First, find your foresight friends

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Pressed to explain why some associations have abandoned impressive foresight initiatives, I said they couldn’t spread the benefits of foresight across their organizations: you must find your champions and allies.

Too often people assign the failure of foresight projects to resistance to change. I believe the root cause is failing to bring other leaders along on the journey into foresight. People distrust “oracle on high” pronouncements; they are more likely to trust their own sensemaking about the implications and effective responses.

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Breaking the Past’s Lock on Our Future

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The future is always layered over the past.

That’s the insight that has stayed with me two weeks after the Association of Professional Futurists October 4-6 annual gathering in Pittsburgh. While this futurist gathering themed around the Resurgent City and the Future of Urban Environments showcased local examples of what the near future might be, that future clearly struggles to rise above the limitations of existing infrastructure and beliefs.

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Optimistic Narratives for Futures We Dare Dream

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Envisioning an optimistic future can be harder than you think. Too many organizations find they can only come up with their best version of what they imagine they can get today.

This makes Joe Tankersley’s new book, Reimagining Our Tomorrow: Making Sure Your Future Doesn’t SUCK, a good read for those who are imagination-challenged.

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