Marketing 0

FIGURE 2.2
 Human Life Stages and Key Priorities
The second stage is called the Forefront stage. During the second 20-
year period, one starts to transition from learning to work. Starting
to make a living and building a career, one becomes more
independent. As health is at its peak during this stage, one is more

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willing to take risks and explore life to the fullest. One also starts to
commit to a romantic relationship during this stage.
Entering the third stage of life or the Fostering stage, one begins to
settle down and builds a family. One tends to return to a healthier
lifestyle after a period of increased stress during the second life stage.
More time is also being spent to nurture others. At home one focuses
on parenthood and family life while at work one emphasizes
mentoring and coaching younger generations. Contributing back to
society also becomes a key life goal during this stage of life.
In the final stage, one tries to adapt to old age and to stay happy. This
period is mostly about managing declining health and social
relationships. One focuses on enjoying life by embarking on
meaningful and fulfilling activities. Full of reflections on life lessons,
one begins to develop wisdom and aims to impart what they’ve
learned to younger generations.
For Baby Boomers, it typically takes 20 years to move from one stage
to the next. Today, most Boomers are at the Final stage and are
delaying retirement to remain active and ensure fulfilling lives.
Generation X follows a fairly similar path in their life stages. Most of
them are now in the Fostering life stage. Many become successful
founders of startups and lead new businesses in their early 40s. They
focus on work–life balance while at the same time contributing back
to society.
Generation Y follows a slightly different path. They reach traditional
life milestones such as marriage and childbirth at a much older age.
It is a tradeoff as they reach other major life milestones, especially in
career and societal contributions, at a much younger age. Generation
Y is not willing to climb the traditional corporate ladder at the same
pace as Baby Boomers and Generation X. They want to catapult their
way to the top by frequently changing jobs or starting their own
business at a young age. As a result, they progress from one life stage
to the next at a faster speed compared to Baby Boomers. Today, they
are supposedly still in the Forefront stage, but some already have the
mindset of the Fostering stage. They think about work–life balance
at a much younger age. Their leadership style is based on
empowering others through coaching and is driven by social
purpose. Although their lives are surrounded by technology,

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Generation Y will put more emphasis on human-to-human
interaction, which is the cornerstone of the Fostering life stage.
We believe that Generation Z and Generation Alpha also have
shorter life stages, and therefore embrace more mature mindsets at a
younger age. They are more willing to take risks and learn by doing—
essentially merging the Fundamental and Forefront stages. They
have a more significant desire to contribute to society even when
they are still under 20 years old. Their perspective on technology is
not shallow; they do not see technology as a mere gimmick. They see
it as an essential enabler to do things quickly and accurately so that
they can focus on what truly matters.
These shorter life stages have profound implications for the
marketing approach. To serve Generation Z and Generation Alpha—
the two most important generations in the next decade—it is not just
about the application of technology. Instead, it is about how to use
technology to enable human-centric solutions.