Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit

Amy Webb, a strategic futurist and founder of the Future Today Strategy Group, offers a counterintuitive framework for navigating rapid technological change. Her central metaphor—“steering into the slide”—derives from driving on ice: When a vehicle loses traction, the instinctive response is to brake, yet physics demands the opposite (184). Instead, drivers must turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skid, making rapid micro-adjustments while remaining calm. Webb argues that this principle applies directly to contemporary leadership challenges. In an era where artificial intelligence, advanced sensors, and biotechnology converge to create unprecedented change, leaders cannot rely on traditional planning models or the illusion of control. Rather, they must embrace uncertainty, make continuous small decisions, and remain emotionally regulated in the face of disorientation.

Webb contextualizes current technological shifts within the economic framework of a “technology supercycle”—a period of cascading innovation and productivity growth triggered by converging breakthroughs (185). While historically, such cycles follow major innovations like the steam engine, today’s super cycle is distinguished by the simultaneous advancement of three interconnected technologies, creating what Webb calls “living intelligence” (188). This convergence presents genuine opportunity alongside risk. The chapter emphasizes that long-term strategic planning, not short-term reactivity, remains essential precisely because change occurs so rapidly.