AI + The New Human Frontier

Afterword: Putting This into Practice

One of the questions on most business leaders' minds today is: how can I/we become future-ready? The last several years not only put companies under massive stress, but they also tested both near- and long-term readiness and resilience in new ways. Crises often reveal who is ready for the widespread changes the future will bring…and who is not. But the thing we are all navigating is uncertainty. And in times of uncertainty, future readiness is more critical than ever.

Many of us spend a lot of time and energy doing something but achieving very little. It's the hamster on a wheel effect. Every type of organization will need to task itself with figuring out ways to apply the discipline of foresight to shift and challenge current thinking, spur new ideas, and encourage new approaches to help minimize shocks of future events, while building a rock-solid foundation on which opportunities can quickly be identified and seized.

Lastly, we must all ask ourselves questions about the next generation and tap deeper into how they think and how they see the world. That's one reason why I have always advised people to get a reverse mentor. I've said the same to companies—that every person within those companies should not just have a mentor but a reverse mentor. And don't have your reverse mentor be an intern, because that person is already too old. Ask questions of a middle schooler (be it a neighbor's kid, a niece or nephew, etc.) Ask them what they ...