Back in the 1990s sitting in a leadership conference, I recall listening to a futurist lay out a bold prediction:
“By the year 2000,” he stated, “We will be only working a 10-hour week!”
“Is he for real?” I thought.
It sounded crazy — but at the same time compelling.
He argued that the computer age was accelerating so fast that technology would make life easier. Admin would vanish. Tasks would be automated. Efficiency would reign.
He went on:
“Computers will be doing so much of the grunt work, that our biggest challenge will be figuring out what to do with all our spare time.”
Spare time – Pfff!
So… what the hell happened?
Instead of becoming entrepreneurs — or contributing more deeply to our families and communities — this wave of technology has pulled us into a 24/7 cycle of digital busyness, unnecessary hyper-connectivity, and mental exhaustion.
We didn’t get more free time. We just got more to do!
Maybe the real lesson is… never trust a futurist and their promises — ha ha.
Or perhaps… he was right. Just a few decades early.
Because now, something big is happening.
We’re no longer in the computer revolution.
We’re in something far more disruptive — the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
If the Third Industrial Revolution was about computers and the internet, then this new era is being shaped by the convergence of artificial intelligence, automation, quantum computing, biotechnology, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, cryptocurrency, and synthetic technologies — an exponential wave blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds.
It’s fast, chaotic, exciting, but also confronting.
And unlike past revolutions, it’s not just changing what we do — it’s redefining who we are.
At Proteus, we say it simply: “Change has Changed!”
The old models — designed for slow, predictable transitions — no longer apply.
Today’s pace and complexity of change now demands something entirely different.
Leaders now need a mindset that’s built on agility instead of rigidity, innovation over imitation, and courage over control.
We must move from change management to change intelligence — the ability to lead ourselves and others through this new unknown.
From trying to control change… to learning how to navigate it.
From simply surviving disruption… to thriving through it.
Because this moment isn’t just a threat — it’s also a remarkable opportunity.
To rethink. To reinvent. To lead differently.
And to be more human than ever before.
Wishing you a wonderful week of transformation.
Richard Dore
Co-CEO - Director of Partnerships
Proteus Leadership
How To Lead And Embrace Transformational Change
Change has changed! We are now living in a time of rapid growth and chaos, full of distractions and major disruptions. Change management is dead and is often associated with negative baggage and past failures. By embracing transformational change, we are compelled to move forward to an exciting future, leaving behind old thinking and behaviours, whilst staying relevant to future success.
This workshop will give participants the concepts, templates, skills and confidence to go beyond traditional change models to stay relevant. Leaders will also learn how to focus on getting their teams to embrace change as a cultural norm, while also creating a learning culture with an agile approach to leading, absorbing and accepting change.
The World is Changing. Are You? Join Our Final Virtual Workshop For 2025.
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