Reimagining the Future

How Leaders Can Shift the Cultural Discourse from Negativity to Inspiration, Empowering Societies to Embrace Progress and Innovation

A recent article in the Financial Times (“Is the West Talking Itself into Decline?”) discussed the troubling insight that Western societies have shifted their culture from one of progress and innovation toward one of caution, worry, and risk aversion, as evidenced by our language:

I believe there are many factors at play here. Possibly one of the most important is that our leaders—political, economic, and cultural—desire, massively amplified by the algorithms of our social media platforms, to polarize, provoke, and amplify negativity. Our amygdala (the fight-or-flight part of the brain) thrives on negativity and overrides our rational thinking. It is more profitable to sow fear and worry rather than courage and hope.

Jeffrey and I have been discussing this for quite a while now. When it comes to the future, this is a precarious stance. If all the stories you hear about the future—and thus your future—are negative, it is no wonder that our outlook will indeed be bleak. Creation begins with imagination.

When Jeffrey and I worked at Singularity University, a common question (somewhat in jest, but often with an undertone of actual worry) was, “What do we do when the Terminator becomes real?” Aside from the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger as a revengeful machine and a future planet ruled by killing robots makes for excellent Hollywood entertainment, the movie (along with many other dystopian sci-fi classics) instilled a vision of the future in its viewers that is bleak at best. When we countered with the question, “Can you name a Hollywood blockbuster that portrays a positive view of our future?” the only notable response was the Star Trek franchise. This highlights our culture’s tendency to gravitate toward unsettling visions of the future.

I strongly believe (and have advocated for quite some time) that we, in our everyday roles as leaders, need to imagine and communicate a positive, desirable view of the future—one that inspires us and our circle of influence to embrace progress, strive for a better world, and—most importantly—build it. I regularly return to Panera Bread’s founder Ron Shaich’s quote:

Our approach has always been to discover today what will matter tomorrow and then to transform our company into a future that is unfolding before us.

Implicit in this quote is the notion that we ought to transform our companies (and, of course, our societies) into a brighter and better future that lies ahead of us.

Now, as someone who has lived and worked in Silicon Valley for quite a while, who has been in tech for a much longer time, and who has seen many hype cycles come and go, the challenge is, as with so many things in life, to find the right balance. A positive vision of the future does not equate to blind techno-optimism, dismissing the very real and complex problems of modern society, nor an uncritical belief that “technology is inherently good or neutral.”

As we navigate the complexities of our modern world, it is essential to foster a narrative that acknowledges the challenges we face while simultaneously inspiring hope and innovation. This balanced approach requires us to engage critically with technology and its implications, advocating for solutions that address societal issues rather than ignoring them

This community is a very special place—many of you are incredibly accomplished leaders who are, intuitively, deliberately, and routinely, doing this work anyway. I urge you to amplify these efforts and inspire others to do the same. We need to shift the narrative of the future if we want a better one.

@Pascal