Crystal Washington's Blog

In a recent email, a client wrote that they like to bring in futurist keynote speakers for large audiences because they are “all the rage” right now. However, some of their leadership teams are unsure whether a futurist would be a good fit for a small gathering of their leaders. At this point, I recognized that some of their team members didn’t realize what futurists actually do. They think futurists are people who show up and give engaging talks on ...

The biggest challenge organization leaders face in ensuring the company remains relevant isn’t keeping the technology up to date; it’s the rate of human adoption of that technology. The biggest challenge organization leaders face in ensuring the company remains relevant isn’t keeping the technology up to date; it’s the rate of human adoption of that technology. New tools, platforms, and innovations can emerge quickly, but people often need time to un...

While we see talk everywhere about artificial intelligence, what impact will it really have?

First, we have to realize that we’ve been using artificial intelligence our entire lives. According to Maryville University, the concept of artificial intelligence can be traced back all the way to the 1940s, and formal research began a decade later. The term AI was coined by John McCarthy in 1955 to explain a branch of science concerned with creating machine...

Everywhere we turn, we hear talk of how AI is taking over. Business leaders are scrambling to outdo the competition by adopting the latest artificial intelligence tools first. Meanwhile, countless news sources are decrying the impending “AI bubble,” warning that we’re barreling toward an inevitable collapse. So which is it? Is AI truly taking over, or is it overhyped and destined to go the way of NFTs—yes, those wildly overpriced cartoon apes we all ...

Do you find it challenging to stay consistent with your New Year’s resolutions?

You’ve been there. You’ve started with the best of intentions to shift a behavior or achieve a goal, but then work demands increase, so you can’t make it to the gym three times a week. Or maybe an unexpected shift at home makes it nearly impossible for you to complete that new certification in the evenings; you know, the one that will help supercharge your movement up the...

In a time of extreme cultural and business shifts, organizations are finding it more important
than ever before to keep their teams both motivated about the future and open to suggesting shifts. However, just as parents find their children more likely to take advice from another adult or peer who repeats the same advice they’ve been preaching for years, employees and peers are often more receptive to mind shifts instigated by an outsider.

One potential...

Talk of artificial intelligence in business is pervasive. Everywhere we turn, we’re seeing stories featuring AI company CEOs projecting the loss of up to 20% of jobs to artificial intelligence. To
understand how AI is reshaping organizations, we first need to understand what AI is and why
it’s a hot topic right now.

The term “artificial intelligence” was coined by computer scientist and emeritus Stanford
Professor John McCarthy in 1955. He defined it as ...

As we look around, we’d be hard-pressed not to notice how innovation appears to be speeding
up, whether human adoption follows or not. The Industrial Age, which began in the 1760s in
Great Britain, technically started to wind down in the mid-20th century. However, ages cast a long shadow, and today we are still trying to catch our breath as we attempt to absorb all the innovations being cranked out in the Digital Age, also known as the  Information Ag...