I asked myself eight questions recently. They are NOT mine. They were asked me by my mentor almost 20 years ago. They are deceptively simple questions.
The kind a good mentor asks when they want to cut through the noise and get to the truth of who you actually are, and what you actually want.
I have spent years (as Dan Sodergren as a keynote speaker) standing on stages talking about the future of work and AI and technology. And now I talk about The Fifth Industrial Revolution. About what AI means for work, for humans, for the organisations trying to navigate the most significant shift in how we live and earn since the internet changed everything. I have asked audiences hard questions about their future.
But sitting with these eight questions myself? AGAIN.
That hit differently.
Because here is the thing nobody tells you about The Fifth Industrial Revolution. The technology is not the hard part. The hard part is knowing who you are, what you value, and what kind of future you actually want to build. Before AI builds one for you.
So here are my answers. No spin. Just me.
What activities do you like to be doing?
Speaking on stage about AI and the future of work. Having conversations that start with ideas and end somewhere none of us expected. Writing things that reframe how people see the technological revolution happening around them right now.
When I am doing those things, I lose track of time. That is the only test that matters. And I think it is the most important question every worker in every organisation should be asking themselves as automation reshapes their role.
What skills would you like to be using?
Storytelling. Making the complex feel urgent and human. Helping rooms full of sceptical people realise that AI is not their enemy, it is the most powerful tool their generation will ever have access to.
I do not want to just talk about the Fifth Industrial Revolution. I want to demonstrate it. Live. In real time. Using AI as a genuine creative partner on stage, not as a gimmick or a slide deck full of buzzwords.
What impact would you like to make?
I want people to feel less afraid.
Fear is the biggest blocker in organisations right now. Fear of being replaced. Fear of getting it wrong. Fear of asking a stupid question about AI in front of their team and looking out of touch.
The Fifth Industrial Revolution is not coming. It is already here. And the organisations that will thrive are not the ones with the best technology. They are the ones whose people feel curious instead of scared. If I can help shift that, even slightly, that is a good day.
Who would you like to work with?
Leaders who understand that the future of work is not a technology problem. It is a human one. Teams who want to actually change something, not just tick a box and call it a transformation programme.
People who are ready to think differently about what Artificial Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Independent Thinking, and Organisational Intelligence actually mean for their business. That is my Four Intelligences framework, and it is the lens through which I see almost everything right now.
What would you like to learn about?
The intersection of neurodiversity and AI. There is something significant there that the future of work conversation is almost entirely ignoring.
How the Fifth Industrial Revolution lands differently for different kinds of minds. Whether my Four Intelligences model holds up as the pace of change accelerates. And honestly, how to scale what I do without it becoming something I no longer recognise.
What values would you like to live out?
Freedom. Honesty. Health before wealth.
That last one is easy to say at a conference. Living it when the pressure is on and the calendar is full is harder. But the Fifth Industrial Revolution is supposed to give us more time, more energy, more capacity to be human. If I am not modelling that myself, why would anyone listen to me talking about it?
What environment do you want to work in?
One that proves my point. Mostly remote. Online keynotes that reach more people with less friction. Selective in-person events that are genuinely worth the travel.
The future of work should mean more flexibility, more autonomy, more control over how and where you contribute. I want to live that, not just preach it.
What would success look like to you?
Not a packed diary. Not a bigger fee. Not a viral post.
A sustainable business built around ideas that actually matter. Work that challenges me without breaking me. Still being genuinely curious about where AI and humanity intersect. Still believing, with evidence, that the Fifth Industrial Revolution can make work better, fairer, and more human if we choose to build it that way.
Still having something worth saying.
Those eight questions. A good mentor does not give you the answers.
They ask the questions that make you realise you already know them.
In a world being reshaped by AI, that might be the most important skill of all.
What would your eight answers be?