In the 21st century, somebody or something has changed the rules about how our world works.

Obeng’s line frames the 21st century as a break with earlier assumptions about stability and predictability. “Somebody or something” suggests that the shift is not only technological (digital networks, automation, globalization) but also social and institutional (new competitors, new norms, new expectations). The “rules” metaphor implies that strategies and skills that once worked—long planning cycles, linear career paths, slow-moving organizations—no longer guarantee success. The quote functions as a prompt to adopt adaptive learning, experimentation, and faster decision-making, because the environment is now shaped by rapid change and complex interdependence rather than incremental improvement.