I was sitting in the keynote, “Thriving in Times of Disruptive Change,” at the Gartner marketing conference in Colorado, thinking it might be another talk about resilience and buzzwords. Then the speaker started telling a story about uploading her grandmother’s voice into Siri, and suddenly I was paying full attention. It was oddly beautiful and also a little eerie. One moment, she was talking about innovation; the next, I was wondering if my toaster was emotionally manipulating me.

What really stuck with me was how she explained the dual nature of technology. It helps and harms at the same time. It connects us and confuses us. It saves time and also seems to eat it for breakfast. She wasn’t preaching or sugarcoating. She just laid it out in a way that made me laugh, think, and squirm a little.

The big takeaway for me? Thriving in disruptive times isn’t about being the first to adopt every shiny new thing. It’s about knowing when to lean in and when to pause, keeping your values intact, and maybe asking a few more questions before teaching your phone to sound like grandma.