Ari Wallach

With original frameworks, novel research and refreshing candor, applied futurist and social systems strategist Ari Wallach, founder and executive director of Longpath Labs, imparts a macroscopic view of world trends and how businesses will both impact and be impacted by them. Working with participants to identify opportunities for cultural and business realignment, Wallach shares insights about overcoming short-termism, instituting healthy long-term practices and weathering the world’s changes with grace. With a focus on locating meaning in work, Wallach’s workshop gives participants an opportunity to deconstruct and clarify the purpose behind the everyday in order to become better citizens of the world.

The dizzying pace of technological and social change has leaders in every sector of business and government tasked with meeting short-term goals without thinking of the long-term impact of their decisions. This is highly detrimental to the future of business and society, says applied futurist and social systems strategist Ari Wallach, founder and executive director of Longpath Labs. In this presentation based on his book, Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs, Wallach introduces Longpath, a mindset that helps people consider the needs of coming generations when making decisions. Pointing to related research and case studies, he teaches leaders how to move beyond short-termism to instilling a deeper sense of meaning in their organizations and in their own work with the goal of positively impacting people and the planet for centuries to come.

The potential benefits of the metaverse may be difficult to envision today, but renowned futurist Ari Wallach is certain about one thing: the metaverse is coming and leaders need to be ready. “Creating a just, fair and democratic metaverse will require a multipronged approach from business, civil society, and government,” says Wallach, founder and executive director of Longpath Labs and former adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “Leaders from across society can and must play a central role in unifying that effort. But how?” In this talk, Wallach – who has spent years advising corporations, governments, and foundations – provides an accessible overview of Web3, crypto and the metaverse, and discusses the business and societal implications of these rapidly emerging technologies. He also explains why the metaverse has the potential to create a more just and equitable world — or its dystopian opposite – and how we can avert the latter outcome.

Time and again, hindsight has shown us how decisions made too hastily or without concern for a future outcome lead to tragedy. Adapted from his TED Talk of the same name, this presentation by applied futurist and social systems strategist Ari Wallach, founder and executive director of Longpath Labs, outlines the dangers of “short-termism.” Pulling from real catastrophes where nearsighted approaches to planning and government resulted in underfunded infrastructure, broken safety protocols, environmental destruction or human casualties, Wallach shows that the impulse to sacrifice long-term good for immediate payoff often leads to negative outcomes. Along the way, he introduces three new models of long-term thinking that promote a new appreciation for all possible futures, including those we will pass on to our posterity.