Change is timeless, adaption is the key: Lanting

Menno Lanting, trendwatcher and business author, reminded Narim members that change is timeless, can be threatening as individuals and societies struggle to adapt and evolve but needs to be recognised as inevitable and ultimately can be risk-managed if the right approach is taken.

“Change is nothing new. There have been many times in history when humanity has had to respond to change. I deliberately say ‘moments’ because it was events that brought innovation and new technology for example. It is really not the case that major impactful changes take place every year,” said Lanting.

Lanting was the keynote speaker at the Narim congress and is regarded as a leading expert in the field of the impact of the rapidly changing world on innovation, organisations and leadership.

Narim’s members – who have all had to adapt and evolve following the arrival of Covid-19 and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – will have recognised much of what Lanting said as it has been part of their daily lives in recent times.

“We have to go along with the digitisation that is currently going on, whether we like it or not. In my opinion, we will only now fully experience the consequences of this development. After all, it’s been going on for a while. In the 1970s we had to deal with the rise of the computer and two decades later the Internet was open to everyone. Perhaps the feeling of impotence is also playing a part now: we can no longer follow it all. The insurance industry is used to keeping control. But what else do we have control over?” he said.

Lanting pointed out that changes are therefore an everyday occurrence. But, the big question is whether it is happening faster than in the past?

“I don’t think so. There have been certain moments in history when developments are rapid, but there are often long periods between major changes. In the nineteenth century we made the transition from the agricultural age to the industrial age. A lot happened then and people couldn’t keep up with it all. People lost their jobs, there were protests, machines were destroyed by the farm workers. We then worked in the industrial model for about two centuries. I think we are going to leave that industrial model and enter the network age,” he said.

There is a rising concern about the rapid impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and some have even suggested it could wipe out the human race. Lanting said humans are slow to adapt but they will.

“Look at the developments around AI, ChatGTP, etc. That demands a lot from organisations and their employees. Everyone has to go along with it and then it is irrelevant whether or not we can handle the changes, they happen to us. That fascinates me. Whatever we think of it, it happens, the forces are much greater. We can be positive, neutral or negative towards AI, but if developments in that area continue at lightning speed, we have to accept that,” he said.

“In my opinion, people’s capacity for change is many times slower than the speed of technology. But that has always been the case. In terms of DNA, we are still the hunter-gatherer as we were 10,000 years ago. We have not actually changed very much, but we do have to deal with all those changes. And that sometimes leads to a lot of unrest and sometimes even to fear,” said Lanting.

“We also don’t want to let go of everything. The unknown can be threatening. What will replace it and what will be our role if we have to work for another 20 years or more. Then we have to learn new things, jobs may have disappeared, and new jobs have been created. But that is nothing new, it has happened before in history,” concluded Lanting.