S-AGACIOUS ADVICE FROM THE S-AGE

Question of the month! What must we do to make certain we accommodate all the many differences between our established workforce and the "youngest" generations now entering our workplace? We have been hugely challenged by the younger workers lack of loyalty, high turnover and low commitment to our company's goals.

The S−AGE replies: Allow me to respond by telling you a story about Wizards. As you know, Wizards live a long, long time. To place our lifetimes in perspective, we live (on average) 7 years for every year of an average human lifetime. For instance, I am 490 years old (you do the arithmetic) and reaching my wizardly maturity. It is only now that I am widely addressed by the hard−earned and respectful title of The S−AGE. Takes time, you know, to learn life's lessons.

Wizard children are immature for 140−150 years. During this early time of their lives, they are over−indulged and deluged with presents and entitlements. Their every effort is rewarded with encouraging words, such as "good job" even if the results of many of their efforts are lackluster. Ah…how we love our young.

Why do they all turn out to be responsible adult Wizards? Well, during their youth, we teach them a very few important things while they are spreading their wings (yes, young Wizards have wings − helps them to experience all of the universe − not just their home world).

Here, then, are the Ways of Wizards:

• Young Wizards of every age, race, and gender are taught Wizard culture…one culture that is based on what it means to be a Wizard. The basis of our culture is responsibility to all other Wizards. There is no sub−group division, no underclass between Wizards and, while Wizards speak dozens of languages, one common Wizard language unites us all − far and wide − across the universe.
• Young Wizards are the best educated of all Wizards. They do not drop out of Wizard school unless they wish to forfeit the precious gifts of magic that are each Wizard's legacy. It is unheard of to forgo such a legacy.
• Throughout their youth, the young Wizards have much to teach older Wizards. They formally share their latest lessons learned, such as robotic theory and advances in cross−planet communication. Because they mature somewhat later than human−children, and because they know that they too have much to learn from experience as well as from education, the young Wizards are patient and respectful of older Wizards' busy lives and enormous life responsibilities. We call this gentle interaction between younger and older Wizards "The Mentoring Up−Down−Around Process ", thus ensuring that all Wizards continue to learn throughout all of their life stages.
• The mature, middle−aged Wizards are much like the famous Jedi of Star Wars fame about which the Great Wizard (George Lucas) wrote. They serve the future by gently, but firmly, guiding the young in the ways of Wizards. They stress similarities rather than differences. They value unity rather than divisiveness. They treat younger Wizards as inheritors of opportunities rather than as victims of circumstance. We call what middle−aged Wizards do "The Transfer of Knowledge Between Generations."
• The oldest of the Wizards (AKA, The S−AGES) stand back and let life itself teach its lessons. For it is life that brings both soft and hard lessons to us all, and it is by living long enough that character is tested and strength is built. With all of our magic, we still must suffer, even as you do, when harsh realities touch our lives. Once in a blue moon (the moon is blue on certain planets, you know) novice Wizards excel at lifelong learning and they are sent to Wizards who have reached the status of S−AGES for advanced attention. We call this "Legacy Building" for the S−AGES and "Succession Planning" for the younger, emerging generations of Wizards.

Carleen MacKay & Brad Taft
info@AgelessInAmerica.com