Culture moves in flash cycles while corporate roadmaps crawl. It’s not the next big technology that kills a brand; it’s the next quarterly planning meeting, and even the best marketers get stuck inside companies too slow to keep up.

Patrick Connors is the Founder and CEO of brand consultancy CONNORS + Company, CAA Advisor, and an experienced leader with tenure at culture-driving giants like Endeavor and Condé Nast. He knows exactly how slow-moving structures hold brands back from keeping pace with culture.

Gone in a flash: "A lot of companies, even those led by brilliant marketers, can’t pivot fast enough for the future," Connors says. "By the time they review their pipeline, they’re already thinking about 2027. But culture is going to change much faster than that." Today, he adds, cultural moments are fleeting. "Culture is a heartbeat away from something catching on, and just as quickly, it’s gone. You have to be able to adapt faster to be part of it."

Famous last words: Connors has seen this movie before, and it doesn't end well for those who ignore the signs. "When I started in magazine publishing, I was told, 'Don’t worry about that Internet stuff, just focus on print,'" he recalls. That advice proved fatal for many. "Look what happened. Glamour magazine was the number one revenue generator at Condé Nast, and today, it doesn't even exist."