Founding stories help link disruptive change to a company’s honored legacy, reducing resistance.

Every company must now see itself as a technology company, regardless of its industry.

Boards should embed ongoing tech adaptation into culture, not treat it as a finite project.

Regular scenario planning helps Boards embrace uncertainty and prepare for peripheral threats.

In his classic novel about the French Revolution, Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” (1975). That same quote also applies to the first half of the 21st Century. In this blog, we will focus on how Boards of Directors can meet today’s “Best of Times/Worst of Times” moment.

Our “Best of Times Worst of Times” Era

One one-hand, we are in the process of dramatic technological change through Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and emerging quantum computing systems. On the other hand, the United States is experiencing the decline of the middle class, a decline of national cohesion, and an increase in institutional mistrust. In an earlier Psychology Today blog, we discussed these issues in more detail (Stybel Peabody, 2024).

In A New Age of Reason, Larry Weber (2024) acknowledges both the best and worst of times but places emphasis on how corporate leaders can harness the positives. Mr. Weber is a national thought leader in corporate........

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