Four emerging innovations that could have profound effects on business.
Welcome to the HBR Executive Agenda for Oct. 30, 2025. In this issue: Beyond AI: The Other Technologies You Need to Watch Takeaways: Indra Nooyi on Leading Innovation Beyond AI: The Other Technologies You Need to Watch AI has captured the attention and investment dollars of top executives everywhere.
But it’s not the only game-changing technology to watch. Amy Webb, founder of the Future Today Strategy Group and an expert on strategic foresight and organizational strategy, says there are several other emerging technologies that similarly could have profound effects on business. Here are the four she says executives should focus on now: Advanced Identity Management. Consider this the next wave of multi-factor authentication. As AI allows bad actors to create synthetic, digital copies of people that look and talk like the real thing, companies will need better technologies to confirm employee identities. Imitations are getting so sophisticated that deep fakes have been able to inject themselves into restricted settings like business meetings. New behavioral biometrics look not just at, say, eyes or fingerprints but capture subtle movements, like how someone moves their fingers across the keyboard. Future authentication will be based in part on verifying these idiosyncrasies. “Senior leaders have to invest in a new set of street smarts to stay safe,” says Webb. Synthetic Biology. Recent breakthroughs in the field are starting to give companies the ability to use biological innovation to create and improve products and processes—for example, helping companies create new forms of glass that are more environmentally sustainable or that respond in an optimal way to heat or cold. Much of this is still in the lab for now, but a wave of start-ups and investments promise to push these innovations into the mainstream. “Companies that make physical products are going to have extraordinary optionality,” says Webb. “This is the time to develop new products before an outsider disrupts your business.” Robotics. Recent advances in AI and sensor technology are giving robots greater capabilities and a better sense of the context they’re operating within. Amazon recently announced the development of Blue Jay, a robotics system involving overhead mechanical arms that can handle packages in warehouses faster and at lower cost. Google’s Deep Mind has developed a robot capable of tying shoes, which has been considered a kind of Turing test for machines. Given the amount of capital being invested in the field, we’re likely to see an acceleration of robotics across a wide range of industries. Quantum Computing. Commercial deployment of quantum-driven applications is still limited, but real progress is being made. The Trump administration said last week that it may take equity stakes in several quantum companies—an implicit vote of confidence in the technology. Google’s Quantum Echoes algorithm recently handled a computation 13,000 times faster than a conventional supercomputer. Commercial use cases could start appearing in the next two to three years, in everything from insurance and financial services to life sciences and pharma—wherever there is a need to examine enormous quantities of data. “Quantum is moving from a ‘forever frontier technology’ to the near-term watch list,” says Webb. None of these technologies is likely to have the impact of AI. But as you think about innovation, and about fending off potential upstarts, it’s worth keeping your eye on these developments as well. Takeaways: Indra Nooyi on Leading Innovation Last week, Indra Nooyi joined me for an HBR Executive Live. Here are some of the key takeaways from our conversation: The CEO’s job is to absorb uncertainty so the rest of the organization can stay focused. Bring together a small group of key leaders to focus on scenario planning and “let the bulk of the organization focus on running the business the way they’re used to running it,” she says. Effective leadership today hinges on depth over breadth. It’s not enough to scan headlines or rely on instincts, Nooyi says. Leaders need to understand complex systems from the ground up; think from others’ perspectives ; surround themselves with people who will tell them the truth; and plan in depth for multiple outcomes. Innovation is a science—not an art. “You’ve got to systematically segment your innovation approach and say, what are line extensions? What are new products? What are new platforms?” she explains, offering examples of her approach at PepsiCo when innovating products like Flaming Hot Doritos and Tostitos Scoops. Strategy is about zooming in and out. Leaders need to look for the big patterns in markets, consumers, competition, then dive into operational detail: “It’s a constant dialogue between what’s happening in the environment, how do we rewire things differently, back to how we’re going to implement in the company.” For Nooyi, leadership ultimately comes down to courage, purpose, and perspective. Transformation always takes longer than expected—and attracts criticism before it earns respect. Her guiding principle: “Run the company for its duration, not your duration.” You can watch our full conversation here. And you can sign up now for our November 10 HBR Executive Live event with incoming Target CEO Michael Fiddelke here.
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