7

Great Teams Stay Young in Spirit and Outlook

You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old.

—GEORGE BURNS

On Sunday, February 14, 1980, our team took things to a new level when in our second game of the Olympics we beat Czechoslovakia, 7-3. Remember, we had come off an emotional final minute tie against Sweden on Friday. We were not expected to beat the Czechs—a team that many smart hockey people thought would take silver at Lake Placid and, maybe, even challenge the Soviets for gold. So, when we not only knocked off Czechoslovakia but actually soundly beat the team, we were not skating under the radar anymore. The U.S. was a very good hockey squad and we proved it.

Our third game was against Norway, a team that we were expected to beat—perhaps easily. Would we have a letdown, though, after the big win over the Czechs? We didn't play well early in the game. I let in a goal and we were losing 1-0 heading into the first intermission. We were playing stilted and nervous, in a sort of play-not-to-lose rather than play-to-win mode. We were sitting in the locker room and Herb had not come in yet. We were a bit down; we weren't getting the job done. Dave Silk tried to pump everybody up and he suggested that we all start saying positive things to, and be supportive of, one another. I remember what happened next—and Sports Illustrated actually reported it in a story. No one talked for a moment or two and my teammates kind of just looked at one another. Then came the chatter. From the Sports Illustrated story:

“‘Eric, your hair looks marvelous.’

“‘Phil, that's a wonderful job of taping your shin pads.’

“‘Jimmy, your eyes are a lovely shade of blue.’

As Mike Eruzione noted later, ‘We may be young but we're immature.’”

The youthful and immature banter eased things up; we started laughing and it helped us relax. Herb came in and told us we were a better team than Norway and just to play our game—and play it at full tilt. We came out of the locker room and dominated the remainder of the game and won, 5-1.

Joking, fun, and being kids were our MO—it helped us deal with the pressure heaped on us. It made us stronger. In September 1979, the team was on a sort-of barnstorming tour through Europe, playing games against European national teams and clubs. The tour was about preparing for and getting accustomed to the quality of competition we would face at Lake Placid; it was also about putting us in a situation in which the players would be forced to bond—as well as giving us breathing space from the U.S. media, administrators, organizers of American amateur hockey, and NHL coaches and scouts.

We were in Norway and taking a train from Oslo to Lillehammer. It was one of those sleeper trains with tight quarters and three-tiered bunk beds. Mark Wells, Ken Morrow, and I were figuring out the arrangements for one of the beds—and suddenly it hit me: the episode from The Three Stooges (remember I was born in 1957) called “Pain in the Pullman” when Moe, Larry, and Curley and their pet monkey are on a train with a traveling troupe of actors and entertainers that puts on shows. In that episode, the Stooges, without permission, are in the suite of the star of the show. The star discovers them and starts yelling for a Mr. Johnson, who is the show manager. He is yelling in this loud and deep voice, “Johnsonnn … Johnsonnn!” Mr. Johnson shows up and angrily boots the Stooges from the suite. Then the monkey gets loose and creates havoc. More hilarity ensues when the Stooges can't figure out how to get into the bunk bed—that looked a lot like the bunk beds on the train in Norway we were on—and that prompted my recall.

Yep, I couldn't help myself and I said to Kenny, “Hey, Kenny, you remember that Stooges episode on the train with the monkey—and that guy was yelling ‘Johnsonnn … Johnsonnn”? Kenny started laughing and says, “I sure do.” Then I grabbed a small bag that Mark had and I tossed it to Ken, and I'm shouting, “Johnsonnn … Johnsonnn !” Wellsy tries to snatch the bag from Ken—but Ken throws it back to me while saying, “Johnsonnn … Johnsonnn.” This goes on for about 20 seconds or so—Ken and I keeping the bag away from Mark as we bellowed, “Johnsonnn.” We finally let up and gave the bag back to Mark.

We figured out bunk assignments: Mark got the bottom bunk, I took the middle bunk, and Ken took the top bunk. So we all lie down and try to get some sleep. Within a minute or two, Ken, who is 6′-4′′, tried to sit up and he smacked his head on the ceiling of the train car and he let out a yelp of pain and frustration.

Both Mark and I started laughing and were chirping, “Johnsonnn … Johnsonnn.” Kenny, who minutes before thought this Three Stooges dialogue was hilarious—found none of it funny now.

Kenny Morrow had not heard the last of “Johnsonnn.”

It wasn't long after Lake Placid, and the Atlanta Flames had a game at the Nassau Coliseum against the New York Islanders, for whom Kenny was playing his inaugural and starring role in what would be four consecutive seasons in which he, and the Islanders, won the Stanley Cup. The action had started and Kenny was on the blue line and the Flames were on the attack; the puck skittered toward the boards and the bench where I was located. Kenny moved in and I yelled, “Johnsonnn.” Kenny kind of blinked, lost concentration, and the puck and our forward got past him. Kenny turned to me and muttered some choice words and turned to catch up to the play.

The free spirit and fun-loving mentality of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team was an advantage for us. We were the youngest team in terms of age in the Olympic tournament—and we embraced it.

Herb said of us—“They're so young they still believe in Santa Claus.”

If we sought to minimize the quality of our youth and prepare and play like a more mature version of ourselves—in other words, something we weren’t—then I doubt we could have won it all. We laughed and we joked and we were feisty. When we scored, everyone came off the bench and engaged in a communal man-hug. We were kids. Energy and blissful ignorance enabled us to believe in things we had no right to believe in.

Even the ever-serious Herb Brooks—the one with the eyes that bore through you and the stare that could chill your soul—knew that kid-like fun, laughter, and frivolity, when strategically enlisted and introduced, can help make success possible. As we continued our winning through the Olympics, and more and more people began to pay attention to us, we became the newest darlings of America. As that historic showdown with the Soviet Union became imminent, Herb introduced levity to our preparation. He told us that the great Soviet wing, Boris Mikhailov, looked like Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. “You can beat Stan Laurel, can't you?” Herb asked us.

Remember that one of Herb's favorite movies was Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Staying young in spirit and outlook is a quality of teams that do great things. When you get old your dreams can die and you can become complacent and satisfied with just good enough. That is a prescription for mediocrity and stunted growth.

When I do round tables with companies and other types of groups, I can frequently hone in quickly and accurately identify people within the organization who have become old—not chronologically (none of us can beat that)—but in their enthusiasm, spirit, and desire to get better and improve. Not good. And let me tell you—I have seen some 20-somethings who have already made some cash, figured out how to do daily eight-and-skates, who are settling down for decades of comfort and ease, and whose attitude is antique.

I also know men and women who are several years into senior status and who are as energetic, vibrant, and motivated as my 1980 teammates. These are the players I want on my team. These are the players that win.

Members of great teams remain young in spirit and outlook.

Don't Let Your Players Get Comfortable

Coaches and managers hold a large portion of responsibility for appraising and evaluating the troops and figuring out who is getting comfortable—who is ripe to get old. If you identify a person getting old and you don't do something about it, then you are part of the problem.

That scene in Miracle where Herb confronted me following the shellacking we took at Madison Square Garden is based on reality. I knew and was secure that I would be the starting goalie in the Olympics. I had lost a bit of focus—I was even thinking ahead to an NHL contract and making some money. I had gotten old at 22. Herb saw this and he confronted me in the locker room following the Soviet exhibition game. He said he needed to sit me down and give Janny a look. Herb said, “No, it's my fault, Jim. I have worked you too hard. You've lost your fastball and your curveball is hanging. We are going to need something more.” I went ballistic—okay semi-ballistic—telling Herb that he couldn't do that, that it wasn't right. Herb said that to keep my job I needed to get back the intensity, focus, and attitude that he knew was in me.

As a national spokesperson for W.L. Gore and its Ultimate SAAAVE public affairs campaign, it is essential for me to constantly read up on the most recent scientific and clinical developments in vascular health and endovascular repair in order for me to provide the best value to Gore. I surely don't want to get complacent and old in this project.

I'm not a scientist or doctor—but that doesn't mean I can't stay smart about what is going on in the field. Gold Medal Strategies has a research team that runs down articles and papers for me relating to the heart and arteries, as well as the newest and best ways to fix arteries and repair aneurysms. If I don't understand something then I might call a W.L. Gore field representative; or I might e-mail or call one of the surgeons with whom I work.

Some of the most gratifying work I do is on Ultimate SAAAVE. What is more rewarding than working with smart and committed people in an effort to save lives? I have had the fortune and opportunity to stand in an operating room and watch, in person, endovascular repairs and even an open-heart surgery. I sit and talk with very smart Gore personnel and medical doctors from across many different specialties. I always seek to learn more—to stay young in spirit and outlook—so that I can do a better job in educating the public.

Jim, left, and vascular surgeon, Dr. Timothy Sullivan, in the operating room during an endovascular repair procedure.

Credit: Jim Craig

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Staying young in spirit and outlook requires members of teams to never stop learning and to always ask questions and to be on the constant search for better ways to do things.

The Technology Challenge

One of the biggest challenges in sports, business, education, government, medicine, the military … you name it … is how to best use technology to win. It is a definite fact that if you don't stay young in spirit and outlook, then you are going to fall behind the technology curve—and that is a sure death knell to any chance you have for greatness.

My team at Gold Medal Strategies and my children, JD and Taylor, force me to stay current with technology. They coax and remind me that while I might be comfortable using an older technology, I am losing out in efficiency and productivity by not changing.

The people around me pull me out of my comfort zone.

In that I make a living speaking and writing and I am traveling frequently, it is essential that I have available and know how to use the best mobile communications technology.

I work with an advisor and techno wiz, Joe Sullivan, to make sure I am up-to-date and connected. Joe has put together and coordinated for me a system of mobile technology that connects an iPad and a Smartphone that run Microsoft Office, ACT! scheduling, and Dragon voice recognition software. Using this technology enables me to constantly learn, adapt, and make my presentations better as I travel. Joe is the husband of Lisa Sullivan, who has been my executive administrator for the past eight years, and who has been a valuable resource for me for the past 20 years.

Make the Workplace Fun—At Least Some of the Time

My mom recited to me the adage, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” How true. All work and no play also wears down Jack and makes him old before his time.

I delivered a keynote address in Orlando on October 16, 2010, at the annual meeting of Physician Sales & Service (PSS), the United States’ largest supplier of medical products and solutions to doctors’ offices. In the audience were 700 PSS sales reps and their spouses and significant others (which brought the total attendance to about 1,200). PSS, founded in 1983, competes in a brutally competitive business which had also become an industry of immense uncertainty because of—and this is true no matter where you fall in the political spectrum—the health care bill passed in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2010. At the time of my speech, with the midterm elections a little more than a couple weeks away, it was tough to figure out what the healthcare marketplace and industry would look like even six months down the road—never mind a year.

Yet even though the pressure was on, PSS sought, as it always did, to engender and support a corporate atmosphere in which people could enjoy themselves while competing fiercely. This is the corporate culture of PSS, and it has helped keep its workforce young, engaged, and full of energy. PSS has had almost continuous growth in the close to 30 years it has been in business—and at the same time it has held on to its top-performing reps for long periods. People like to work at PSS, and their happiness with their jobs and the workplace supports the success of the enterprise.

“We have a philosophy at PSS that we want to work hard and play hard,” said Eddie Dienes, president of the PSS Physician business, and a 22-year veteran of the company. “We believe that we owe our people professional development, and the best training and education available to help themselves, and our customers. We also are committed to rewarding our people so they are motivated to perform. Our company invests in helping our employees be best-prepared to serve the needs of a rapidly-changing U.S. healthcare market. In return, our people are motivated, youthful, and the best-conditioned to achieve success for themselves, our customers and PSS.”

Eddie added—“I have been with PSS since the late 1980s, and today I am more excited and enthused about the future, and as hard working as ever.”

In talking and having time to meet and socialize with the PSS team in Orlando it was apparent to me that it was a team of winners with an upbeat attitude, confidence, and commitment to one another and to overall PSS success.

Caring About Your People and Your Customers Makes the Workplace Fun

Companies hire me, in part, to make the workplace fun. Hiring a keynote speaker is a big investment and I better make sure that I entertain, inspire, and, as appropriate, deliver specific and customized strategic direction. Front and center on my radar screen when preparing, on game day, and in the game itself, is to get people smiling, energized, and laughing, in order to have them leave the event with an upbeat feeling and an intent to perform better.

That is why when I practice and assemble the information I need for a speech or other presentation, I consult and communicate closely with the client. Actually, even before I get on a conference call or exchange some e-mails with the client, I like to have in hand biographical information on the people with whom I would be talking. So I see that the vice president of marketing has a bachelor's degree from Michigan—okay. On the call I might say to her—“The Wolverines did a good job against Notre Dame on Saturday. Did you watch the game?” (If Michigan didn't do so well against ND, I would make sure not to bring it up.) My staff might hand me a trade magazine bio on the president of a manufacturing firm I will be addressing—and I learn he enjoys boating. Well, I have a boat and love to get out on the ocean. Boating is something I might bring up. The executive assistant to the president used to work for John Hancock. I do a lot of work for John Hancock. “When you worked at John Hancock, did you know…?”

I step into my relationship with a client equipped with a lot of background information—and in my interaction with the client I continue to gather information. I also make sure to try to learn about the people and the personalities of the groups that hire me. When you care about people and you invest in their success—and they invest in you—then you help make the relationship enjoyable.

In late summer of 2010, my staff and I had a conference call with management from Wells Fargo as part of the research and preparation for a speech I would deliver for the firm. As we were about to conclude the call, Rob Meyncke, regional sales manager for Wells Fargo, said, “Jim—you haven't spoken for us yet—and this already has been the most positive experience that our group at Wells Fargo has had with a speaker.”

I never “mail it in.” And by never mailing it in I refuse to become complacent and to get old—and I do my job by making my appearance fun for the client and, yes, for myself.

Do you care about your employees? Do you circulate among the troops? Do you take time to learn about their personal hopes and aspirations? Do you know her husband's name? His wife's name? How many kids does he have? What are their names? How old are they?

So, Bob has a 12-year-old boy named Timmy. What does Timmy like to do? He is an artist—he likes to paint. He plays baseball; he's a pitcher. Who is his favorite baseball player?

The office can become a stodgy, old, and unhappy place when it is a cold and impersonal place. Teamwork is more than working together—it is also caring and looking out for one another. It is about showing appreciation for one another. The example can be set at the top.

For sure—the dynamic with the 1980 U.S. team was a bit bizarre—unifying in dislike of our coach and in an effort to show him that he couldn't break us and that we were better than he said we were. But I think we all understood that Herb did care about us; it was just that we had big-time problems with the tough love he administered; it was too tough and harsh a medicine.

In his own way, Herb transmitted that caring and concern from the top.

The 1980 U.S. hockey team became stronger and more effective on the ice the closer we came to becoming a family. And, sure, we were a bunch of kids—but early on we were guarded and not as inclined to be exuberant and to act like the immature and impetuous young men we all were inside. When we got to know each other better and to trust one another we began to let it out, and this released a torrent of emotion, energy, and potential that we rode through two incredible and improbable weeks in Lake Placid that resulted in us standing on top of the victory platform.

If you don't take an interest in and care about your employees, then you are not supporting an environment in which they take an interest in one another. When there is no warmth or personal engagement within an organization, then you have an automated grid and a floor of cubicles in which Bob Cratchits toil away to produce numbers and reports and products—but do so with little emotion. And if you have Bob Cratchits working under you—what does that make you? You got it. Ebenezer Scrooge.

Again—and I can't emphasize this enough—at the heart and soul of the strength of our team was our youth, energy, and emotion. It was unbridled and barely controlled—yet it supported superior strategy and tactical efficiency. When you can synthesize those elements then you have something very special on your hands.

Release the hounds and have them run at full strength—yet keep them on the path that has been structured and laid out before them.

Henry David Thoreau—a guy who lived about 35 miles northwest of where I grew up—wrote, “None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” Isn't that the truth? When you don't have enthusiasm then you aren't having fun and you aren't enjoying life.

Thoreau also penned these words: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

If you can, play the video of the U.S.–Soviet game, and you will witness an event and experience in which our play was totally absent of quiet desperation—there's not an ounce you can find. Watch it intently over and over. Evaluate the enthusiasm, effort, and the intensity. Check out the laughter and smiles (yes, there was a lot of both even before time expired). Zone in on the audacity and bombast. See us embrace and share history with each other.

I can't bottle all of that for you.

But I can show it to you and recommend it.

Dare to Be Different—Push Innovation

Allow me to continue on this Concord writer track here with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.”

There are few things more dispiriting than to watch potential squandered and a super idea untried. That is a downer that will purge the youth right out of you.

I need to go back to the operating environment of our team—because I think that low PDI is so critical for giving voice to historic innovation and groundbreaking achievement. For sure, Herb Brooks was the Ayatollah; he was the boss and he could direct fear through you. But he allowed us to speak up and to be heard. Our team was an environment hospitable to difference of opinion and new ways of thinking.

The method of play that combined the North American and European-Soviet forms of hockey had been talked about and discussed for several years, but no team put it into action. Herb never got old and never stopped learning—and he felt that if he had just the right group of players, he could make it happen. The 1980 U.S. hockey team finally did what many only thought about—and look at the result. It took gumption and a supporting cast willing to go along. Heck, unless the right group had been assembled—long on youth and inexperience and short on inhibition—the revolutionary form of hockey that confounded convention and the Soviets may have only been a concept and theory, never a fact and reality.

What I find interesting is that some of the most successful and moneymaking innovations in history aren't really all that complex; it's just that someone went out, took the idea, and did something about it. I mean the Foreman Grill is nothing but a waffle iron.

On the same street that I grew up in North Easton—about a half mile away—there was this big and stately Victorian home. Living there was a guy named William Amory Parker and his wife, Elise Ames Parker. I used to walk by their house to and from school. They were nice; I waved to them and they waved back. I didn't know much about them except that they were very rich. As I later found out, in the 1920s, Mr. Parker—who was an old man when I was a kid—and some of his business partners got the idea of taking a bunch of individual stocks and bundling them together and selling them as a fund—a mutual fund. Simple, but brilliant. The concept caught on.

Gold Medal Strategies is located in Middleboro, Massachusetts, the heart of Cranberry Country and on the cusp of Cape Cod. One of our clients is a neighbor—the cranberry cooperative giant Ocean Spray—whose worldwide headquarters straddles Middleboro and borders Lakeville. There is much to admire about Ocean Spray—among those admirable qualities are that it is a fun place to work and it encourages idea generation and innovation from across the enterprise.

In the fall of 2010, in the midst of the difficult recession, Ocean Spray finished up its most successful year to date with $2 billion in revenue. Supporting that success is—if you will pardon the expression—a thirst for innovation and fresh ideas.

What company created the juice box? Ocean Spray. What company introduced fruit juice blends? Ocean Spray. Packaging and innovation are big moneymakers for Ocean Spray. But one of my favorite Ocean Spray innovations is a snack that I enjoy gobbling—the craisin. I like telling the story about the history of the craisin; it shares with Mr. Parker's mutual fund the identity of a simple and ingenious concept. Until the mid-1990s, Ocean Spray would pull the juice from the cranberry, leaving behind the hull of the berry, which was considered trash. Ocean Spray hired companies to haul the hulls away. Then Ocean Spray said, “Wait, let's see if we can do something with these hulls.” So it did. It took the shriveled hulls, previously thought to be useless, pumped some juice into them, and—voila—the craisin.

Originally Ocean Spray marketed the craisin as a baking product that would sit in the grocery aisle next to chocolate chips and raisins. Now it pushes craisins as a snack food—where it is delivering serious cash for the company. Ocean Spray has a portfolio of more than 100 products—and the fastest-growing product in the portfolio is the craisin.

Take Care of Yourself—Be Good to Others

Staying young in spirit and outlook is more than attitude. You need to take care of yourself and be good to others. Advise those who work for you to do the same.

Take care of your mind and body; exercise and eat healthy.

Jim at Lake Placid on February 22, 2005, participating in the 25th anniversary celebration of the “Miracle on Ice”.

Credit: AP Images

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Take time for reflection and recreation. One of the most valuable lessons to be taken from training and competing at a high level in athletics is that rest is a vital component for making an athlete sharp and able to perform at his or her peak.

The rise and popularity of corporate wellness programs in America is a good thing—especially if people use their services and take heed of their counsel.

You can put into place all the best strategies and operations—but if you have employees who are overweight, who tire easily, and who aren't taking care of themselves, then you are at a competitive disadvantage. You can be the most talented manager or CEO in the world—but it isn't going to do much good if you drop dead from heart attack.

If you are living a healthy life, then keep at it. If you aren't living one, then start. Set up an appointment with your doctor and get a healthy routine in order.

I have a crazy schedule with long stretches of hopping on planes, taking cabs, and staying in hotels. But I work with my staff to plan and be smart about eating on the road and in making sure the places where I stay have workout facilities. Actually, in terms of exercise, whether at home or on the road, when I do my cardio-training sessions—which are usually 60-minute fast walks at an incline on a treadmill—I use that time to go over my speech notes and practice delivering the speech.

When you plan ahead and stay organized you are better able to stay away from junk food and to stay active.

Spend time with your family. I don't care how much money you make and how big a star you are in business—if you aren't spending time with your family then you are losing in the most important area of life.

Give. Volunteer. Get involved in the community. Join the Lions Club or the Garden Club. Coach youth sports. Support the local high school sports teams.

When you give and care for others you give and care for yourself. You improve the world.

Don't consume more happiness than you create.

When you take care of yourself and are good to others it makes it a lot easier to stay young in spirit and outlook.

Beyond the Ice—Other Mentors and Coaches

In Chapter 8, “Members of Great Teams Manage Through Ego and Conflict,” I write about how our assistant coach and general manager, Craig Patrick, calmed the storms that broke out within our team.

Craig had all the experience and character and skills to perform that role. He was a standout at the University of Denver and played on teams that won back-to-back NCAA championships in 1968 and 1969. While serving in the U.S. Army he played on U.S. national teams in 1970 and 1971, and then went to the NHL where he played for eight years. Craig played for the United States in the Canada Cup in 1976, and was a player-coach in the 1979 World Championships in Moscow, a tune-up for his job on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team.

Craig was a member of the “Royal Family of Hockey.” His grandfather, Lester Patrick, and Lester's brother, Frank, were standout professional players in the early 1900s, and later co-founded the Pacific Hockey Association. Lester Patrick went on to become a coach and then general manager for the New York Rangers. Craig's younger brother, Glenn, played in the NHL and World Hockey Association.

In the 1928 Stanley Cup finals, Lester Patrick showed just what can be achieved when you stay young in spirit and outlook.

The finals that year pitted the Rangers against the Montreal Maroons in a best three-out-of-five series. Montreal won the first game—and in the second game New York goaltender Lorne Chabot sustained an eye injury and couldn't continue. Teams didn't have backup goalies then, and Lester Patrick asked the Maroons if he could put in a borrowed goaltender. The Maroons refused. Lester Patrick had to decide what to do now. What the 44-year-old Patrick decided to do was to strap on the pads and defend the New York net himself. Patrick knew the team just needed to get through that game—and then it would have time to hire another goalie. Lester Patrick told his players, now his teammates, “You better check like hell—and boys, don't let the old man down.”

Lester Patrick defended the net like a kid—and his player-teammates played inspired hockey. The game went into overtime. In the extra frame, the Ranger's Frank Boucher scored and the series was tied at a game each. The Rangers hired New York Americans goalie Joe Miller to finish the series. Miller won two games, including a shutout—and New York was the Stanley Cup champ.

Lester Patrick and how he rose to the occasion in game two of the 1928 Stanley Cup finals remains one of the legendary stories in NHL history.

As I write this, it seems that in the American workplace it is now more important than ever to refuse to grow old and to remain young in spirit and outlook—no matter your biological age.

It is vital to take on the attitude of a Lester Patrick and know that age is just a matter of attitude—and that the spirit and fire of youth can be summoned for greatness.

This is a scary time in America. The economy is terrible—it is even described as a mini-depression. Unemployment is close to 10 percent, and may be even higher because it is not factoring in people who have given up looking for work. Homes are being foreclosed on at a record rate. A higher percentage of people in America live in poverty than ever before.

One of the more depressing aspects of this downturn is that people as young as 50 are experiencing age discrimination in the workplace. Employers can deny it all they want, but the fact is it is there. Baby Boomers who have had great jobs and made great money in management and executive positions have been laid off and are having immense difficulty finding work that will pay even close to what they were making before. And even when they are willing—even eager—to take a lower-level job that pays significantly less than their previous job, they are considered overqualified.

Add an illness or other outside-the-workplace setback and the situation gets dire.

I don't make these comments from a perch or in any sort of patronizing way. Yes, my wife and I have worked hard and saved and been frugal—but we also have been blessed; we understand that. I was only 22 when I had the great fortune of being part of something special that opened many doors for me to this day. After hockey, I found employment doing something at which I had inherent ability, which I enjoyed, and at which I worked hard to succeed.

And being a member of a warm and vocal family of storytellers (indeed, my Irish brethren say that a writer is a failed talker), is there a better job than the one I hold now?

But I also recognize what is going on out there.

Staying young in spirit and outlook is more important today than ever before. Those looking for work who have been knocked down and submitted application and application and resume after resume without desired results need to fight creeping despair, boredom, and belief that the future can't get better.

It can get better—a lot better.

One of my best friends and one of the most valuable mentors in my life is Jon Luther, executive chairman of the board for Dunkin’ Brands, and the guy who, starting from 2003, stewarded Dunkin’ Donuts—the signature brand of the company—to stratospheric growth. Jon, 67, is as energetic, fit, focused, and young as ever. He will also tell you the story of how 17 years ago—when he was 50—the company he had owned and operated for 10 years, which bought and sold restaurant companies, went belly up. He was broke, had a wife, and two kids in college.

“It was a difficult period—and I was up against it,” Jon told me. “My checking and savings account hovered between a zero balance and close to a zero balance. I knew, though, that I had responsibilities and talent and that I would be able to turn things around. I went right back at it.”

Jon remained young in outlook and spirit.

Jon was hired by Delaware North to work in its airline concessions business. Jon moved fast and upward in the unit—and is widely credited with transforming boring and uninspiring food stops for travelers into fun, warm, and vibrant spots where people felt like spending money and staying for a while. Jon marshaled and directed an effort that turned the company's $17 million operating deficit into a $35 million profit. In 1997, a struggling Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits hired Jon as president. He continued his brilliant field leadership and over a five-year period presided over a company that continually increased its annual profits and became so strong that its parent company, AFC, went public in 1992. It's no wonder that Dunkin’ Brands came calling.

You see, at 50 years old, Jon Luther was just warming up.

Employers need to take note. People are living longer. Sixty is the new 40. I might be wrong about that—perhaps 70 is the new 40. We are going to have to rethink 65 as a standard retirement age. Sixty-five and you should be in your prime.

Thomas Watson—for all intents and purposes the founder of IBM—ran the company until he was 82. Warren Buffett is still going strong at 79. Charles Dolan, founder of Cablevision, is 83 and the chairman of the board for the company.

Carl H. Lindner, who dropped out of school in the Great Depression to work in his family business, co-founded with his brother, in 1955, the company that would become American Financial Group, which he served as chairman and CEO until he was 85, when he turned over CEO duties to his two sons. Lindner held on to his chairman position, which he still holds at 89.

Great businesspeople remain young in spirit and outlook.

So, too, do members of great teams.

Great Teams Stay Young in Spirit and Outlook— Chapter Recap