Leading in a Non-Linear World

INTRODUCTION

We are living in a non-linear world, in which more of the problems we face do not have a clear sequence of cause to effect to solution. As the last decade of shocking and unsettling events has shown us, our environment is becoming less stable and predictable. As a result, more of the challenges we encounter in our wellbeing, work, and society cannot be solved using only the linear ‘plan and act’ approaches, based on assumptions of what's worked in the past.

New and emerging questions require a different way of thinking about our future:

• Can we keep working longer and more continuously?
• How will artificial intelligence (AI) or automation change career paths?
• How will a workforce of four very different generations, skill sets, and values synergise, and what does that mean for the future?
• What if decade-old assumptions about the sustainability of our global economic system no longer hold true?

And today's ‘wicked problems',¹ including climate change and the availability and provision of food, energy, and clean water, will continue to play out in unexpected ways as technological innovation and geopolitics unfold.

Linear thinking and action work when problems are well understood, and solutions are conceivable or proven. However, as the complexity and uncertainty of these problems and the solutions we might build (think nanotechnologies or robotics) increase, we need to embrace an additional approach – a non-linear way of thinking and action. This requires us to embrace ...