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In recent years, the role of the leader in the workplace has shifted. No longer sitting alone in an office behind closed doors, forward-thinking leaders are immersed within the rest of their team, walking the walk instead of just talking the talk. At most firms, the focus isn’t just on the figurehead of the group; much more emphasis is being placed on empowering employees to become more independent and accountable for their actions.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “they who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Although he was actually creating a pro-taxation, rather than pro-privacy, argument, his powerful words are still often used today, as we consider the implications that advancing technology is having upon our privacy and security.

It’s not easy to make predictions about technology. Who, after all, could have foreseen the Internet revolution, the advent of the smartphone or the ubiquity of connected devices? It’s an industry which can surprise even those at the very heart of innovation, including IBM Founder, Thomas Watson, who once proclaimed that there was a global market for “maybe five computers” and “5,000 copying machines”.

Technology is often blamed for the collapse of the high street. With shoppers increasingly preferring the ease and speed of making purchases online, rather than in a physical store, more and more stores are closing their doors. This isn’t surprising; after all, if you can find what you need online, at a lower price, with free delivery and you don’t even need to leave your house, then why bother slogging into the town centre?