After owning a marketing firm for six years and then advising other principals since 1994, one of the unsolved mysteries that still makes me scratch my head is why the vast majority of people in this field fade away from it in their late forties and early fifties. Not only is that unique in the professional services sector, but it’s also a darn waste because these people are smart, hardworking, and capable of having a significant impact on their employees, their clients, and even the world.
So why is that? Is there something inherently unsustainable in the way creative people are working that causes them to have only so many years of contribution before they move on? I still don’t have definitive answers, but here are seven suggestions if you want to beat the odds (particularly if you are the principal of a firm or the manager of an in-house department).
