What is the Hyder Index?

The Hyder Index is a monthly measure of the Change-Response Gap: the distance between how fast an industry is changing and how well companies in that industry are responding. It tracks 15 industries. A score of 50 means change and response are even. Higher scores mean wider gaps. It was created by strategist and author Shama Hyder and publishes the first Tuesday of every month.

What does it read now?

The Hyder Index reads 58 for September 2026, a Narrow Gap reading. Industries are changing 1.3 times faster than companies are responding. See the dashboard for every industry.

What is the Change-Response Gap?

It is the distance between the pace of change in an industry and the pace at which its companies respond. Most companies see change coming. They fall behind when their response has the wrong aim or the wrong timing. A wider gap means more decision risk. Any opportunity still depends on fit, timing, and execution.

What is Strategic Urgency?

Strategic Urgency is the leadership discipline of turning signals into timely action: seeing them early, deciding whether an opportunity is truly yours, and acting with the right aim and timing. Speed for its own sake is not the goal. The goal is to act with urgency without acting recklessly.

How is it calculated?

Each month, two independent reviewers rate every industry on six signals of change and five indicators of company response, from 0 to 5. The ratings become a Change Score and a Response Score from 0 to 100. The industry score is 50 + (Change Score - Response Score) / 2. The full method and every rating are public on the Methodology page and in the data files.

What do the zones mean?

0 to 50 is Keeping Pace. 51 to 59 is a Narrow Gap. 60 to 69 is a Significant Gap. 70 and above is a Critical Gap. Each zone is one rating level of gap.

How do I cite the Hyder Index?

Source: The Hyder Index (hyderindex.com), created by Shama Hyder. Charts and scores are free to reproduce in editorial coverage with attribution and a link. See the Press page for citation lines and data.