In her dynamic General Session today at ICON 2024 in Anaheim, Calif., futurist and technology expert Crystal Washington underscored that the pace of today’s transformation is unprecedented.
“We’re living in a world of constant change, unlike anything we’ve seen in years past… no one in any industry has seen anything like this,” said Washington, whose expertise has attracted Fortune 100 clients, including Google, American Express and Pfizer. The traditional approach of waiting for best practices or following the lead of others is no longer viable.
Business cycles are shrinking. Technology innovation is speeding up. Humans are becoming “stressed-out cyborgs,” she said.
“No one is coming to rescue us,” she said. People must chart their own course forward. For those attending this General Session hoping for definitive answers about the future, she offered a candid reality check: “I hate to tell you, I don’t [know] — no one does.”
However, she said she could make attendees more comfortable staying ahead of the changes and making intelligent decisions.
Her nearly 40-minute talk outlined the necessity for bold, self-directed innovation coupled with a child’s curiosity.
Washington addressed the rapid acceleration of business cycles. She explained that, in decades past, companies reinvented themselves every 75 years. Legacy organizations, from banking institutions to consumer giants, had maintained relatively stable business models. By 2001, the business reinvention cycle shrunk to 15 years. Today, companies need to refresh their models every four to seven years to stay competitive.
And the repercussions?
“Organizations are innovating from a place of fear, which makes them sometimes innovate in ways that aren’t actually helpful,” Washington said. “How many people use products or services where you see their updates and you’re like, ‘This is stupid.’ They are innovating from a place of fear.”
She noted the pandemic’s role as a catalyst for change, forcing companies to adopt practices like remote work, which many once deemed impossible. Before COVID, businesses swore working from home couldn’t be done. “Guess what we all learned? [It’s] very possible.”
This acceleration leaves businesses — and their leaders — with little time to sit back and wait for trends to settle.
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Washington highlighted three trends reshaping the future: data as a key driver of decisions, the elevation of CSR and ESG, and AI and machine learning.
She emphasized that organizations increasingly use data to make decisions at every level. Today, technology allows us to measure outcomes in ways that were impossible before, she said. And with that power comes the expectation that every decision, campaign, or partnership will yield measurable results.
Washington reflected on a personal experience from years ago when she was hired to help community newspapers transition online. Many editors resisted the change at the time, insisting that “we’ve been doing it this way for 100 years.” She explained that those who refused to adapt didn’t survive, while others thrived by embracing technology and using it to quantify their audience reach.
Beyond data and technology, Washington highlighted the growing importance of CSR and ESG initiatives — especially among younger generations. Gen Z and Millennials are pushing organizations to do more than just make profits. They care about the impact companies have on the world, she said. These generations grew up in a global, connected world, and they expect the brands they support to align with their values.
As for AI, she doesn’t envision a future where that technology replaces humans. “But I do think that humans who utilize them will replace humans who don’t.” She acknowledged that AI and technology can replace specific tasks, but they also offer opportunities for improvement and innovation.
“You will never be caught up again,” she said, noting that even if you downloaded everything you needed to know in your brain, it would be outdated by tomorrow. S0 Be kind to yourself, Washington said, because being caught up is impossible.
“The key to riding out this wave of change we’re enduring right now is to adopt a culture of curiosity like children,” she said.
Washington told attendees to embrace change and stay adaptable rather than feeling overwhelmed by it. We don’t have to know everything, but just “be curious and open like children.”
[Jim Cowsert/Grapevine Photo]
