Passing the baton

Encourage them and make them grow. After almost 30 years of going through retail trends and many different campaigns, it’s time to coach the younger ones so they can teach the very young. This is how baby boomers must face the reality of aging. Pass the baton.

I was having lunch with a college friend and we were talking about just having peace and quiet and not having to stress over business projects or the lack of it. “Don’t think of new projects anymore,” I told her. Just watch and coach. Let them make their own mistakes and triumphs.

As I go over Instagram I see new names, new businesses and it’s a good thing. I see the passion of these young entrepreneurs and look back at the many businesses and start ups we founded in the past. And I am just happy that the young have been carrying on – putting up passion projects and trying new formats. Much as I’d like to say “been there, done that,” I would much rather say “break a leg” and “carry on.” Because the ideas born today are way different from our traditional “Blackberry era” or “beeper 150” years.

What we would also like to pass on to the youth though are age-old habits:

• Be on time. This has never changed from the time of my father’s coaching us kids. He stressed punctuality so much, sometimes we got left behind, because we were not on time.

• Be trustworthy. The most important currency in business is trust. Your word, your promise and your name are all bundled up into one word: trust.

• Be persistent. Do not easily give up. All new things are difficult to navigate and you must enjoy the journey, no matter how long or how hard it is.

• Be there. Roll up your sleeves and feel the sweat. Delegation is something we all can learn but make sure you know how to do it yourself, so that when push comes to shove, you won’t be totally lost.

While the younger set can pick up from where we’re leaving, they must also think hard about the reasons why they will carry on. Each one must have a personal reason for doing what they do. It cannot simply be what your parents started, or because it’s been laid out for you.

And to parents I say this: Do not lay it out for the children. Let them begin their own journeys and their own paths. I now hear of many parents who instead hire professional managers because their offspring would rather paint or write and not have to run their conglomerate. Rather than get disappointed, parents must just do what they want to do, and not start something only for the next generation to continue. Do it because you believe in it. Most parents who have laid out all the best plans end up disappointed because Murphy’s Law dictates that things will go wrong for a reason. Lessen or manage your expectations as parents.

Meanwhile, let’s cheer on the coming generations to find the solutions to the challenges now faced by the planet. After a few decades of abuse of the environment by their elders (that’s us), the youth are finding new solutions to correct the wrongs. Let’s encourage them to think out of the box.

Even in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the younger ones already integrate purpose with money – not needing the traditional concepts of philanthropy and charity. They like to help others from the get-go. They like to think of the ideal business concepts that serve to help others. Let’s allow them to think this way.

So as we pass on the baton, we also pass on the values that have made us whole and have made us last… at least long enough to still write this.

And know when it’s time to do this. Though mentors, patriarchs and matriarchs love to stay on until they croak, the young must be taught earlier on how to not depend on their elders for every decision they have to make. Children, sometimes already in their 50s, still need to ask their parents to weigh in on major decisions as a show of respect. But it may be a thin line between respect and not having the resolve to decide on anything major. Soon the parent may have dementia, Alzheimers or some other illness that may prevent them from teaching anymore. What will the child do?  This is how some companies end up in disarray…just because the patriarch or matriarch held on to the throne too long, and then it’s too late to train or pass the reins on to a trained successor.

So, check your company, your organization, even your non-profit. Make sure you have a successor or younger people who can imbibe your values and your “intangibles” early on.

Don’t be afraid; simply pass the baton.