
Rebecca Costa
Leading Authority on Leadership and “Fast Adaptation”
- Author of two international bestsellers on leadership, The Watchman’s Rattle and On the Verge
- Founder/CEO of one of the largest technology marketing firms in Silicon Valley
- Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Award Winner
- Columnist of The Fix, for Newsmax.
- Featured in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and many others.
Rebecca Costa (bio) is pioneering the converging science of great leadership. For the first time in human history, breakthroughs in science and technology have brought leaders to the brink of predicting future outcomes with unprecedented accuracy. Advanced tools - such as predictive analytics, Big Data, AI, genomics, etc. - have made it possible for organizations to pinpoint future results and avoid negative consequences "before the fact," as well as get an early jump on opportunities which have yet to happen. Costa calls this growing advantage predaptation.
Areas of Expertise
Leadership | Decision-making | Technology | Predictive Analytics | Complexity | Innovation | Agility | Big Data | Quantum Computing | AI | Neuroscience | Robotics
Speech Topics
The Science of Predicting the Future and the New Leadership Realities
Healthcare on the Verge
Videos
Articles
Client List & Testimonials
Academy of Science and Engineering (ASE)
Abbott Laboratories
Alliance for Strong Families and Communities
American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)
America Computer & Robot Museum
American Red Cross
Argentum
Big Data Alliance
Big Data Congress (BDC)
Book Expo America (BEA)
Brookings Institute
Canadian University Council of Chief Information Officers (CUCCIO)
Chautauqua Institution
Colorado Health Symposium
Commonwealth Club
Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA)
Council of Community Services
The Dieline Conference
Dignity Health
Dole Food Company
Evanta/Gartner
Financial Services Council (FSC)
G20 Summit
GE
Gentrain Society
Georgia Southwestern State University
Great Lakes Business Intelligence and Big Data Summit
Hewlett Packard
Human Capital Institute (HCI)
IBM
Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)
Junior Leagues’ National Conference
Kansas Health Symposium
Llamasoft
Long Beach Public Health Week
Marion Institute
The Nantucket Project
National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
National Retail Federation (NRF)
Naval Post Graduate School
North American Spine Society NASS)
Nutracon
OffShore Technology Conference
Old Dominion University
Oracle
Planetree
Royal Cup Coffee
Rx Ohio
Stanford University
State University of New York (SUNY)
Stellar, Inc.
Sun Life Financial
Tableau Software
TED
Texas Assn. of States Systems for Computing & Communications
United Nations: Women’s Day
University of Tulsa
University of Arkansas
U.S. Center for Defense and Homeland Security
Vistage International
Walmart
West Coast Green
- President & CEO, LLamasoft
- Director, USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service
Books
On the Verge
“There can be no greater advantage than certainty of the future.
Not in nature. Not in business. Not in governance.”
So begins Rebecca Costa’s much-awaited exploration of foresight: “the crowning achievement of human ambition.” According to Costa, advances in Big Data, predictive analytics, genomics, artificial intelligence, and other breakthroughs have made it possible to pinpoint future results with mind-blowing accuracy—cracking the door to what Costa calls predaptation: the ability to adapt before the fact. Never before has the information needed to avert danger, get the jump ahead of others, or prepare for the inevitable been so clearly within grasp.
Through fascinating real-life examples, Costa reveals how technology has brought nations, businesses, and individuals to the edge of clairvoyance. Yet, our ability to act on foreknowledge often falls short—causing leaders to squander the advantage of preemption. To counteract this failure, Costa illuminates 12 principles of adaptation, and predaptation, used to succeed in fast-moving environments.
In the spirit of the best in popular science, On the Verge is a landmark examination of big-picture forces affecting society today. Costa’s unique sociobiological perspective, combined with her ability to blend humor, breaking science, and insightful personal stories, distinguishes her as one of the most important female thought leaders of our time.
The Watchman's Rattle: A Radical New Theory of Collapse
Why can't we solve our problems anymore? Why do threats such as the Gulf oil spill, worldwide recession, terrorism, and global warming suddenly seem unstoppable? Are there limits to the kinds of problems humans can solve?
Rebecca Costa confronts - and offers a solution to - these questions in her highly anticipated and game-changing book, The Watchman's Rattle.
Costa pulls headlines from today's news to demonstrate how accelerating complexity quickly outpaces that rate at which the human brain can develop new capabilities. With compelling evidenced based on research in the rise and fall of Mayan, Khmer, and Roman empires, Costa shows how the tendency to find a quick solution - leads to frightening long-term consequence: Society's ability to solve its most challenging, intractable problems becomes gridlocked, progress slows, and collapse ensues.
A provocative new voice in the tradition of thought leaders Thomas Friedman, Jared Diamond and Malcolm Gladwell, Costa reveals how we can reverse the downward spiral. Part history, part social science, part biology, The Watchman's Rattle is sure to provoke, engage, and incite change.
Rebecca Costa
Leaders Who Are Fastest to Adapt, Win!
Rebecca D. Costa is an American sociobiologist and futurist. She is a world-renowned expert on "fast adaptation" in complex environments, and a recipient of the prestigious Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Award. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, and other leading publications. Costa also hosted a popular syndicated radio program, The Costa Report, and writes a weekly column, The Fix, for Newsmax.
Costa was the founder and CEO of one of the largest technology marketing firms in California, where she developed an extensive track record of introducing disruptive, bleeding edge technologies.
- What causes leaders to make decisions which lead to failure and collapse…
- …and how do we assure that we make better decisions in the future.

Share this:
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- Click to print (Opens in new window)