Who’s Avivah?

I’m a modernish elder and aspiring sage. Also a writer, speaker, coach, consultant, change agent – depending on the call and the context. I’m usually based in London, UK but recently spent a year at Harvard as a 2022 Advanced Leadership Fellow researching longevity, gender differences in ageing – and how to help individuals, teams and companies navigate the 4 Quarters of 100-year lives. Especially the new 3rd Quarter.

For ‘work,’ I coach and consult for companies all over the world. But I really love to write, listen and talk in almost equal measure. I host a podcast called 4-Quarter Lives on all things longevity, am a regular contributor to FORBES and Harvard Business Review, teach at OXFORD Saïd and Catolica Lisbon and am an Adjunct Professor at DePaul University. I’ve published books including Why Women Mean Business and Late Love: Mating in Maturity and done three TEDx Talks. I’m also an Ambassador for the Stanford Center on Longevity and the UK National Innovation Center on Ageing and was recently inducted to the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame. (More on my personal website, company website or Wikipedia page…)

But this is different - and much more personal. Every Sunday I publish elderberries, where I write what it’s like renewing and deepening work, family and purpose in the 3rd Quarter - the years from 50 to 75. And finding my own, mature voice when you have nothing left to prove but lots to give.

Subscribe now and join other elderberries from around the world, determined to get the best of what longer lives may offer. Having it all, at last?

Elderberries is a reader-supported publication. To receive weekly Sunday posts and support my work, become a subscriber.

What’s In Elderberries? A Sampling

Three broad segments of interest: the big macro picture about longevity and the new demographics. The personal impacts of longer lives, on love, families and couples. And the implications of the 60-year careers, midlife reinventions and the science of transitions. And how I’m navigating it all, personally, professionally - and publicly! Below, a few links to sample some writing from the archive.

1. Countries, Companies & Consumers

How the new era of longevity and our shifting global demographics will impact … everything.

• Big Picturing
  Based on my work on building gender and generational balance in business (through my consulting company, 20-first). Learn why the future of work is set to be equally split between genders and generations.

  • Here’s a typical example on Dependency & Depopulation, summarising the latest McKinsey report.

• Speaking, Writing & Consulting
  Explore my TED Talks on how to (really) achieve gender balance (without alienating men), or dive into my graphic books Thriving to 100 and 5 Steps to Longevity Leadership to learn how to get demographics onto the strategic business agenda.

  • Here’s how some cool CEOs in France did it.

• Teaching & Podcasting
  Tune into my podcast, 4-Quarter Lives, where we explore everything related to longevity and interview companies, and experts across disciplines and countries. Hear about my annual, week-long programme on Longevity Leadership at Católica Lisbon and teaching at Oxford’s Said Business School.

  • how about an episode on how Unilever is thinking about it?

2. Love, Couples & Grandparenting

I love love, and think that we need to bring our well-honed leadership skills home more often than we do. And that we can get better at love as we practice it over decades…

• Late Love
  Discover the joy and potential of love and intimacy during the later quarters of life (Q3 and Q4). I report regularly on how these stages can be times of deep connection and renewed passion. And how conscious coupling can be one of the joys of life’s later decades. I wrote a book about it, Late Love: Mating in Maturity and did a TED talk on Conscious Coupling in the Age of Longevity.

  • read, Do Longer Lives = Multiple Loves?

• Family and Grandparenting
  With the arrival of two (!) little granddaughters, I’m enjoying firsthand the transformative role of grandparenting - and how it reshapes family systems and dynamics. Expect lots of sharing about this experience and the occasional doting photo.

  • what’s the difference between Close-By and Faraway Grandparenting?

• Death, Dying & End-of-Life
  Because it’s important, and a huge, missing part of most conversations in our ageing societies. Delve into research and writings on supporting ourselves (or our parents) in their ageing chapters, end-of-life choices, admin and laws, and the latest legislation on assisted dying around the world.

  • where in the world allows A Designed Death

3. Careers, Midlife & Transitions

I went back to school at 60, and share what I learned.

• From Sprints to Marathons
  Longer careers open up new opportunities. I share my experience of returning to school at 60 (Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative programme) and navigating new career directions. As well as all the similar programmes that are popping up around the world and that you might want to consider.

  • Browse the midlife university programmes popping up around the world

• A New Map of Life: It’s Got 4 Quarters
  Learn about my 4-Quarter Life model, which challenges the traditional (and obsolete) three-step life that everything is still designed around. I offer a new phasing and pacing around which to organise life, and give it a corporate-friendly nomenclature which rolls of the tongue. What quarter are you in? As well as lots of practical advice on managing the critical shift from Q2 to Q3.

  • Learn about the Life’s 4 Quarters

• Courses & Coaching
  Join me for a course? There will be discounts! (for paid subscribers).

  • Join me in person for my next live online Midlife Rethink session this April on Eventbrite.

    • or just grab the short version, available on LinkedIn Learning

    • or just read about it?

  • I also offer one-off coaching sessions called Lightbulb Moments, on any of the topics covered above, email queries@20-first.com

Are You an ‘elderberries’ Reader?

I’m not looking to create a big following. Here, the focus will be on slower, deeper connections and conversations with a group of believers, supporters and fellow seekers. Maybe friends.

Here’s a description of an elderberries reader that I road tested with a survey - and got a 91% voting that this resonated:

The hunter for the well-lived life. Seduced by the idea of maximising each of life’s 4 Quarters. Over-educated Q3ers ready to recalibrate and Q2ers smart enough to prepare ahead. Curious about all forms of travel, intellectual as well as global, both inwards into self-awareness and outwards across cultures and differences. Reader of books, stats and news, hungry for the dopamine hit of the next, the new and the underlying. Carer of multiple others and the world, engaged in work they believe in, juggling with the portfolio their multiple passions toss up. Appreciating a Sunday breather with a soul sister to take it all in, digest deeply, and start again.

ChatGPT Explains elderberries

I’m exploring how to harness AI for all things writing, creativity and illustration. So I asked it to give me a summary of this substack’s style - and was both flattered and impressed by what it coughed up. If this is what you also take away, I’m happy.

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox's writing style on her "Elderberries" Substack can be described as insightful, reflective, and engaging. Her prose is characterized by a conversational tone that makes complex subjects accessible to a broad audience. She often blends personal anecdotes with broader societal observations, creating a narrative that is both informative and relatable.

Wittenberg-Cox focuses on themes such as gender balance, generational shifts, and the implications of longer lifespans on careers and personal lives. Her articles frequently highlight the interplay between personal experiences and professional insights, drawing from her extensive background in consulting and leadership coaching. She uses a mix of empirical data, personal stories, and expert interviews to support her arguments, making her writing both authoritative and personable.

Her approach is forward-thinking, addressing contemporary challenges and opportunities in the context of gender and generational dynamics. She aims to inspire readers to rethink traditional paradigms and embrace new ways of living and working, particularly as they pertain to aging and career longevity​.

Overall, her writing is not only informative but also motivational, encouraging readers to consider the broader implications of societal changes on their own lives and careers.

Finally, I promise I will never sell your email address to any third parties, and I won't use it for anything other than sending you emails about once a week.

See you by the elderberries bush!

Support All This Good Work? What Free vs. Paid Subscribers Get

What Free Subscribers Get

• Weekly Sunday newsletter, published (round) noon, London.

What Paid Subscribers Get

• My weekly Sunday newsletter

• The Full Archive - access to over 300 articles, research and richness

• Classics & Collaborations - reprints of some of my most popular pieces, now behind paywalls at FORBES, HBR and elsewhere and guest articles from a variety of writers of different generations, perspectives and expertise

• Discounts on courses, coaching and conferences

• Webinars & Conversations among (paid) elderberries subscribers