Fast Talk: What's the Biggest Change Facing Business In the Next 10 Years?

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"Over the next few decades, we think the capabilities of intelligent machines will evolve rapidly."
--Donna Dubinsky, Numenta Inc.

"A lot of my people [who read Dilbert] would prefer not to have any human contact, because they feel they work for and with idiots."
--Scott Adams, Cartoonist and entrepreneur

John Mackey

Chairman, CEO, and cofounder, Whole Foods Market Inc.
Austin, Texas

Mackey, 52, runs the nation's leading natural and organic grocery chain, with $4.7 billion in annual sales. He is as well-known for his enlightened management practices as for democratizing access to natural foods.
First appeared in Fast Company: April/May 1996

"The world is getting more and more transparent. You're in a fishbowl these days. You can't hide in the boardrooms anymore. With the speed with which information can be sent around and the way activists and journalists dig and dig and dig, it's very difficult to hide things. I think that is an irresistible trend. And it's a healthy trend.

I figure at any given time there are a bunch of journalists writing books about us, trying to expose us for the phonies they think we are. So you have to assume everything is an open book. You better not have anything going on that if it were known, we'd be ashamed of. When there are fewer secrets, there is greater motivation to do the right thing. That's driving business. There's greater accountability, and more businesses are getting leadership that recognizes that we can't hide. So we better do the right thing.

I think this is part of a larger trend, toward business having a greater responsibility in society than just maximizing profits. Customers want that, employees want that, and shareholders want that: They want businesses to be good citizens. Businesses today have a too-narrow concept of why they exist. Particularly with the scandals at the beginning of this century, historians will look back and see that business is being called upon to do more. It's not an either-or situation--it's not profits versus good citizenship. And right now, a new generation is becoming CEOs. Our generation.

Is that optimistic? Overly optimistic? Well, most entrepreneurs are wildly optimistic."
--Interview by Charles Fishman

Scott Adams

Cartoonist and entrepreneur, Scott Adams Inc.
Dublin, California

Adams, 48, parlayed his experiences as a bank teller and computer programmer into the comic strip Dilbert, which appears daily in more than 2,000 newspapers in 65 countries.
First appeared in Fast Company: June/July 1998

"The world is changing, so Dilbert has to change, or else he'll become outdated. I have to figure out if Dilbert's going to move to India or not. The only people who will have jobs in the United States are people with creative jobs, or something that has to do with communication and sales. And more people are going to be working at home. That doesn't work so well for me, because it's hard to write a comic about a guy sitting at home.

Even in the office, there's a growing preference to communicate solely by email so you can ignore all human contact. That has a lot to do with the people who read Dilbert. A lot of my people would prefer not to have any human contact, because they feel they work for and with idiots. I can't tell you how many people I've met recently who state, outright, that they don't like any people. They love technology, but they don't like people. Some like animals. And now technology actually gives them the option of avoiding all human contact.

I guess there will always be work stuff to make fun of. The only thing I really worry about is Dilbert's physical appearance. Between Lasik and casual clothing, I wonder how long I'm going to be able to keep him in glasses and a necktie. That's the hardest thing to change, because he's kind of an icon. It'd be like changing Mickey Mouse at this point. But when I go to a business conference now, there isn't one person in the room wearing glasses. Of course, I still have them, but that's because I'm a chicken."
--Interview by Michael A. Prospero

Alice Waters

Executive chef and owner, Chez Panisse
Berkeley, California

Waters, 61, has had a profound influence on how America eats. Her revolutionary restaurant in California built its reputation with fresh, organic food from sustainable sources. She's also a member of the international slow-food movement.
First appeared in Fast Company: June 2003