The 100-Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew J Scott
Read Time: 2 mins
The 100-Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew J. Scott
Gratton and Scott’s book, The 100-Year Life, is one I often come back to when discussing careers and transitions. Their central idea is simple but powerful: many of us will live much longer than generations before us, and the way we plan our work, money and wellbeing needs to adapt.
Why the Traditional Timeline Just Doesn’t Fit Anymore
For a long time, life was seen in three stages: education, work, and retirement. That model doesn’t hold anymore. With longer and healthier lives, most of us will move through several stages that include different careers, retraining, transitions, and breaks.
What Longer Lives Mean in Practice
A child born today has a strong chance of living to 100. That means careers could easily span 60 years or more. Retirement planning that was designed for 20 years of life after work may need to stretch to 40 or beyond. The question becomes not only how long we will live, but how well.
What Matters Most in a 100 Year Life
Gratton and Scott point out that financial assets alone are not enough. To live well across a longer life, people also need to build and protect what they call intangible assets. These include health, relationships, adaptability, learning, and a sense of purpose. These assets support both wellbeing and career sustainability over time.
Flexibility and Lifelong Learning
A longer life means careers are less likely to follow a single path. Many people will move in and out of work, shift into consulting, take sabbaticals, or try something completely new. Lifelong learning becomes essential, not just to keep up with technology and industry changes, but also to stay curious and motivated.
Changing the Conversation
Andrew Scott has spoken about the need to shift how we think about ageing. It is not only about raising retirement ages or stretching superannuation systems. A longer life needs preventative approaches to health and wellbeing that support people much earlier, rather than leaving it to the later years.
What This Means for Your Career
This is not a message of fear. It is an invitation to approach your career with flexibility and intention. Instead of seeing work as a straight line, it helps to think in stages. Continual reflection and reinvention become part of how you manage your life and career. Wellbeing, purpose and connection matter just as much as contracts and pay.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Longer lives are here already, not in the future
- Intangible assets like health, skills, community and purpose matter as well as income
- Flexibility and reinvention are not optional, they are essential
- A career is better managed in stages than as a single stretch to retirement
Turning Insight Into Action
If this perspective resonates, it might be the right time to think about what stage you are in and what comes next. Writing your own version of a career plan can help you prepare for a longer, more flexible life. If you would like support, I would be glad to work with you on building a career strategy that fits your future. Get in touch to start the conversation.
