AI is rewriting business in real time—and most leaders aren’t ready
Fast Company
“The new agility is coherence: Can you create the conditions by which it’s very clear what we do, what the value is that we produce, and how we’re going to get there?”
At the Fast Company Grill at SXSW 2026, Fantasy CXO and managing partner Peter Smart joined Stack Overflow CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar and Sam Jordan of Future Today Strategy Group to discuss how leaders stay agile as AI rewrites business. Fast Company’s Anna-Louise Jackson reported the conversation.
Smart’s argument: the way companies deliver value, and the business models they were built on, are being rewritten in real time. The new agility is coherence, being clear about what a company does, the value it produces and how it will get there.
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Key points
How can leaders stay agile as AI disrupts their industry?
- Build coherence. Smart says agility now depends on clarity about what the company does and the value it produces.
- Root the company in its mission. Chandrasekar says companies with a clear mission and purpose handle shifting ground best, and leaders need a constant learner mindset.
- Reward experimentation. Jordan recommends changing incentive structures to reward experimentation and testing.
- Ask what is actually changing. When things feel chaotic, Jordan says, something more fundamental is usually shifting, and leaders should not trade judgment for efficiency.