The infinite game: Why agility is the stand-out strategic advantage for today's business

Over the last 25 years, the world of work has undergone major shifts. However, nothing compares to the scale and speed of change today. According to the IMF, about 60% of jobs in advanced economies are exposed to AI impact.

Moving into 2026, the world of work has become much more fluid; more of a continuously evolving landscape like the infinite game that philosopher James Carse described back in 1986. In an infinite game, the goal is not to win but to keep playing and adapting continuously – finding meaning from progress rather than the notion of winning. Success is no longer a finish line; it is more about the capacity to adapt repeatedly.

How can we ensure organizations and individuals are ready to master their own destiny and find meaning on the way? What is the reality in terms of the need for reinvention and how do we close the skills gap? And how do we rethink roles and how work is organized, to address the reality of hybrid human-digital workplaces to turn AI implementation into business impact?

Across research from the World Economic Forum, the OECD, the IMF and our own studies, one message stands out: Agility is now the most decisive capability for long-term competitiveness for businesses, workers and whole economies. Enabling businesses and individuals to be more adaptable and resilient means we can collectively shape the world of work we want for the next generation.

In our own professional advisory company, LHH, our recent Reinvention Imperative study reinforced how rapidly expectations have shifted.

Agility becomes a strategic muscle, and reinvention a continuous cycle. And talent and skills become the engine that determines whether the organization can keep moving forward.

For workers, agility has become the foundation of long-term employability. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report:

Our research underscores this shift in mindset:

With this imperative of agility, the fact remains that skills and labour market policies are built on outdated assumptions, and public and private investment in training lags behind. Businesses must play their role and invest in the development and skilling of their people. Once the private sector has framed and funded skilling initiatives appropriately, then public funding is needed to boost and scale the impact.

However, the labour market has changed faster than public policy. Public expenditure on early education in OECD countries is around 4.3% of GDP, but training as part of labour market programmes sits at around 0.1% on average and is trending downward. We call for governments to invest at least 0.5% of GDP in adult learning by 2035 to make a breakthrough in the pervasive skills gap. This would address the fact that only 23% of low-skilled adults across OECD countries take part in training today. If we fail to act, inequality will deepen, and businesses will not reap the potential benefits of AI.

Agility provides organizations with a strategic edge. Implementing it starts with the workforce. The old rules of workforce design no longer apply to a hybrid human and digital workforce. It is not about a shortage of AI tools; it is about outdated workforce design. Leaders tell us they don’t know where to start. This is the c-suite’s most pressing question. New business models are needed, such as our joint venture with Salesforce: r.Potential is a new tech company that is leveraging billions of data points to help enterprises create measurable business impact, strategically design and successfully run hybrid workforces. It will enable organizations to work out where to start and how to scale; how to effectively convert combined human and digital capacity into productivity, adaptability and innovation at speed.

As 2026 gets underway, my call to action in Davos this year is that we do not lose sight of what matters most in the world of work. During these times of volatility, it is on all of us to ensure that we have the right people strategy and stay close to our workers to help them connect to opportunities. It is on us to bridge people to the opportunities in the intelligent era.

The infinite game of work is not slowing. But with the right blend of talent, technology and transformation, organizations and individuals can do more than keep playing – they can shape the game itself.