learning agility, there may be few limits to what we can do and when we can do it.

Maybe it’s not too late to become a brain surgeon after all …

How has your work environment changed?  What skills do you think are most important in today’s workforce?  Share your stories here or throw a question to me @Gary_Burnison