Eight complete years and still growing strong! It gives us immense pleasure to bring out our 100th issue of Empowering Times (ET).

We have believed in contributing to the world of knowledge and have therefore featured a wide range of eminent Thought Leaders, Business Leaders, Academicians, Bureaucrats, NGO Leaders, Women Entrepreneurs, etc. over the years.

Looking back, we find that we had an exciting beginning when we featured the renowned strategic thinker, Dr. Jagdish Sheth (of Emory University) in our very first edition in January 2010 based on the theme Human Capital. Then on to our 25th edition in January 2012 based on the subject of Management Consulting where we featured Anuj Bhargava (of the Institute of Management Consultants of India); leading up to yet another milestone with the release of our 50th issue where a leading Real Estate businessman from Bangalore, Pradeep Ranka, enlightened us on the Real Estate sector in February 2014. Speaking on their respective subjects of art and music, our 75th issue featured our very own hilarious cartoonist, Vikram Nandwani (in March 2016) and our 90th edition, based on the Music Industry, featured noted Retail Music entrepreneur, Anthony Gomes, in June 2017.

Our centenary issue celebrates the nuggets of knowledge that we have shared across a plethora of topics and aims at making you walk down memory lane. We have also had our regular contributors - Dr. Jagdish Sheth, Sushil Eapen and Dr. Mat-Thys Fourie, who have always been open to sharing their thoughts on subjects close to their heart. ET this month is grateful to all those who made the time to share their experience in our Podium segment of the e-zine.

ET has made it this far thanks to our readers and their encouraging feedback and thoughts which we have reflected in our 100th issue. A shout out to Vikram who beautifully captures the essence that knowledge is infinite through the above banner image. We are also grateful to the talented and dedicated people who work seamlessly behind the scenes to ensure that we bring out our best month after month.

As always, we value your continued support over the years, and hope that you will continue your journey with us. While the e-zine will continue to be a medium to trigger some thoughts, we would like to hear from you on what else you would like us to feature in the upcoming issues.

Would we have anticipated this back in 2013? Highly unlikely. And, therein lies a tale. While we keep extrapolating the present to make predictions about the future, yet there are events that are difficult to forecast. To quote Kupferberg, 'when patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.' And consider the pace: if you are panting constantly trying to play catch-up, it is because we can all feel that the rate of change has gone up more than a few notches.

While it is hazardous to play soothsayer, let me attempt to play the futurist & offer you 4 trends to keep an eye out for over the next five years:

1. AI everywhere: Artificial Intelligence is the most anticipated and controversial development not just in the workplace but even at home. First it was the smartphone offering assistance for small repetitive tasks (through Siri, Google Assistant, etc.) and now the invasion has reached home (Alexa & Hey Google). Soon there will be many Internet of Things (IOT) based appliances to make life easier or complex, depending on your point of view. But will the machines take over? No one is quite sure actually. Even the experts are quarrelling louder by the day - with Zuckerberg and Musk being at opposite ends of the argument. Suffice it to say that either way, there will be organizational re-structuring of a scale not seen since the time when computers first made its appearance at the workplace. With routine & repetitive work being automated by machines (even classic white-collar work, for instance, in accounting, law, medical, etc.) there will be a serious need for all of us to upskill to stay relevant. Learn or perish - take this mantra to heart.

2. Embrace diversity: The days of homogeneity is over. And, yet parts of the world are fighting it. Globalization in the business sphere has created acceptance of the notions of the power of diversity. First it was professional women & now it is people with disabilities, transgender, same-sex, and mixed races. But, regrettably, in the social sphere there has been a backlash which has got accelerated by political opportunists. In my opinion, this regressive reaction will fade after peaking (sadly it has not reached its zenith yet) when saner voices come center-stage and stress the value of interdependence as the basic ingredient of growth. Those of us who get this message early and live this value will succeed in leadership roles.

3. The rise of leisure: While arguments will continue whether financial inequality is growing in society (and also global disparities), evidenced by the need to work longer hours for many, paradoxically there will be a rush towards leisure too. The quest for work-life balance is getting louder in all quarters & with the cost of global travel moving southwards, the service and hospitality sector will attract larger number of users than ever before. Not just travel, food, music, entertainment, and many other niche hobbies will be on the rise.

4. Medical victories: This will be the best of all. No, I am not referring to the quest for immortality - not everyone wants that, you know! But, there is no doubt that advances in the medical world (science, equipment and patient care) will create longevity in society. Other major milestones will include successfully combating the scourge of tropical diseases (malaria, cholera, etc.), which can be contained as we have done with polio. This will be the result of the collaborative endeavor between private agencies (like Gates Foundation), the UN Agencies (particularly WHO), and national governments across the world. Once again, global partnerships will pay off.

These are just four of the many changes that we will find. Many new inventions will be created and discoveries made, making the journey of life exciting. Those of us who welcome the new world will thrive and those who do not do so will be left pining in the world of nostalgia.

The invitation for you and I is simple: move out of the comfort zone & make way for a new order. For, change will happen.

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