18. Why Every CEO Needs to Be Future Smart: From AI to Sustainability

We are living in a world where fundamental changes in technology and lifestyle are emerging in an unprecedented speed. These changes are shaping an entirely new era that will transform markets, society and the economy. Thus, to be prepared to thrive within this radically changed environment, companies need to be led into this future by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who is aware of these fundamental future trends, by a CEO who is Future Smart. This describes the ability to see signals that will create a trend and to explore possible future scenarios to better prepare for them today. More than ever, being Future Smart is a vital competency for every business leader. Two mega trends CEOs need to prepare their companies for are sustainability and artificial intelligence (AI) as their impact on the firm’s viability is tremendous. Ten questions are proposed that business leaders should ask about sustainability and artificial intelligence (AI). Being Future Smart will help to answer these questions, leverage both trends and their synergies and thus, gain and maintain competitive advantage in the future. This requires rethinking and adapting strategy with effective strategic management frameworks and processes as well as a Future Smart organization.