08-10-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

23 industry shifts leaders see coming soon

What leaders expect to change across markets, technology, and society.

[Photo: Getty Images]

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of top leaders and experts who pay dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership, and more.

BY Fast Company Impact Council

Crystal balls, reading the tea leaves, feeding quarters into Zoltar Speaks. None of these can predict exactly what lies ahead. Sometimes leaders can see shifts in the business landscape before others notice.

We asked members of the Fast Company Impact Council what shift do you expect to see in your industry in the next five years? Here, 23 of those members share some tell-tale signs of coming attractions.

1. ROBOTICS FOR WORKFORCE PREPARATION

I expect we’ll see robotics increasingly recognized not just as an extracurricular activity, but as one of the most effective ways to prepare young people for the future of work. As employers continue to prioritize durable skills alongside technical expertise, robotics will be viewed as a powerful training ground for developing the problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and resilience that every industry needs. — Chris Moore, FIRST

2. INDUSTRY BIFURCATION

I expect our industry to become increasingly bifurcated over the next five years. Artificial intelligence and automation will transform the speed and scale of decision-making, but they’ll also increase the risk of acting on incomplete or misleading information. The winners will be organizations that combine advanced technology with experienced judgment to separate signal from noise and consistently deliver measurable business outcomes. As customer expectations continue to rise, value will be defined less by effort and more by speed, quality, and results. — Andrea Montecchi, Oliver Wight Americas

3. INCREASED AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

One of the shifts I see is an increasing awareness of the built environment’s environmental impact, leading to higher expectations and environmental standards for all stakeholders in the industry. Designers and building operators are no longer satisfied with broad sustainability claims. They want transparency and third-party certifications to support environmental claims. In tandem, I expect to see greenwashing being called out, inspiring conversation about what it truly means to be sustainable beyond superficial marketing initiatives. Companies that will succeed are those that genuinely commit to more sustainable solutions and back them up with full transparency. — Gordon Boggis, Carnegie

4. ATOMIZATION OF SOFTWARE

The next five years will bring the atomization of software, where brands move from buying pre-packaged platforms to composing their own technology solutions around their unique needs. Artificial intelligence and new connectivity standards are making this possible by enabling brands to combine specialized tools and capabilities from different providers to support each step of their workflows. Creator marketing is ripe for this shift, replacing fragmented workflows with smarter, more connected solutions. For technology providers, this is the right kind of disruption, requiring sharper focus on each company’s value while embracing a connected ecosystem. — Pierre-Loïc Assayag, Traackr

5. AI AGENTS WILL DWARF HUMAN WORK

Artificial intelligence agents doing work will dwarf humans doing work, and human review won’t scale to that. You need agents governing agents. Right now, risk and compliance decision logic often lives in someone’s head, a reviewer applying........

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