Only 27% of CEOs believe their leadership team can anticipate disruption. That’s PwC’s own CEO Survey data, and it means nearly three out of four CEOs aren’t confident in their own people. Part of the problem is that the pace of change is increasing, and it’s getting harder for most people to keep up. In fact, it’s not just a leadership team issue. According to Gartner, 80% of CEOs expect AI to require a high to medium degree of change to their organizations’ operational capabilities, based on a survey of 469 CEOs and senior executives worldwide. The future is already partially here. The trick is slowing down enough to make a true, non-hype-fueled evaluation so we can insert foresight in our strategic planning.
My name is Crystal, but I don’t have a crystal ball. I’m not a psychic. I’m a futurist speaker: someone who analyzes emerging trends, data, and novice technologies to help organizations anticipate change and prepare strategically. What most people miss about future-proofing is that it doesn’t mean you get the future you want. It means that whatever future shows up, you’re in the best possible position for it.
It starts with signals. A signal is weaker than a trend — it’s that thing you keep seeing where you think, “I don’t know what this means, but I feel like it means something.” Maybe it’s repeated phrases, an emerging behavior, or even shifts in advertising. You want to notice what’s new, odd, early, or contradictory. Futurist-minded leaders capture evidence of those trends and store it over time in a bookmarking service or even just a folder on their computer. You ask, “If this grows, what could change?” Then you connect multiple signals over time, as patterns emerge.
Here’s why signal-spotting matters: Blockbuster had the data. Their cashiers heard the same complaints every single day: customers were upset about late fees, mad that the video wasn’t on the shelf. Taxi companies had dispatchers fielding the exact call challenges that ride-share apps later solved. The future didn’t just land on those companies out of nowhere. They had signals (in the form of information collected by their frontline people). They ignored them. In fact, they may have done something worse and not even asked their frontline about what patterns (signals) they were observing.
If I, as a futurist speaker, only give you one action today, it’s this: be curious. That’s how you spot the signals in the first place.
