From entry-level admin to CXO, many people have climbed the ladder, earning more, gaining recognition on the path to Industrial Age ‘retirement’ with a gold watch. However… today, jobs can be done by AI; flexible workers fill the gaps; economic and political unrest cloud the final rungs of the ladder.
Since 2023, global corporations have eliminated between 450,000 and 600,000 jobs “as a result of AI”. Jobs, promotions and the corporate ladder are no longer fail-safe paths to success.
Business as usual – going to work, building a career, corporate organizational structures are obsolete. They have been swept away by the cyclones of change, technological advances, over-capitalism, geopolitics and societal change.
What’s next, i.e., what does this mean for society, institutions, people?
The end of the Industrial Age
For the past 150 years, global society has operated on a relatively straightforward agreement. People employed in companies, factories, and cities. We ‘went to work’ and spent 8 hours a day making, buying or selling things or providing services.
In exchange, people were paid a wage – either hourly based on how much time they were there or a ‘salary’ based on which rung of the ladder they were on at the time. The higher one climbed, the more one made.
The workers used the money earned to ‘live,’ ie buy things, experiences, services – the more money one earned, the more one could buy. As society expanded, a person’s worth shifted – from values and impact to ‘status’ based on the accumulation of money, things, and access to people higher up on the corporate ladder.
Today’s Inflection Point
This is an inflection point. The impact of decades of growth, ‘over capitalism’ combined with recent technological advances have irrevocably changed the planet, societal values and people.
While we as humans are ‘wired’ to seek routine, clarity and comfort, I challenge you to stop and think about it. Do you really enjoy ‘going to work’, sitting in a box (office, job) for 8 hours per day then spending an hour or more commuting home – often looking forward to ‘vacation’ or retirement from ‘work’?
Even if you are one of the few who enthusiastically answers YES, consider the real price tag of the Industrial Age – on the planet and the increasing number of people left behind.
Think back to when the environmental toll became impossible to ignore. People stopped commuting, worked from home, spent time with family, in nature and living.
Suddenly the skies cleared, and from the turtles in Venice’s canals to the growth of rainforests, nature reclaimed spaces it had ceded to human industry.
Another cost of the Industrial Age is the increasing wealth gap between those who have and those who have not. This has created an unbridgeable chasm that fuels hatred and fear, threatening social stability. In the meantime, the pressure on individuals to compete, acquire, and “get ahead” has created epidemic levels of stress, anxiety, and burnout.
From an evolutionary perspective, from a systems thinking perspective, from any perspective that looks beyond quarterly results for a few, this model is simply not sustainable.
It’s time to break free from the Industrial Age
The challenges people are experiencing now—lack of jobs, societal polarization, climate disruption, geopolitical conflicts aren’t random catastrophes befalling us.
They’re the logical, progressive outcome of the behaviors, patterns, and “ways of being” that we’ve practiced from the Industrial Age through today.
We optimized for growth without limits. We treated natural resources as infinite. We built business models that required perpetual expansion. We created societies where a person’s worth was measured by their productivity and consumption.
And now the system is sending us signals—loud, disruptive, impossible-to-ignore signals—that we’ve reached the limits of this paradigm.
The anger you’re feeling? The fear? The sense that someone “moved your future”? That’s what it feels like when a paradigm shifts beneath your feet.
The New Paradigm is Already Emerging
But here’s where my Silicon Valley optimism kicks in, backed by real-world evidence from the transformation work I do every day with future-ready corporations.
Leaders in Adobe, Novartis, NVIDIA, and SwissRe aren’t just adapting to change—they’re fundamentally rethinking the purpose. As I lead future-ready leadership workshops, we discuss “What are you really trying to achieve?”, “How can lasting value be created?”, and “What does it mean to lead in this emerging world?”
They’re moving from hierarchical corporate-ladder structures toward collaborative ecosystems. They’re shifting from quarterly profit maximization to sustainable value creation that accounts for environmental and social impact. They’re embracing AI not as a cost-cutting tool but as a catalyst for human creativity and capability. They’re rethinking workflows instead of refining job descriptions.
They’re replacing “business as usual” with something better. AND their revenues, customer, AND employee satisfaction numbers are accelerating.
This is the future emerging to fill the space left when the corporate ladder falls.
The Choice: Evolution or Extinction
This is an Inflection Point. Industrial Age business is obsolete. People have a choice. You can continue to comply with demands to return to the office, dutifully document your AI utilization practices, and work your way through traditional hierarchies.
While you do so, the cyclones of change will swirl, knocking down the structures and career ladder. A new paradigm is emerging whether you’re ready or not. AI capabilities and adoption will accelerate exponentially. Future-ready Gen Z and Gen A’s will deliver results on new terms.
This is the time to commit to evolution to avoid extinction.
Thriving with P.E.A.C.E.
Considering the consequences of traditional industrial age work practices on the planet, society, human health, the death of ‘Business as Usual is a good thing.
Over the past 20+ years, I have led transformation for companies. From my work in Silicon Valley war-rooms to European board rooms, Gulf Region government coalitions and Latin American incubators, I have battle-tested my approach for thriving with P.E.A.C.E.
Purpose: Focus on what you really need and want to achieve. What is your real purpose – in life, business and ‘work’? What impact do you want to have on people, planet and society?
Exploration: Find various ways you can achieve your purpose. Break free and explore widely while keeping the “North Star,” ie your purpose, in sight.
Action: Try new paths, ways of working, alternatives – monitoring your progress toward purpose at each milestone.
Collaboration: Colleagues, clients, partners, friends – comparing insights, findings, successes and failures. We are all experiencing this shift. It’s an opportunity to learn and grow with others.
Empowerment: Allow yourself and others – in your team, family, network to break out of the structure, jump off the career ladder, and thrive NOW into the future.
The Corporate Ladder has Fallen. That’s a Good Thing.
Break free now, step out of the Industrial Age activity and identify your Purpose – your real reason for being today. Through P.E.A.C.E., you can think differently, evolve, embrace AI and new future-ready practices to thrive in the new world that is rapidly emerging.
The choice, as always, is yours.
