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. Leaders who shorten planning cycles in response to uncertainty actually increase their vulnerability. Instead, three-to-five-year planning horizons, scenario modeling, and continuous recalibration become critical survival tools.

While Webb identifies technological transformation as inevitable, Brown identifies specific organizational failures that amplify unnecessary pain. Critically, many organizations invest heavily in technology adoption while neglecting change management and employee development. This oversight—rooted partly in shame around obsolescence and partly in avoidance of difficult cultural work—creates resistance that stalls implementation. Brown also highlights that cross-company collaboration, identified by Webb as essential for competitive advantage, requires relational leadership, explicit trust-building practices, and willingness to engage in honest conflict. Brown acknowledges that 2025 represents a pivot point—the decisions organizations make now will determine long-term viability. However, the chapter’s applicability depends somewhat on organizational size and sector. While Webb’s framework resonates for large enterprises with resources to invest in scenario planning, smaller organizations may experience the prescriptions as aspirational rather than immediately actionable.

Chapter Lessons

• Embrace uncertainty through continuous micro-adjustments.
• Maintain long-term strategic planning during periods of rapid change.
• Invest in organizational culture and employee development alongside technology adoption.
• Competitive advantage increasingly depends on strategic partnerships. These collaborations require leaders to shift from transactional to relational approaches, openly address trust and distrust, and normalize honest conflict within team settings.

Reflection Questions

• When facing significant uncertainty at work or in personal life, do you tend toward the instinct to “brake” (seek immediate control or certainty), or can you identify moments when stepping back and making smaller adjustments proved more effective? What conditions allow one to remain calm while making rapid micro-decisions?
• Within one’s organization or sphere of influence, what organizational barriers—whether rooted in fear, shame, or misaligned incentives—prevent the kind of long-term thinking and relational leadership that Webb and Brown describe? What would need to shift to create space for this work?