The honorees showed that, despite growing up in the digital age, they still enjoy reading a weighty book, like “History of Western Philosophy,” by Bertrand Russell. They quote enduring figures like Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Teddy Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr.
The last time I was involved in a “40 Under 40” issue was more than two decades ago — and I myself was not much older than 40.
But I found that putting together a “40 Under 40” list has changed.
- The photo shoot in Portland, with dozens of people gathered, became a networking opportunity.
- The workplace is rapidly changing. A couple of honorees changed jobs between the selection process and this issue.
Each honoree was surveyed with half a dozen questions, including ones about favorite TV shows, movies, books and quotes. We found some interesting trends.
- The honorees showed that, despite growing up in the digital age, they still enjoy reading a weighty book, like “History of Western Philosophy,” by Bertrand Russell. They quote enduring figures like Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, Teddy Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr.
- With Hulu, Amazon Prime and Netflix, movies and certain TV shows have held up well. Because everything is accessible, younger generations are discovering older shows like “Friends” (1994–2004), “The Sopranos” (1999–2007) and “West Wing” (1999–2006). One honoree cited as her favorite movie “Young Frankenstein” (1974).
- We had to modify one of the questions we sent to honorees. “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” became “Audacious goal.” It was brought to my attention that the term “BHAG” might be a bit dated. It was coined by Jim Collins in the business book “Good to Great,” which came out in 1994. Even the oldest 40 Under 40 honoree would have been in about 5th grade when that term was coined. While some things have proven timeless, apparently the term BHAG has not aged as well.