In Vietnam, when people turn a certain age, they are often forced or asked to leave the company where they work. Even someone who is 60 years old has several good working years ahead of them. There is a stereotype that older people are less capable in their work, or are less creative than younger people. I think that young people and older people both have strengths and weaknesses in their creative processes.
Young people are often desired for a job because they seem to have a ‘fresher’ perspective in life. People who are young are more open to new ideas and to new ways of doing business. This helps their creative process because they can synthesize ideas from a wide variety of sources. For example, a young person surfing the Internet reads an article about business networking in Africa. An older person might not be interested in such an article or may never even encounter it. The young person now knows a different perspective that might help him and his company in the future.
Older people are not usually as open as young people to new ideas, but they are more experienced.They have worked for more years, and have lived through many different situations. It is good to have many different and new ideas, but it is bad to waste time and money on ideas that do not work. An older, more experienced person knows better which ideas have good potential and which ideas are dead ends. That experience can save the company from wasted effort.
A smart company lets workers rise to their full potential. Even though they are creative in different ways, young people and old people can both contribute to the strength of a business.