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For Immediate Release
"A lot has happened, but has much really changed?" asks Futurist & Age Wave Authority PJ Wade "Although we are now only seconds away from almost anyone and anything on the planet—thanks to technology—have we really changed the way we think about ourselves, manage our communities or make decisions?" asks Futurist PJ Wade, emphasizing that on all fronts progress is an illusion. "Many of the beliefs, stereotypes, misconceptions and myths about career, aging, home, health, and retirement that were present in the 1900s are still with us," Wade stresses. "These warped, inaccurate views hold organizations and individuals back from realizing the true potential for improvement that technology and the related knowledge flood offer us." Wade acknowledges that Baby Boomers have stimulated North America’s economies and transformed cultural and societal standards as they advance through life—and they are far from finished yet. This demographic revolution, enhanced by the technological whirlwind represented by the Internet and wireless communication, dictates a wide-scale re-evaluation of business principles and consumer expectations, according to Wade. However, Wade believes that change does not automatically mean improvement. "To put our collective and individual futures in context, we must put the Age Wave in context," said Wade. "Every aspect of society will be rewritten by Boomers and their families. Who’s going to guarantee we get it right? Look at the shambles education and corporate misbehaviour has left us with." We can hope for rosy futures and an end to ageism, but without conscious effort and deliberate purpose where are we headed? Are politicians and CEO’s the ideal leaders for this century? Everything is up for grabs. For instance, retirement, once a handful of quiet years spent waiting to die has been transformed into a decades-long, active involved unretirement, as Wade calls it. Eventually, it will become invisible, a seemless extension of life, not an end to anything. But will this improvement touch all Canadians or only a privileged few? By 2066, the last of Canada’s Boomers will turn 100. What will those birthday parties be like? Where will they be living? Most should be living active, involved lives in their own homes. These questions and others like them reflect the shifts in thinking, traditions and the makeup of society that may and, in many cases, must lie ahead. Wade says we're long over-due ending the myths that still define our lives and businesses. For instance, let's end some myths about Boomers:
"The challenge for businesses and governments and, therefore, consumers lies in the fact that the Boomer population bulge does not act as one mind or work together," says Strategist Wade, a provocative public speaker, author and educator. "Each Boomer is individually reacting to their changing needs, interests and level of maturity. By the sheer numbers of Boomers, patterns arise, but the question is, Who is in control of what evolves?" Terminology used by PJ Wade: "The Age Wave"—collective term for Baby Boomers; term coined by Dr. Ken Dychtwald in referring to "the largest generation in history—baby boomers." "Unretirement"—Wade says "it is the opposite of everything that retirement used to mean to us." Background: Contact information: |
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