I am a classic action-adventure kind of guy. Movies, books, you name it ... if it includes an action-adventure twist, I am most likely watching or reading it.
One of the major story lines in adventure-oriented entertainment is knowing and mastering the future. If our books and movies reveal something about our species, it is that we are fascinated by the future. But even while we are fascinated by it, we often do not think that it is something we can control. Or that when we do try to control it, there are likely to be dire consequences.
But what if I told you that we do not need to control the future to be ready for it? That, my friend, is where strategic foresight practices come in.
I can hear you now, strategic what? You mean like fortunetelling? Not exactly or at all, really.
When a person engages in strategic foresight, it means that they are using structured practices that help them to consider how small signs of future change can have big impacts on an organization and the environment in which it operates. Strategic foresight is not about using a crystal ball to predict the future; rather, it arms individuals and organizations with the skills to envision various possible futures and consider their impact on their industry and organization.
Let's use the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. Was it predictable? Maybe. In fact, several notable organizations warned about the potential for a respiratory pandemic years before it occurred. Here's the kicker: there were also several nongovernmental organizations steeped in strategic foresight practices who gamed out how a global respiratory pandemic would impact their organizations and had plans in place that helped their organizations to build capacity and think flexibly about how they would operate ahead of time. That is strategic foresight!
There are no crystal balls here! However, there are structured, community-based practices that can enable your organization to better leverage the insights leaders and workers at every level of your organization have to anticipate things that can shape your organization's future and help you position the organization to influence or prepare for them. Foresight is not about some distant future; it is about paying attention to signs of change so that what is possible becomes clear and helps you to think about what is probable. With a clear view of what is probable, your organization can focus on what is preferable and what it needs to do now to facilitate that outcome.
Life and leadership are an adventure for sure. But adventure does not have to mean unpredictability. Strategic foresight can help you better prepare for the future and impact your present today.
Want to learn more? Join the waitlist for our strategic foresight boot camp here.
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