After selling the boutique hotel company he started at age 26 as a rebel entrepreneur, at age 52 Chip Conley wasn’t sure what was next. He could have easily retired. But in 2013, the young founders of Airbnb came calling, asking him to help turn their fast-growing tech startup into a global hospitality brand. 

Only a few days into the job, Chip found he was simultaneously an intern learning the digital ropes, and a seasoned veteran mentoring the company’s millennial leadership. As he navigated this new ecosystem, Chip soon noticed that a new sort of “elder” was emerging in the workplace: As curious as they are wise, both wisdom keeper and wisdom seeker. 

His deep inquiry led to writing New York Times bestseller Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder and building the world’s first “midlife wisdom school,” the Modern Elder Academy: A four-acre oceanfront campus in Baja California Sur, Mexico, dedicated to helping people navigate midlife transitions and shift their mindset about aging. 

Our Work 

With both these babies launched, it was time to get out and speak.  

To talk about such a big vision, Chip created several key speeches and visual slide decks, which together form a flexible body of work he can adapt to a wide array of appearances. 

We’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Chip for over seven years now. Our long-time familiarity with Chip’s body of work meant we could mine other speeches for key phrases, teachings, or personal stories. We were also lucky to be beta participants at the Academy, which gave us a personally profound, direct experience of his vision. (See below for info about attending yourself!) 

Chip’s a master at story arc, idea synthesis, and audience interaction. He’s also adept at partnering with specialists to help enhance his own genius. In our experience, the savviest thought leaders actively collaborate with other like-minded creatives to help bring their unique vision to life. 

From the outset, we helped Chip think through his ideas and hone them into through-lines that would keep the audience engaged. As speech development progressed, we contributed edit recommendations for flow, sequence, and content. 

We also created a series of visual slide decks, with personal storytelling, data, wisdom, and just the right amount of humor. Chip likes to “riff” onstage, tailoring content to each audience. Each slide acts as a springboard, allowing him to stay on track while pivoting when the moment calls for it. 

The Talks

This body of work became multiple speeches as Chip criss-crossed the nation and the globe.

His TED Salon talk in NY: What Baby Boomers Can Learn from Millennials at Work -- and Vice Versa, delivered to an intimate audience in NYC, was featured on the TED.com frontdoor the week it launched. His message hit a chord, rising to over a million views within the first 30 days. 

Chip also delivered big-think speeches at the Long Now Foundation, the Buckminster Fuller Institute, and TEDx Marin. All of these helped the audience re-define their conception of aging (what if we’re growing whole, not old?) and embrace the need for schools, tools, and rituals to celebrate midlife transitions. 

But wait, there’s more!  Chip delivered over 100 speeches in the year following his book launch, including at the world’s largest gathering of human resource professionals in Las Vegas.

At the time of this writing, the Modern Elder movement continues to grow, and Chip continues to travel the world speaking about it. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this project.

 

 

How you can get involved: 

Read the book!

Join the Modern Elder Academy’s Facebook group.

Attend the Academy!  As the world’s first “midlife wisdom school,” it’s a unique place and curriculum, helping people repurpose a lifetime of experience. We promise, it’s a life-altering experience. MEA is a social enterprise, with 50% of the attendees on partial or full scholarship. Check out the curriculum, and apply! Tell them we sent you. 

See Chip speak. Follow his social media feeds for where he’s appearing next.