In this episode, Rob & Angie Lion of Black River Performance Management and rebel hospitality entrepreneur, mentor for Airbnb CEO Brian Cheskey, and New York Times Best Selling author Chip Conley discuss the importance of creating an environment where wisdom can be distilled and dispensed. Chip explains what a “Modern Elder” is and how to look for someone with these qualities to cultivate and foster the wisdom in yourself and within your organization. Chip shares his story on how he became an “mentern” (and he defines the term) at Airbnb and what it looks like to create a space for wisdom to be valued and how it helps cultivate organizational knowledge and new perspectives. Since we are living in a time with 5 generations in the workplace it is crucial for organizations to understand the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and create a system that supports diversity of age and steers clear of agism.
The iconic boutique hotelier who helped Airbnb’s founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand, Chip Conley is a New York Times bestselling author whose manifesto on ageism, Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder, is inspired by his experience of being both a mentor and an intern in his 50s. After selling the company he started as a rebel entrepreneur at age 26, Joie de Vivre Hospitality, Chip wasn’t sure what was next. He could have retired at age 52. But the young founders of Airbnb came calling. He served as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy for four years — while also being CEO Brian Chesky’s mentor — and continues today as a Strategic Advisor to the company’s leadership. While writing Wisdom@Work, Chip was inspired to build the world’s first “midlife wisdom school,” the Modern Elder Academy, with a 3-acre oceanfront campus in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Chip is an active mentor to six young CEO founders in the hospitality/tech world, and serves on the board of Encore. org and the advisory board for the Stanford Center for Longevity. He believes curiosity is the elixir of life and started learning Spanish and surfing at age 58.
