During my time at Airbnb, I recognized a new kind of elder emerging in the workplace. Not the traditional elder of the past, regarded with reverence simply for years lived. But a Modern Elder, striking into new territory due to the growing value of their relevance: the ability to use timeless wisdom to address modern day problems. By understanding the importance of context, today’s Modern Elder is the perfect alchemy of curiosity and wisdom (curiosity to open up possibilities and wisdom to distill down what is essential).

Want to see what massive change looks like? Check out the table below, which depicts how economic power has evolved in the U.S. from an industrial to a high-tech economy. No surprise, right? What is a surprise is how little we are prepared for that change. How does learning keep up? More accurately, where do people repurpose themselves to keep up with the changing times? “Life-long learning” may be a trendy phrase, but they’re hollow words without a home.

A wise person can distill down the essence of a business or a person’s mastery. Long ago, we created an exercise in my boutique hotel company, Joie de Vivre, in which we asked management theorist Peter Drucker’s favorite question, “What business are we in?” five times in sets of dyads (you sit two people facing each other). The value of this repeating question meant the answerer, who couldn’t repeat an answer, needed to act like a miner in digging deeper into what’s their core differentiator. This approach led us to discover...

In most circles, it’s almost impossible to talk about getting older without the conversation turning to retirement, and questions of “when, where, and how.” Of course, no one stops to ask why. The “why” is built into what we’ve been taught our final act should look like—the promised pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Retire is what you do when you reach a certain age—stop working, slow down, and take it easy. And if you can’t afford this dream, it’s easy to feel like you’ve been cheated, or you’re a failure.

Jaws drop when I answer the question, “What’s your favorite leadership book of all-time?” Improbably, I consistently answer, “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. What does this rumination on life inside a Nazi concentration camp written by a psychologist have to do with leadership? Frankl chronicles how meaning can be the fuel for life even in the most challenging of situations. He articulates that character can overcome circumstances, which is an extremely valuable lesson for leaders.

Being a mentor begins by teaching ourselves how to be present for those who show up in our lives. This is easier said than done. We have become a society of technological screen addicts who treasure multitasking and productivity over genuine interactions with others. Somewhere along the line, we have transferred multi-tasking from our jobs to the relationships in our lives. We keep one eye on the person we’re with, and one eye on the door. And if not the door, the cellphone, the next appointment, the piece of chocolate pie.

“Juxtaposition” is one of my favorite words. It suggests maximum possibility through the attraction of opposites—what happens when two separate elements join together to create magic and power. Laurel and Hardy. Laverne and Shirley. Harold and Maude. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. Call it Modern Day Alchemy—turning lead into gold, or better yet, transforming opposing ideas into order, meaning, and beauty.