It’s interesting and, perhaps, reassuring to note that people have always felt that they live in pivotal times. One of the first recorded references to the Chinese term for “crisis” as both a danger and an opportunity was in a 1938 editorial titled “The Challenge of Unusual Times.” The point the author makes is worth considering; specifically, without danger, there is no opportunity. As we engage in the next industrial revolution—Industry 4.0—the sense that we are at an “incipient and dangerous moment” is pervasive. How we navigate this change will have broad—perhaps global—implications for business, government and society.

As global accounting and advisory firm KPMG observes in a recent publication: “It’s a brave, evolving world for Human Resources (HR). Roles are changing, expectations are rising, boundaries are blurring, and organizations are charting new and more complex territory. These factors are transforming the HR function and positioning HR professionals as strategy partners at the leaders’ table.”^[1]