reprinted from SMH | The Age – Saturday 13th September 2014 One of Britain’s leading doctors recently made headlines with his calls for the UK to switch to a four-day week, to help combat high levels of work-related stress, and to let people spend more time with their families or.

When signals like It’s Wedneday, time to log off and relax emerge, organisations that engage early have the advantage of choosing their response rather than reacting to events. That gap between those who prepared and those who did not is where competitive positioning is actually made or lost.

The most important question is not whether It’s Wedneday, time to log off and relax will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.