Future-proofing like Warhol
Achieving a level of unique excellence that few will ever manage to replicate.
The classics are immune to the effects of change.
While everything else is made redundant over time through upgrade and renewal, and as a result, is devalued as the future unfolds; the old (and not so old) classics endure.
Not because they are the best versions of their kind, but rather because they are a definitive example of their kind.
The classics were the breakthrough innovations of their time: the bold risks, the unique approaches...the crazy ideas that recalibrated what was considered possible.
Everything that has come since, is in some way a watered-down version.
Change cannot ever diminish the brilliance of a classic.
Shakespeare
Another older example that comes to mind is Shakespeare.
His works, written in the early 17th-century, are still the benchmark today. And no doubt will stand the test of time and talent yet to come.
One popular approach to becoming 'future-proof' is to develop the ability to respond to time-bound change with agility, ensuring resilience no matter which future unfolds.
The impact of time is weakened.
Another is to spot the direction in which change is developing, rise above it, and achieve a level of unique excellence that few will ever manage to replicate.
Future-proofing like Warhol is achieved by becoming timeless.