25Sep2025
The power of foresight and the clarity of insight were central to day 2’s keynotes. We’ve highlighted six standout quotes, and explored how their lessons can be applied, to help you navigate a world in constant flux.
Peter Hinsson: “People Who Understand Data and Patterns Will Outperform People with Deep Field Expertise.”
In the age of polycrisis—one misery after another—Peter urged the audience to realise that “this period of ‘never normal’ is not just a storm: it is the new climate.” The s-shaped curve of disruption that previously spanned decades may already be peaking before your business realises it’s sliding down the wave front of irrelevancy.
You cannot innovate only when the need arises. According to Peter, the greatest danger in times of turbulence is acting on yesterday’s logic, or cleaning up yesterday’s mess before you begin planning for tomorrow. Eliminate ‘yesterwork,’ pick up the signals, be adaptable, and when you get things wrong, be resilient enough to rebound.
Risto Siilasmaa: “Technology is the Biggest Value Creator in the World: Its Impact is More Profound Than We Realise.”
How much is technology worth? A simple question with no readily available answer. This was the catalyst for Risto to create his own piece of technology: a program that financially modelled the value of tech company stocks throughout history.
He discovered that over the past 10 years alone, the value of tech company stocks has increased by 510%. By comparison, the value of stocks from all other sectors combined has only increased by 60%. As Risto shared, “If you view the news stories of the past few years through the lens of technology value creation, it starts to make sense.”
What does this mean for the future? In the absence of a counter force, an observed trend will continue. There will be some unforeseen twists and turns along the way, but value creation at such an immense scale is sure to continue affecting the world in weird ways.
April Rinne: “A Lot of What We’ve Been Taught Assumes a World We Can Control.”
One of the final steps towards Enlightenment in the Buddhist tradition is letting go of your loved ones. This isn’t a cold cutting of the bonds of connection, or a full rejection of the need for others. It rather comes from a place of compassion: getting out of your own way, and the way of the people around you, so you can accept them for who they are and give them freedom to shine.
April urged the leader in attendance to “question their own beliefs, to let go of the need to know, to have all the answers.” This is a strategic advantage in a world of flux that we cannot control. Those that don’t let go in this way will not only become an obstacle to their own growth—they will also unintentionally stifle their team’s ability to adapt.
Diana Kander: “Something Can Be Good For Your Business. But Not Good Enough.”
Amazon is a graveyard for business zombies. Over the years, Jeff Bezos’ company has dipped its toes into mobile phones, travel and tourism, deals and discounts, maps and navigation, discussion forums, and hundreds of other business models that made money but weren’t good enough to keep in operation.
Even so, from the Fire Phone came Alexa, the most successful physical Amazon product in history. Maps delivered the backend that powers their entire global supply chain. Most businesses would cling onto these profitable—but not exponential—enterprises. Amazon chose to kill these zombies, salvage the good bits, and, as Dians put it, “give space for their 8s, 9s, and 10s to thrive.”
Jonah Berger: “Leaders Know a Lot About the Outcomes They Want to Achieve—Often Less About the People They are Trying to Change.”
A stellar example of the Streisand effect occurred when US laundry detergent brand Tide discovered many people putting their newly launched Tide Pods into their mouths instead of their laundry machines. A public service announcement from Rob Gronkowski inevitably achieved the opposite effect, spiking search traffic for the ‘Tide Pod challenge’ by more than 400%, once again proving we all have a deep tendency to do the exact opposite of what we’re being told to do.
As Jonah said, “people want to be in the driver’s seat of their lives. They want agency and control.” Pushing people often leads to resistance. To soften the blow, instead of presenting change as a binary yes/no choice, offer a menu of real, palatable alternatives that draw attention away from the options that aren’t on the table. Including Tide Pods.
Rick Rubin: “Avoid Mental Activity That Tells You You’re Not Ready.”
“When I think of moving forward, I think of taking action.” Throughout his life as a singular conduit for timeless art, Rick has embodied the search for greatness by always taking steps forward, even if he wasn’t sure what direction to head in. After all, an experiment that doesn’t work isn’t a failure: it’s just more information.
To understand what steps to take, Rick encouraged the audience to “tune into yourself. move towards what feels right.” By freeing ourselves from external expectations, and acting from a place of childlike intuition, we all can access the place where creativity comes from. When we don’t listen to ourselves, we’re just following directions.
