Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Greg Downes, Chairman Emeritus at Gibson. We hope you enjoy Greg’s wisdom and perspective.
In 1961, when the original millennial Mel Brooks, better known as the 2000 Year Old Man (do a search on YouTube, you won’t regret it!), was asked by Carl Reiner the secret to his longevity. He had 3 answers:
- Never, and I mean never, fly – if the good Lord had wanted us to fly he would have given us all tickets.
- Never, and I mean never, eat fried foods – fruit is much better for you.
- Never, and I mean never, run to catch a bus – there will always be another one.
Pretty good advice, don’t you think? But in order to get good advice, even if you don’t agree with it or care to follow it, you do have to ask for it. This means asking the right questions of people who perhaps have been there and done that – maybe not how you would do it today, but surely experience counts for something.
I was recently with a group of active, engaged, relatively young CEOs, and I have to tell you, I felt REALLY old...not 2000 years old, but old nonetheless. Not because there was such a big difference in age. Not because they were talking about things I hadn’t heard of. Not because their terminology was unfamiliar to me. No, quite the opposite.
For the most part, the issues they are trying to deal with now are not much different from the ones I tried to deal with several years ago. Notice I said tried. Because I certainly made a lot of mistakes, probably more than my share. That said, I did try and deal with many of the same problems, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. It’s called experience!
I saw a post the other day on LinkedIn by Karen Moscato, Employee Benefits Operations Manager at Gibson, that said…”Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterwards.” That really stuck with me. With four generations in the workplace at the same time for the first time, now might be the best time to take advantage of that experience that won't last much longer.
Baby Boomers are retiring every day at an accelerating pace, and with them, an incredible amount of institutional knowledge and historical perspective may be lost. So go ahead, ask some questions and see what you get.
What’s The Risk?
It goes well beyond the old “war stories” some of us boomers like to share over cocktails and some Gen X and millennials like to laugh about. It isn’t about how far we had to walk to school in the snow or how we communicated before there were fax machines, not to mention computers, cell phones, or any of the other devices that fill our days now.
It’s more about mistakes made and lessons learned through the hardest kind of teacher – experience.
A very wise man (Bruce Gobdel, Crowe Horwath, retired) recently told me getting old is when you have all the answers but nobody asks you the questions. Now would be a good time to start asking…
Oh, one last lesson from the 2000 Year Old Man. When asked what the main mode of transportation or propulsion was 2000 years ago, he replied “FEAR”…
This content was written and shared by guest blogger, Greg Downes
Greg is Chairman Emeritus at Gibson. After teaching school for three years in South Bend, Greg joined Travelers Insurance Company in 1973, where he received extensive training as an underwriter in all phases of property and liability insurance. He was assistant manager of the commercial lines department in South Bend, and subsequently joined Gibson in 1980. He worked as President and Chief Executive Officer for many years before becoming Chairman of the Board. He is now Chairman Emeritus.
Connect with Greg on LinkedIn or Twitter.
