When Your Experience...Becomes Your Biggest Liability

For many of us in our 40s and beyond, we used to think that with our years of experience in the markets we've been in, we should be valued by the company we worked for.

Victor, a 49 year old Regional Marketing Director for a Professional Services firm said, "I was at the top of my game but when I was suddenly retrenched, all the headhunters told me that I was 'too experienced' for the roles I wanted! I'm so confused."

But does that hold true in today's world? Let me share some thoughts with you.

1. The Experience Paradox

The traditional view held that the more experience you had, the more value you built up inside you, hence you become more important to the business.

Like "Fine Wine".

But today, some have likened it to "Stale Ale"... unfortunately.

Like Victor, who had seen every market challenge 'in his day' and felt he was ready to take on any competitors.

Until an AI-powered start-up turned up and disrupted his industry - he was totally unprepared to tackle these challenges, especially the way they leveraged AI-powered marketing tools to generate 20x the marketing content his team could ever create and how they automated the marketing funnels to bring in 10x more leads to the sales team.

He just couldn't catch up.

So, the sad reality today is that the more experience (from the old world) you bring, the less valuable you are to the new world challenges we face, unless you evolve.

Here are some warning signs that you might be encountering The Experience Paradox?

1. You're using the same solutions you did 5 years ago - Are you geared up with the latest tech?
2. Your industry knowledge is deep but too narrow - Have you evolved outside your comfort zone?
3. Younger colleagues are leading digital initiatives - Do you understand their jargon?
4. You're comfortable but not learning anything new - Have you gone for skills upgrading?
5. Your network hasn't expanded in recent years - Are your industry pals still talking about 'the good ol' days?

2. The Hard Questions

I'll begin by addressing the elephant in the room for those in their 40s and beyond.

a. Are you too expensive for the experience you bring to the table? Is the $300K+ you're costing the company bringing in $1m in value?

Because if you aren't, there's a younger, cheaper, better skilled and possibly more ambitious whipper-snapper that Senior Management wouldn't mind having a go at your job.

b. Are you in an industry where experience is valued, or one where your market value diminishes with time?

A Lawyer who handles unique and complex legal cases becomes more treasured as he keeps encountering new and challenging situations, making him more valuable to his clients the longer he works.

Whereas, an Engineer who manages the shopfloor, or a Project Manager who inputs and monitors his team's process charts may end up being 'stale' or too expensive for the role, and it's only a matter of time before their boss notices it and starts questioning their 'value to the team'.

Some industries value experience more than others - how about yours?

3. How To Escape The Experience Paradox?

Here are some ideas:

a. Skill Stacking - Pair a new skill or set of skills with your deep experience so you can turbocharge your contributions.

For example, instead of relying on 'old methods', an experienced Supply Chain Manager could apply predictive analytics or data visualisation techniques to achieving better outcomes at their work.

Find out how you can pick up new skills, and stack them on top of your existing experiences - that will give you an edge over those younger showoffs!

b. Know the Trends - Don't be a Dinosaur or a one-trick Pony - stay ahead of the market.

Find out what's happening in the cutting edge competitors of your industry - are they pivoting to new markets, new products/services, or leveraging new technologies like AI?

It doesn't matter if your company isn't ready to adopt these innovative processes or address these new opportunities - it's more important that you stay at the forefront of these changes so you don't get left behind at your next job.

c. Be Aware of Your Value Equation - Are you delivering 4x of what you're costing the company?

As we become more expensive to the company, we must be seen to be creating even more value than we're costing them, otherwise, it won't make economic sense to keep us.

Would you pay $20,000/mth to a Sales Director who is only bringing in $10,000/mth in revenues (not even profits!)?

Or, would you be more willing to pay a superstar who was bringing in $100,000/mth in profits, $30,000/mth in salary?

Keep figuring out how you can create more value and you stand a better chance at beating The Experience Paradox.

Homework:

Here are some Action Steps for Next Week:

1. Review your last 3 projects for innovation elements

2. Identify 2 new skills to develop

3. Connect with 3 people outside your usual network

4. Sign up for one digital upskilling course

5. Share your experience through mentoring

Conclusion:

Your experience shouldn't define your limits - it should expand your possibilities. The question isn't how many years you have, but how you're using them to stay relevant.

What's one way you're ensuring your experience remains an asset rather than a liability? Share your thoughts below."

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