09-15-2026FAST COMPANY MAGAZINE

Why Walmart, Meta, Anthropic, Adidas, and other companies are moving faster than ever

Fast Company has always been focused on speed. It’s right there in our name.

[Photo: Andrew White; groomer: Paige Ghahremani]

In my previous Editor’s Note, which kicked off our special Summer issue on the autonomous future, I focused on the vertigo-inducing pace of change in the AI era, an unprecedented acceleration that was overwhelming even the most adaptable executives in tech. There was a real sense—illuminated by the CEO survey we published—that leaders were off balance and on the ropes, struggling to keep their footing.

Three months is a long time these days. While that theme of acceleration continues this fall, the mood in the C-suite seems to be shifting. Reading the stories in........

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