When I was 18, I moved from Ohio to Boston, on the US seacoast, to attend MIT. My dietary history until then was typical of the US heartland — I knew much more about beef than seafood. Within two weeks, a fellow freshman, a Bostonian, introduced me to the Fried Clam Dinner.

Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica), left, and Atlantic Surfclam (Spisula solidissima), right. Photo courtesy U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"Watch out for the soft parts," he warned me. "They're the guts — not good to eat." I followed his advice, and enjoyed the clams. And the french fries, too — but I already knew about them.
Weeks later, I returned to the "clam shack" with another group, along with a different native of Boston, who this time warned me: "Watch out for those long stringy parts," he said. "They're tough, and not very good to eat. Eat the bellies."
And so I learned that you can enjoy every part of the clam. And I have, from that day to this, with no ill effects.
People at work come in a variety of ages. In different organizations, one age group or another might be favored. In some, youth confers status and years can be a liability — opportunities are offered to the young, and their contributions are valued most. In others, years confer status, and youth is a liability.
Valuing people by age can be as silly as avoiding one part or the other of a clam. People of different ages
are different. And those
differences are all valuable.By rejecting or limiting those of the "wrong" age, we hurt both those we reject and the organization, too.
Here are some common stereotypes, and some alternate ways to think about them.
- Older people aren't as committed
- As our lives progress, they can become richer. Work becomes a smaller part of our lives than it was in young adulthood. But with that richness comes perspective that can enhance performance. Commitment becomes a more reasoned choice, especially for those who have previously committed to ill-fated efforts. Experience tempers the passions.
- Younger people are too brash and impulsive
- Since younger people tend to have less invested in the way things are, they're more comfortable with upsetting the status quo, which often needs upsetting. And we're indebted to the many who just didn't know any better than to attempt the impossible — and succeed.
- Older (younger) people don't understand (are hooked on) computers
- Many of us use the computer to divide us — we see different approaches to its use as failings. We believe that older people don't understand email, or that younger people are email addicts. The truth may be otherwise, of course. Some of us try to use email for things it cannot do, while others avoid it even for things it can do. We can all learn from each other.
Ageism at work can be difficult to detect, even when we're committing it ourselves. But reminders do help — keep a clamshell on your desk. Both halves. Top
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Related articles
More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:
Heavy Burdens: Should, Always, Must, and Never
- As a leader you carry a heavy burden. You're accountable for everything from employee development to
meeting organizational objectives, and many of these responsibilities conflict. Life is tough enough,
but most of us pile on a load of over-generalized rules of work life — a load too heavy for anyone
to bear.
Coincidences Do Happen
- When we notice similarities between events, or possible patterns of events, we often attribute meaning
to them beyond what we can prove. Sometimes we guess right, and sometimes not. How can we improve our guesses?
In the Groove
- Under stress, we sometimes make choices that we later regret. And we wonder, "Will I ever learn?"
Fortunately, the problem usually isn't a failure to learn. Changing just takes practice.
You Might Be Stressed If…
- A little stress once in a while keeps us sharp, but chronic intense stress shortens lives. Stress can
build gradually, out of our awareness. Here are some indicators of chronic intense stress.
Why Sidebars Happen
- Sidebar conversations between meeting participants, conducted while someone else has the floor, are
a distracting form of disorder that can waste time and reduce meeting effectiveness. Why do sidebars happen?
See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming April 21: Choice-Supportive Bias
- Choice-supportive bias is a cognitive bias that causes us to evaluate our past choices as more fitting than they actually were. The erroneous judgments it produces can be especially costly to organizations interested in improving decision processes. Available here and by RSS on April 21.
And on April 28: The Self-Explanation Effect
- In the learning context, self-explanation is the act of explaining to oneself what one is learning. Self-explanation has been shown to increase the rate of acquiring mastery. The mystery is why we don't structure knowledge work to exploit this phenomenon. Available here and by RSS on April 28.
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Many
people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.
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- A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- Bullet Points: Mastery or Madness?
Decis
ion-makers in modern organizations commonly demand briefings in the form of bullet points or a series of series of bullet points. But this form of presentation has limited value for complex decisions. We need something more. We actually need to think. Briefers who combine the bullet-point format with a variety of persuasion techniques can mislead decision-makers, guiding them into making poor decisions. Read more about this program.
- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
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