Former Silicon Valley executive, author, and renowned futurist Rebecca Costa joins host Dan Moore to explain how to be “pre-daptive” versus reactive, why it’s best to fail early and fail often, how technology is leading to the end of all marriages, and the ways our own biology holds us back from planning for future problems.
About Rebecca:
Rebecca D. Costa is an American sociobiologist and futurist. She is the preeminent global expert on the subject of “fast adaptation” and recipient of the prestigious Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Award. Her career spans four decades of working with founders, executives, and leading venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. Costa’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, and other leading publications. She presently serves on the Advisory Committee for the Lifeboat Foundation along with futurist Ray Kurzweil and Nobel Laureates Daniel Kahneman, Eric S. Maskin, Richard J. Roberts, and Wole Soyinka.
Costa was the founder and CEO of one of the largest technology marketing firms in California, where she developed an extensive track record of launching game-changing technologies. Her clients included industry innovators such as Hewlett-Packard, Apple Computer, Oracle, Siebel Systems, General Electric, 3M, and others. She has been at the forefront of technological and scientific innovation, assisting venture capitalists and large corporations to identify, fund, and launch disruptive new trends.
Retiring at the zenith of her career in Silicon Valley, Costa spent six years researching and writing the international bestseller The Watchman’s Rattle: A Radical New Theory of Collapse. Her follow-on book, titled On the Verge was introduced in 2017 to critical acclaim, shooting to the top of Amazon’s #1 New Business Releases. The success of The Watchman’s Rattle led to a popular weekly news program called The Costa Report which was syndicated throughout the United States by the Genesis Communications Network until 2018.
Owing to global pressures to respond more rapidly and efficiently to the accelerating pace of change, Costa is a popular international speaker. She brings both an evolutionary biologist and technologist’s perspective to the subject of adaptation. Costa is currently represented by the American Program Bureau and the Scott Meredith Literary Agency.
A global thinker in the mold of Alvin Toffler, Jared Diamond, Ray Kurzweil, and Thomas Friedman, Costa attributes her ability to see the “big picture” to her cross-cultural education and upbringing. Raised in Tokyo, Japan, and Vientiane, Laos, during the Vietnam conflict, Costa brings a unique perspective to the everyday challenges of work and life. Rebecca Costa is an alumnus of the University of California at Santa Barbara and currently resides in Astoria, Oregon.
Learn more at RebeccaCosta.com.
LISTEN HERE:
The Action Catalyst is presented by the Southwestern Family of Companies. With each episode, the podcast features some of the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing meaningful tips and advice. Learn more at TheActionCatalyst.com, subscribe on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts, and be sure to leave a rating and review!
You can find the Action Catalyst Podcast on social media here:
Facebook – @actioncatalystpodcast
Twitter – @catalyst_action
Instagram – @actioncatalystpodcast
Interested in hearing more exciting conversations with our hosts or the work being at Southwestern Family of Companies? Check out our news page for all things Southwestern.