Harnessing the Wisdom of Older Generations: Insights from a Founder

At 50, Neeraj Sagar made a bold decision to quit his highly-regarded position as a Senior Partner at Egon Zehnder and strike out on his own. The driving force behind his new venture, WisdomCircle, is the belief that older generations have much to offer and should not be disregarded due to ageist biases. “It’s time to retire the idea of retirement,” Sagar declares, as many older individuals are not only living longer, but possess the vitality and acumen to make significant contributions. They just don’t want to do it at the same hectic pace that the pre-retirement life demanded.

As the call for diversity grows louder, it is imperative that we extend this ethos to those with silver hair, before their life experiences are depleted with other planetary resources. Sagar’s own journey is a testament to the fact that it’s never too late to pursue new goals and passions, and can serve as an inspiration for anyone looking to embark on a new venture or purpose.

Glean Adaptability

Neeraj’s earliest memories were forged in the flat desert sands of Kuwait, where his family lived in a cluster of stilted caravans. His father, employed in a large public sector project, was posted near the Kuwait-Saudi border, requiring a daily commute of nearly 100 kilometres for Sagar and his brother to attend school. But the isolated community that had formed around the project site came with certain perks. The savvy general manager, recognizing the potential for discord among families, had arranged for a movie to be screened each evening. This kept the families entertained while breadwinners toiled at the project site. When the men returned late, their spouses, riveted by screens, stayed uncomplaining.

For Neeraj and his brother, avid movie buffs, the evening screenings presented a quandary. They needed to be well-rested for their early morning commutes to school. Their mother, ever resourceful, came up with a solution. She recorded the films on a VCR, editing them down to a more palatable duration – reducing a 2.5-hour film to a brisk 30 minutes – until the boys were old enough to detect her subterfuge.

Absorb Life Skills Early

Later, Sagar attended Mayo College, a boarding school located in the historic city of Ajmer, in Rajasthan. Founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, the 6th Earl of Mayo, the school boasts of educating a veritable who’s who of India’s political, cultural and business elite. In that setting, Neeraj, at the tender age of 12, garnered many of his street-smarts, the kind of know-how that transcends classroom learning: “Tying my shoe laces, crossing the road, catching trains, packing my bags, prioritizing what to learn, managing my nutrition” he recalls. Along with his wife, they impart the same lessons to his two children: to leverage their schooling not merely for academics, but for life skills.

Read Beyond Curricula

With characteristic humility, Neeraj admits that luck played a significant role in most opportunities that came his way. With his father refusing to fork out donations for an engineering seat, Sagar was determined to earn one through merit. He was admitted to TKIET, Warananagar, in Maharashtra, where he pursued Chemical Engineering. At the time, the college library had a limited collection of books, numbering around a thousand or so. Despite this, Neeraj had always been fascinated by business news and had cultivated a daily habit of reading The Economic Times at the library.

One evening, when the newspaper had not been delivered, he found himself fidgeting among the shelves, and stumbled upon a graphic book on Cooling Towers. The cartoonish illustrations helped clarify the subject in a way that traditional textbooks could not. This knowledge proved uncannily handy during a job interview with Engineers India Limited (EIL), where he was only asked about Cooling Towers and he was very confident in his responses, landing him the job.

Stay Curious About Diverse Topics

At EIL, Neeraj was posted to an offshore project in Mumbai, where he developed a keen interest in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques. He spent his free time delving into journals on the topic, and was particularly drawn to an article written by a Professor at the University of Texas, Austin. He wrote to the Professor expressing his interest, and was delighted to receive a signed copy of his book on the subject. “The book cost $80 and my salary was $80,” he recalls, with a chuckle. This interest in EOR led him to apply to Stanford University for graduate studies in Petroleum Engineering, where he was granted a full scholarship.

Engage in Offbeat Projects

On graduating with a Master’s in Petroleum Engineering from Stanford, Sagar joined Schlumberger in Denver, Colorado. Later, he was elected to join a select group inside the organization to work on an exciting global project. The special group, consisting only of 30 employees picked from Schlumberger’s global workforce of 60,000, was flown out to Paris and asked to ideate about Workplace 2021, especially about the ways in which the Internet would reshape work and how Schlumberger needs to evolve. Launched in 1999 when the Internet was just getting off the ground, the blueprint needed to meld visionary projections from the MIT Media Lab and Gartner conferences with the team’s own reckonings.

Continue to Learn Mid-career

The project reinforced his interest in the multifaceted world of Business. He had already set his sights on an MBA, and after being admitted to the prestigious Booth School at the University of Chicago, he approached his manager with his plans. With only three years under his belt at Schlumberger, the company’s policies dictated that he was not yet eligible for study leave.

Enter Pierre Bismuth, the Group Head of Human Resources. Bismuth, intrigued by Sagar’s zeal for personal growth, proposed an arrangement. Schlumberger would sponsor Sagar’s business education and grant him study leave, with the stipulation that he return to the company for a year after graduation. With this generous offer, Neeraj and his wife were able to attend the University of Chicago without incurring any debt.

Explore Divergent Paths

Years later, after stints at The Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey, Sagar was prompted to speak with Egon Zehnder, a recruitment firm, with an eye towards returning to India. Despite not possessing the traditional attributes sought by an executive search firm, such as a pre-existing network or human resources experience, Neeraj’s capacity to grow into the role caught the interviewer’s attention. In addition, Neeraj’s wife suggested “If someone is going to pay you to talk to people, that sounds interesting no?”. This kicked off a new chapter in his career, one that he had initially intended to last for a few years before moving on to other sectors. Those few years became fifteen.

Garner Insights on the Job

After spending fifteen exhilarating years at Egon Zehnder, he realized that his experience there had shaped him in many more ways than he expected. One of the most significant ways it did so was by exposing him to a wide range of people, from senior leaders and C-suite executives to people from across the world. The fast-paced nature of his job, which involved interacting with accomplished people across countries and helping with international transitions, taught him that corporate leaders, regardless of where they’re from, have a lot more in common than one might assume: “All of us are human, all of us have our insecurities and vulnerabilities.”

Observe Gaps to Spawn Ideas

It was at Egon Zehnder too, that his idea for a start-up started germinating. Many mid-lifers and older individuals were reaching out to him for career advice on what to do post-retirement, and there were only so many board and advisory positions. Some of these people wanted to continue earning, while others sought a sense of purpose. He sensed that this population had a wealth of knowledge that ought to percolate into contemporary organizations and younger generations. Moreover, with global rises in life expectancy, and organizations favouring youthful hires, he detected a significant gap in the market, where this accumulated knowledge and wisdom sharing was coming to an abrupt stop at ‘retirement’.

As he approached the age of 50, Neeraj felt a stronger inclination to bridge that chasm. The time during Covid also got him to think about his own purpose. When he shared this idea with friends and colleagues, he was met with enthusiastic support.

Embrace Risk

Despite offers of support from his employer, Egon Zehnder, Sagar decided to take the leap and become an entrepreneur. He secured $1.8 million in funding from an early stage Venture Capital fund, and from angel investors all over the world – including North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Widespread interest in his idea was a testament to its resonance in a global market. He was also accepted into an accelerator program, Huddle who have been extremely helpful in getting him off the ground. The terms “WisdomCircle” and “WisGen” were coined by investors, highlighting that their stake in the idea was not just financial, but emotional.

Articulate the Firm’s Raison d’être

Incorporated on January 21st, 2022, Neeraj had his first colleague join in March 2022, and today has over 20 people – all of whom have someone in their family who has gone through this challenge. One of the company’s early projects involved 12 interns from Ashoka University, who were tasked with conducting extensive interviews with individuals in the “Wisdom Generation,” or “WisGen”. Through these conversations, it became clear that many in this age group were seeking relevance, echoing Viktor Frankl’s message in Man in Search of Meaning: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”

While there did not seem to be a shortage of individuals looking for positions or part-time engagements, the next challenge was to find organizations willing to hire from the older demographic. To address this, WisdomCircle started with a consultative approach, asking companies to identify problems for which they lacked skills or resources, and then matched them with relevant candidates from the WisGen. Currently in Beta, WisdomCircle has 65 companies on board and has listed about 400 openings in total, and growing. The learning so far is that demand for this demographic exists, but it needs to be unearthed in a systematic way – which is not easy to do.

Dispel Stereotypes

Some of the stereotypes associated with older individuals include a lack of energy, a tendency to talk too much and not listen, and difficulty getting along with younger co-workers. But these biases often crumble when people reflect on their own parents or older relatives or others in their circles. Like any demographic, older individuals display a diverse range of characteristics.

While most retirees do not wish to work full-time, few are willing to hang up their boots and settle into a life of leisure. Many aspire for a “portfolio life” that includes hobbies, family time, self-care, and work. Recognizing this, WisdomCircle, tailors roles for such preferences, allowing for part-time engagements.

Choose A Mascot

The mascot for WisdomCircle is a turtle, chosen to challenge the notion that older individuals are less capable, and to emphasize the strengths that come with age. As Neeraj notes, turtles are “unafraid to be known as slower” and have “withstood a fair number of life knocks” that has given them a steely exterior that can be leveraged by organizations.

Scale With Technology

In contrast to high-touch service providers like Executive Search firms, WisdomCircle intends to offer moderate levels of contact with both organizations and job seekers. The ultimate goal is to scale the platform globally and place millions of retirees in suitable positions, and do it in a respectful way for the WisGen. Sagar is building a technology platform to achieve this, which will have an AI based algorithm to match openings for the WisGen. Their quality of work is evidenced by the repeat requests from organizations that have already filled roles through the platform.

Build Verticals

The platform offers three main types of positions: domain roles, which leverage the expertise of retirees in fields such as finance, engineering, and operations – essentially skills that take a lifetime to become good at; teaching roles, through the One Million Teachers initiative, which aims to build a database of potential educators and mentors for organizations to access; and social impact roles, which are paid positions within social enterprises.

Another focus for WisdomCircle involves connecting defense personnel with civilian roles, as Sagar believes the skills of veterans are vastly underutilized. Furthermore, the Indian Government and UGC have implemented a program called “Professors of Practice,” which allows practitioners to assume professorial roles without a doctorate in the subject.

Foster Respect

At this stage, one of the rules for recruiters on WisdomCircle is that they cannot advertise for free or volunteer roles. The firm emphasizes the importance of paying retirees for their contributions, as a matter of respect. In cases where the recruiter is not able to pay market rates, the compensation is called an ‘honorarium’. Additionally, recruiters are encouraged to specify compensation upfront to help retirees make informed decisions.

Hiring retirees has several benefits for organizations, one of which is that firms do not have to manage their careers at this stage. WisdomCircle also offers concepts such as “two in a role,” where a retiree may provide mentorship or advice to younger C-suite Executives in operational roles. Again, “two-in a role” was a phrase coined by one of the investors.

“We are still learning and adapting as we build,” says Sagar, “but one thing is clear, this is a segment we are focused on, and the words we are solving for – which apply to this segment world over – are Relevance and Respect.”

References

https://wisdomcircle.com/