There were men (practically no women) who started at a company as apprentices at the age of 16, worked their way up to CEO over the decades and then, after almost 50 years of service and without a cooling-off period, moved directly to the Supervisory Board at retirement age to remain Chairman until they were 70 or older.

Today, this is no longer conceivable. Not only because formal and informal rules no longer allow such a seamless transition to a supervisory body. But also because such careers simply no longer exist today. Almost nobody gets into top management without a degree. And fewer and fewer people spend their entire professional life in just one company, especially not those who want to pursue a (board) career.

This professional life also looks different for board members than it did just a few years ago. Fewer and fewer people are working until the retirement age, which might be 65, though at many companies can be 62 or 63, at least on the Management Board. And many men and women want to stop even earlier.

Those affected say they want to get off the hamster wheel of management, which they entered many years ago. There are still plenty of opportunities to use your own experience and skills elsewhere.

These can often be supervisory or advisory board activities in or outside the previous group of companies. But they can also be individual mandates in which the experienced manager passes on their experience to younger people who are still in the middle of their career and are perhaps just about to make the next career leap. This then extends to one-to-one coaching.

Knowledge and experience can be very valuable, especially in transformation processes. With the mixture of experience gained from overcoming crises, of which there have been many in a long career (such as 9/11/2001 or the financial crisis of 2007/2008), and the technological experience of the younger generation (digital natives), the upcoming generational change can be managed well.

The baby boomers will have disappeared from companies by the end of the decade. Managing the transition to the younger generation with fewer people can be much easier with the help of older people. However, this help does not only have to be directly related to the company. Many people who have taken on responsibility in a company want to do the same in society (instead of retiring). Economic and organisational skills are particularly sought after in district and hotspot initiatives.

Debt counselling is more in demand today than ever before, as data from Schufa has recently shown. According to this data, more and more people are experiencing payment difficulties and becoming over-indebted. This is particularly true for younger people.

Many people with a migration background, who are highly sought-after as fully-fledged workers, need help in the jungle of German authorities. Anyone with organisational experience and knowledge of human nature can help here and act as a guide.

But of course some managers want to devote more time to their families, travel more, or simply have more free time after their (fulfilling) professional life. And others would like to work until 66 or 67 and even longer, but are rejected by their employer. The generational change can and will succeed if everyone lends a hand. Passing on experience and knowledge can be fulfilling in life after the end of an active career.