Some people call it the age wave. Others say it’s a silver tsunami. Whatever you like to call it, the fact of the matter is that our society is aging, and it’s going to affect all of us. Especially the businesses with aging employees and caregivers in their midst. That just leaves one question: are these companies going to ride the age wave, or fall beneath it?

That’s the question Kathryn Roberts asked in a recent editorial in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Kathryn is the CEO of Ecumen, a large aging-service provider in the Midwest. But she’s also the daughter of an 86-year-old mother. She knows that businesses are losing valuable time and money (to the tune of $33 billion each year) when they don’t help people like her access the help they need for themselves or their loved ones. To her, doing nothing it’s just bad business. And I feel the same way.