The world’s next generation of young adults will not only be the largest ever, but also have received more schooling than any before.  The quantity, quality and focus of education will strongly influence future global development. There will be rising needs for trained teachers. Advances in communication and information technologies will quicken the dissemination of knowledge globally, giving rise to opportunities for cross-border education, as well as a greater need for lifelong learning to maintain a competitive edge in skills and knowledge. A further influence on education will be the rise of collective versus individual intelligence as people worldwide seize the potential to tap into diverse sources of learning and knowledge simultaneously across the world, through both formal and informal networks. In this environment, the balance of influence of national curriculum boards and governments on education will decrease, while that of educational providers, parents, learners, learning channels and networks and global “thinkers” will increase.

Questions for Business Leaders:

• How much time do we spend thinking about the ideas and practices suggested by leading business thinkers? As an individual, as a team and as an organization?  Is it enough?  Is it too much?
• Do we sufficiently discuss and debate the ideas so we don’t fall into the trap of “flavor of the month” management?
• What is our approach to learning? Is it something driven by HR functions, or an integral part of leadership and management?  How do we strike the right balance between learning, thinking and doing?