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Brands and businesses are stubborn.

And why wouldn’t they be? They’re run by humans, and we’re the most stubborn species of all.

We don’t just hate change, we loathe it. We run the other way and resist it at all costs.

And businesses, like humans, are also creatures of habit. They love their routines, and when successful, they love them even more. In these routines, they’re safe – so they repeat them until they become automatic.

But this behavior is dangerous, and for businesses, it’s downright deadly.

By nature, CEO’s and CMO’s fixate on control, and change is the antithesis of control. It brings upon the very thing they work so hard to avoid: uncertainty. It can mean abandoning the strategies and practices that got them where they are today – and worst of all, it almost always means more work.

But the world is changing, and to be successful, your brand and business must change with it.

It’s how IBM, a company that was selling cheese slicers 106 years ago is now leading the conversation on Artificial Intelligence.

It’s how Marvel, a comic book company that went bankrupt in 1996, now has two of the top ten highest grossing films of all time.

It’s how our inspiring client, Weight Watchers, transformed from a weight loss brand to a vibrant community of empowered members to achieve seven straight seasons of growth.

And it’s how The New York Times, a publication founded in 1851, is topping the podcast charts with its sponsored program, The Daily.

You may call these companies game changers, and that’s fine – but the truth is they didn’t change the game, they just reacted more quickly than their competitors when the game itself changed.

So how’d they do it?

They took actions. Brave and courageous actions in the face of discomfort. They opened doors their competitors wouldn’t – and most of those competitors are still locked out.

They hired planners – planners who became obsessed with the future. They examined trends and thought flexibly. They kept their eye on the bigger picture, when everyone else was focused on the smaller portraits of the present.

The unknown isn’t safe, but it’s where you need to play if you want to win.

So think ahead. Imagine possibilities that seem decades and decades away. The way you think consumers make decisions today will be different than the way they make decisions tomorrow.

Become a leading brand of 2020.

Take action. Define the alternative future you exist to prevent.