We have entered the new era which is completely different from what we called the industrial age of the last three centuries. Several factors have totally changed the way we live and work these days. Some of the major contributing factors may be summed up in the following four mega-trends: The era of globalization, the era of information and knowledge, the power of creation, and the learning society. Many organizations are striving to formulate new strategies to cope with an ever-changing business environment which requires new ways of doing business in their existing and emerging markets in the physical and virtual world. To obtain and sustain a competitive advantage in this new environment, organizations are supposed to learn faster and better than ever before, because the name of game is shifting from \'the survival of the fittest\' to \'the survival of the fastest\'. How to build learning organizations and to manage knowledge is critically important for the leading companies to differentiate themselves from others in the knowledge era. This paper focuses on the rationale of the paradigm shift needed for HRD professionals; Firstly, for the HRD organizations to lead the knowledge society successfully and actively, they should change the paradigm from the old-fashioned \'training\' to self-directed \'learning\'. At the level of the HRD organization, they should recognize that HRD doesn\'t mean a simple event of one time training, but rather a long term process of learning which involves a variety of interventions such as web-based learning, self-directed learning based on knowledge management system, and so on, in addition to class-room learning activities. Building the learning environment by utilizing the advanced information technology is a challenging task for HRD professionals. Secondly, the major roles of the HRD professionals should also be changed from trainers, instructional designers, and media developers to \'Learning and Performance Consultants\'. It appears to be a threat, but it should be accepted as a clear vision for HRD professionals with a lot of new opportunities of personal growth, and expansion of their expertise. They will build strategic partnership with the top management to maintain the sustainable competitive advantages of the organization in which they work. Though it is challeging, they should be ready to meet the new tasks to lead and surf the information and knowledge era of the 21 century.