What Miles Davis, Sir John Hegarty, and the Epilogue Economy All Know About Creative Maturity

I’ve worked in the creative industry for over 30 years.

But it was only recently, this past year or so, that I felt something shift. Not in skill, but in certainty. The kind that comes from finally owning the whole arc of my story, not just my résumé.

It was the confidence of age. Not in spite of it. Because of it.

“Sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself.” — Miles Davis

That line was quoted recently by Sir John Hegarty, in a post yesterday. It just lingered. Like the kind of phrase a horn player holds for half a beat longer than expected.

Because it’s true. And not just in jazz.

It takes time to find your tone. Time to shed the mimicry. Time to stop performing and start expressing. Time to stop seeking approval and start speaking from both your heart and mind.

In creativity, as in life, voice and confidence are shaped by use. Not years alone, but lived experience. Mistakes, reinventions, heartbreaks, hard-won clarity. The kind of understanding that doesn’t rush to speak, but knows when it must.

Our industry has long been youth-obsessed. But that’s not a criticism of young talent. I think it’s a call to rebalance. Because while we chase speed, scale, and surface, what we need now is depth.

And here’s where the opportunity becomes clear to me. The fastest-growing consumer group globally is people over 50. The most under-utilised leadership asset inside agencies and brands?

People over 50.

The Case for Creative Maturity

The workforce is aging. The audience is aging. And we are just beginning to see how much possibility lives in that truth.

We’re not talking about nostalgia. We’re talking about a new stage of growth. Creative depth. Strategic empathy. Brand trust. All of it deepens with time. This is the essence of the Epilogue Economy™ - the idea that later life isn’t a winding down, but a turning point. A chance to create, contribute, and connect with more resonance than ever before.

So no, this isn’t about replacing young voices.

It’s about bringing in, or keeping, the ones who’ve finally found their sound - the ones who’ve lived through the transitions, the pivots, the plateaus, and the reinventions. The ones who’ve seen creative cycles rise and fall. Watched technologies shift from novelty to norm. Who remembers when the internet felt like jazz: improvised, alive, full of risk.

They’ve seen what happens when we overcorrect. When we chase newness over nuance. When we confuse speed with progress. These are the voices that know how to hold ambiguity. To lead through grey areas. To recognize that the most powerful ideas don’t shout. They resonate.

And that resonance builds trust, connection, and staying power, the things we’ve quietly let slip.

What Time Teaches That Talent Alone Can’t

We talk a lot about transitions at The Epilogue Company, including digital, cultural, and generational shifts. Some are brought on by age itself, others, well, they can appear no matter what age you might be. But what we rarely acknowledge is the value that lives in people who have moved through them. Not just once, but over decades.

Experience isn’t a fixed asset. It’s compound wisdom, especially when paired with curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to keep evolving. That’s who this piece is for. The ones still tuned in. Still sharpening. Still becoming. The ones who didn’t peak early, because they weren’t supposed to.

In the Epilogue Economy, this is the growth market. Not just demographically. Philosophically. Because when life isn’t just a story of ascent, but one of return and reinvention, then the second half might be the part that matters most.

And the brands, agencies, and leaders who learn to listen to those voices? They won’t just sound better.

They’ll last longer.

Work With Us

At The Epilogue Company, we work with brands and agencies ready to move beyond age brackets and audience clichés. Yo see people as they truly are: in motion, in transition, in the midst of becoming.

Because the next wave of growth won’t come from chasing the new. It will come from listening to the ones who’ve lived through it. The ones who’ve found their sound. The ones that are re-inventing who they are, what they stand for, and as Miles, and Sir John, are alluding to - that it takes time to get there.

We help companies tap into this often-overlooked opportunity, by rethinking relevance, designing for reinvention, and bringing creative depth to audiences who’ve earned it.

If you’re reimagining a campaign, shaping a product, or simply trying to hear where the future is headed—we can help.

We bring strategy, insight, and creative provocation to brands ready to lead with wisdom, not just speed.

The Epilogue Company. Beyond Demographics.