Rapid change is not a phase we're passing through; it's a process in which we're engaged. That means it is likely that the conclusions, paradigms and core beliefs upon which we based our decisions just two or three years ago are likely to be obsolete today.  Even more sobering, the conclusions and strategies which we develop today will be obsolete in a couple of years.  

        There is only one strategy that will see us through:  Mastering the competency of changing ourselves and our organizations as quickly as the world is changing around us.  That’s a skill I call Purposeful Learning

The only sustainable effective response to a rapidly changing world is cultivating the ability to positively transform ourselves and our organizations.  That's the definition of self-directed learning.