In the article “Japan’s small businesses are in trouble” (The Economist, 4 December 2021) it’s mentioned that, in this Asian country, research suggests that “Older managers are less likely to seek entry into new business fields, less likely to make capital investments and less likely to foster a corporate culture that encourages trial and error”. Perhaps the view of the work of the elderly in small corporations is not very favorable…
Just a different opinion was held, some centuries ago, by Marcus Tullius Cicero in his famous essay “De Senectute”. Could old age really put people aside from the sound management of their private businesses? The Roman thinker showed that the resolution of problems could often be solved more than with a strong body by a strong mind, it doesn’t matter if the managers were young or old.
According to Cicero, the really important things, those that require a sense of responsibility, were not done by force or speed of the body, as they were a result of reflection, authority and good judgment, qualities that grow larger with old age.
Even in a transforming world –or just for that reason– we should pay more attention to the classics.
