Previous industrial revolutions liberated humankind from animal power, made mass production possible and brought digital capa- bilities to billions of people. This fourth Industrial Revolution represents a fundamental change in the way we live, work and relate to one another. It is even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. The new revolution can be considered a new chapter in human development, as it is enabled by technology advances that are commensurate with those of the first, second and third Industrial Revolutions, and which are merging the physical, digital and biological worlds in ways that create both promise and peril.

Utkarsh’s book talks about the power of communities to shape the future of work. Through clear examples and case studies, he is able to demonstrate how millennials can embrace the benefits of the fourth Industrial Revolution equitably and sustainably. I appreciated the fact that he makes it clear that the future of work not only entails the creation of new jobs but also figuring out how to augment human intelligence with new tools of technology.

The book has been written after conducting detailed research and ethnographic interviews with shapers, young global leaders and other forum constituents. Utkarsh explores themes such as emotional intelligence, adaptability quotient and mental health in the context of the modern workplace. He has added concreate examples from his experience of being a Global Shaper, running network capital and working with technology companies and non-profits.

An important point of focus for the book is radical collaboration. Every day, I witness different stakeholders collaborating across age groups, regions, religions and boundaries, and it makes it clear to me that such a collaborative approach is essential for addressing complex challenges of the 21st century. We must move from a world that prioritizes materialism to a human-centred world with inter-generational perspectives. Utkarsh’s focus on peer-to- peer learning and sharing is a good example of how we can build robust collaboration principles at work that can be scaled to other domains as well.

2020 was the 50th anniversary of World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. While there were many debates and discussions around the challenging state of global affairs, our focus was to establish stakeholder capitalism as a way of addressing the world’s greatest challenges, from societal divisions created by income inequality and political polarization to the climate crisis we face today. It was energizing to learn that business has now to fully embrace the stakeholder capitalism, which means not only maximizing profits but using their capabilities and resources in cooperation with governments and civil society to address the key issues of this decade. They must actively contribute to a more cohesive and sustainable world.

Utkarsh’s work explains why the world demands a new kind of ‘advanced’ business leader who makes conscious attempts to find meaningful work, create opportunities for others and solve prob- lems beyond the bottom line. That’s the spirit of being a Global Shaper and I am glad Utkarsh has put forward crisp mental models and operating principles for people committed to leading from the front.