Bizlife Smarts

‘Experience versus young talent?’ is a question many an organisation is confronted with. We actually don’t give it the thought it deserves in the corporate world, beyond that cliché term of “succession planning”. In reality, most companies consider it an either/ or decision.

So, let me ask you Oracle (median employee age 39) or Facebook (median 28)? One has been around for 42 years, the other for 15 years. We can similarly draw comparisons between companies like Walmart and Amazon and across other sectors. With the fast changing face of economies and transformation of industries, it’s an important issue for consideration. This past weekend’s Super Bowl, sparked this subject in my mind, because it was such an apt analogy.

Superbowl LIII: Experience versus young talent

The age differences between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams made me think about the experience versus young talent analogy. The average squad age for the Patriots, as the 3rd oldest team in a league of 32 teams is 26.8 years and the Rams, as the 4th youngest, is 25.5 years. This gap doesn’t seem particularly stark, although in the NFL the difference is like a generation. Additionally, 36 Patriots players have played on this grand stage called the Super Bowl before, while just 4 Rams players have done the same.

Where we see even more marked differences, is that the Patriots head coach has coached for 1 and 1/2 times longer than the Rams head coach has even been alive. The former is 66 years old and the latter 33 years old. You should also note that the Patriots starting quarterback is 41 years old, while the Rams starting quarterback is 24 years old.

Performance on the field

So, in the on field key statistics (stats), we can see documentary evidence of experience versus young talent. We sports fans love to study stats to determine team and player strength. On paper, the young talent has the edge over experience in all key statistical categories. McVay, the Rams head coach, is known as the boy genius for this reason. However, Belichick, the Patriots head coach is no slouch and is arguably the greatest coach of all time. He’s known for the best preparation of his teams, particularly for the big stage. I believe that he’s also the greatest in adapting his teams to compete against their opponent’s superior strengths. https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/10/4/17936990/sean-mcvay-offensive-mind-los-angeles-rams

McVay, Goff and young head coach/ quarterback combinations like them have been credited with innovating the NFL offensive style. They create mismatches by going against convention, thus allowing their best players to thrive. I see them as bucking the trend and style that was the bread and butter of the Belichick/ Brady combinations of old. In fact, In the games I watch, I don’t see teams like the Patriots being able to compete with these young, innovative offenses. https://www.profootballweekly.com/2018/09/26/logic-simplicity-make-los-angeles-rams-sean-mcvay-nfls-brightest-offensive-mind/amzolzk/

The Quarterbacks

Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback, in the 16 playoff seasons he had played before 2018 has more experience versus the young talent of the Rams quarterback Jared Goff in his whole career of two full seasons. So, Tom Brady not only has the edge here, given his experience, but is considered to be the steadiest and probably best quarterback in the game in the post-season.

Pre-game verdict on experience versus young talent

So, who will win?! I don’t know! As you can see from the above, there are factors in favour of both. The best coach in the history of the game with 42 years experience, with the most experienced quarterback and team in these situations, or the boy genius coach with the better performing team over the course of the regular season?! Your guess is as good as mine. In the corporate world, we are faced with the same conundrum. Do you rely on those associates who have been through the trenches for decades and delivered, versus the young, talented mercurial genius, who’s still wet behind the ears?

In this game, it’s a toss up and either team can win. I pride myself in not being a fence sitter, so I’m going to make this call. Despite the experienced Patriots having been arguably the best franchise of the last two decades in the NFL, I believe they have reached the end of the road. Belichick and Brady have aged to much to be able to beat this young, talented opponent.

This is because you have the boy genius who has crafted one of the most dynamic, productive offenses in the league and put together a team of young, talented players both on offense and defense, who fit that system. His is the system of the future. So I’m throwing my lot with the young, talented team of the Rams.

Post-mortem

Experience wins over young talent!

Post-mortem is the most appropriate sub-title for the post-game analysis, because Super Bowl LIII was a snooze-fest. I’ve been to funerals with more dramatic moments and drama than this game had. Yes, I should Belichick on solidifying their legacies, but there was little else good to say about the game. You notice I didn’t include Brady’s name along Belichick’s, because Brady contributed very little to this win. However, my pre-game vacillation on experience versus young talent was resolved. It went to experience in this instance. https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/2/4/18210164/winners-losers-super-bowl-liii-tom-brady-sean-mcvay

Belichick channels Gandalf the Grey and David Blaine

I earlier referenced the coaching prowess of Belichick, and he did it again. In the infamous words of Sean McVay, “There’s no other way to say it, but I got out-coached tonight.” As I had earlier said, Belichick is the greatest at adapting to enable his teams to compete against their opponent’s strengths.

Belichick knew that he was going to face an offensive juggernaut that over the past two seasons, had revolutionised NFL offensive play. So, like David Blaine, while all of us (author included) were focused on offense, he misdirected and focused on defense. I was looking forward to a gunslinging contest of two teams trying to outscore each other; but alas no. We got a game where there were only about 3 out of 123 plays worth writing home about. Belichick turned it into a plodding, restrictive defensive battle. Even Brady wasn’t a real factor.

This is where experience counts. I don’t think that Belichick cares whether he bores as to death, so long as he gets the win. I was thinking that it’s just like Gandalf the Grey in the Lord of the Rings. Just as the hordes advance and you fear the knights will be overrun, Gandalf throws up a wall of water to drown them all…or was that Dumbledore who did that?! Regardless, it was wizardry on his part. The winner in this was experience versus young talent, and young talent had no clue on what to do.

I’m sure that McVay will have learned hugely from this experience, and at age 33 he’s still a fertile, young mind. That is the opportunity for experience versus young talent. Young talent needs to learn from the experienced until they are ready to take over the mantle. Belichick is the king for now, but McVay is the future. This is instructive for corporates, but they must do more than pay lip service to it. I advise corporates to establish programmes that create this culture of experience transfer.

Parting shot

Companies risk obsolescence if they fail to go beyond paying lip service to passing the baton from experience to young talent. This Super Bowl could very easily have been a game of two young, talented teams: The Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are the 13th youngest out of 32 teams with a 23 year old, 2nd year quarterback.

I’ve always been told that never make an error on the field that hands your opponent the victory at the end of the game. In the conference championship before the super bowl, I watched in joy as, with the Chiefs up on the Patriots 28 -24 and 54 seconds to play, Tom Brady threw an interception. I then watched in shock as the play was called back as an offside penalty against Dee Ford of the Chiefs on the interception. This saved the Patriots and handed them opportunity that would eventually take them to the Super Bowl.

The Chiefs are one of the brightest NFL teams for the future. Experience won at Super Bowl LIII by having been on that stage before and using their store of knowledge to prevail. However, a purely defensive strategy will not prevail forever and is not the style of game of the future. The type of game that the Rams and Chiefs play with young talent is the future of NFL, and is being adopted by more teams.

Closing the loop

I was listening to a discussion the other day regarding all the current controversies involving Huawei, Facebook and other technology companies. The underpinning point made was that, in today’s world, most governments and companies are being overtaken by technology. They are run by those with experience, who don’t understand what is really going on with technology. We have entered the technology age, and those who don’t begin to blend young talent with the experienced colleagues will lose. The experienced need young talent to survive in this age!

The consolation is that the young talent will one day also become the experienced, and thus this phase shall pass…until a new age replaces the technology age.