Martin, age 54, played a tennis singles final at the local country club for more than 2 hours yesterday. Finally he won, felt tired but very, very pleased with himself. It had been a week of playing tennis each evening, sometimes for several hours. He felt stronger and more balanced than ever before. And now, today, this man told him he was too old. The man did not tell him directly, since there is legislation against that.
He just said: “Well, we are looking for a partner in this project that can grow with us. Our staff is relatively young, but very experienced. For this particular coaching program we are looking for coaches that can connect with our staff. Dance to the same music, so to speak.”
Martin was disgusted. He and his business partner Alex were indeed 50plus. So what??? Only last week one of their clients told them that they were one of the most innovative and therefore surprising coaching firms he ever encountered. The university Alex visited as a keynote last month wrote in its daily paper: Students were in awe and applauded so loud and long, as if they wanted an extra…” Their client list was impressive and never ever before had a client complained of them being too old to work with youngsters.
Finally Martin was able to say something: “Do you think our proposal is not right?” he asked in as neutral a voice as he could produce.
“No, no, it is not that. We really appreciate the proposal, but we are seeking a partner for a longer period of time. We are talking about 3 to 5 years,” the man said.
“Which means…?” Martin asked.
“Well, it means that we opt for the other party, because we believe they can stay focused for a longer period.”
The man hesitated. Martin just knew he was trying to find reasons beyond the real reason.
As Martin left the man accompanied him to the door and acted relieved. He almost danced at Martin’s side. “All and all, we really do appreciate your proposal and take notice of your company’s sublime track record. But you know how it is. The coaches of the other firm are in their early thirties. It makes it easier to get to the subjects of interest of our staff, boys in the same age group. And maybe in the long run they can do things together, socialize.”
“Like chasing girls,” Martin said. But the man frowned.
‘Like playing tennis,” Martin hardly restrained himself from laughing.
“Yes, you are totally right, like playing tennis with the guys. They love things like that,” and he concluded: “At our age, we have better things to do.”
Martin looked at the man. He pitied the guy. He was probably in his early forties and obviously never ever liked sports at all. If anything, the man was too old himself.
Marie-José Jamin
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