If Brett Favre Is Old, Then So Are We

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A few years ago I was checking references on a Silicon Valley exec, my client’s top choice for a Chief Technology Officer search we’d been doing. It was a pivotal role: tough, competitive industry; Fortune 500 company; fast-paced global blah blah blah…in short, the big leagues. And while it’s illegal to ask questions about age or even hint that someone might be “too old” for a job (funny that we have no problem telling people they’re too ), I don’t think I can get in any trouble now by mentioning that this candidate happened to be well into his 60s. The client and I both thought he was a terrific catch and his age was never discussed. Just the same, I needed specific information from the references…and had no option but to get it sideways. So I used the usual euphemisms, asking about his “bandwidth” and “energy level” and “stamina” and “ability to withstand constant pressure.”

I was talking with the last reference on my list — an important one –? when he paused and said in his heavy Mandarin accent, “I understand what you are asking and I will tell you. The answer is that .” (I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t dropped the phone at that point, I would have heard him call me “grasshopper.”) In the end, our candidate was offered the position, accepted…and performed brilliantly. No surprise, really.

If you’re a baby-boomer executive who’s recently landed on the ripe side of 50, there’s probably less to worry about than there was a generation ago. Except for the economy, of course. Not that you don’t have to keep an eye out for a million young Turks who want to eat your lunch — certain things will never change. (Free advice: Stay in shape.) But if the current trend in CEO hiring is any indicator, boards of directors have become hugely risk-averse and appear more than willing than ever to sacrifice youthful edge and velocity for a few gray hairs.

One thing that may require some adjustment, though, is that the stakes are measurably higher. It hurts much more now when you get sacked. As we’ve seen from the last few weeks in Vikingland, being indispensable can wind up feeling like a demotion. If you’re not a savior, you’re a bum, a has-been. (Isn’t that why we say “washed-up,” by the way…because our player has left the field and gone to the showers?)

Getting older? Don’t wait until you’re at the top of your game to play like you mean it. (It won’t happen. We only recognize the peak accomplishments in retrospect.) Keep moving, stay warm. Protect your bad ankle and try to avoid helmets to the chin. Sure, you’re fragile. C’mon, you’re ! And yes, it’s a lot tougher to pick yourself up after you’ve been knocked on your ass. But forget about how you look, wipe your nose and find your way back into the huddle. There is no uphill or downhill anymore. There’s just being in the game. And hoping that The Force stays with you.

If you ever imagined that you might exit this world with your dignity more or less intact, consider the illustrious Brett Favre — winning by the occasional miracle, but still losing one piece at a time. It has to be a metaphor for life.