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There is a clear shift in human resource management from a “service provider” to a “business partner”; however, the new requirements and needs can also be met by the line management or external parties. For this reason, the new development is at the same time an immense opportunity and a threat for the HR managers. We are convinced that the HR function in the future will be very different from that in the past. The companies that do not see this and do not act accordingly will have a serious problem with the core assets of the “new economy”: the knowledge workers and the knowledge professionals.

The purpose of this is to trace the current changes in business and society and identify the forces that shape the new landscape. It is argued that any attempt to continue business as usual is doomed to fail.

The paper describes the change of paradigms that is taking place, and calls for respective alignment of business and political leaders. It further proposes that failure to perceive the changes or to take action, will lead to catastrophic consequences for people, organizations and society.

The paper concludes that there is a great need to change the fundamental principles of society away from dominance towards partnership and care; to change the fundamental paradigms which have stimulated the economy for centuries away from growth, towards transformation; to change the fundamental values underlying business from financial gain towards balanced values. The impact on economy and business would be far‐reaching, shifting their roles to focus on the real needs of people and society.

This paper proposes a roadmap to managing in tomorrow's landscape and is a wake‐up call to all people concerned with the future of our planet – political and business leaders, and scholars who conduct cross‐cultural research. Social responsibility needs to be taken seriously, and investment made in the future. Business and political leaders need to take the helm in this endeavor, and the role of the scholarly community is to provoke them to act.

This paper aims to be a conversation with Simon Dolan, conducted by Santiago Ibarreche, about his career as a successful scholar, author of many books, change agent, and a cross-cultural international observer.

This paper is an interview.

The interview explores Dolan’s career, his achievements and continued search for excellence in terms of teaching, research, and service in academia. It explores his experiences as faculty member and prolific author and developer of new approaches in teaching, research, also looking at the importance of anticipating the future of the work place and the importance of Management by Values.

The interview in this special section, A Life in Research, brings out an individual scholar’s experience and history, not only as recognition of scholarly impact, but also as recognition of the person.