Crafting the future

By understanding what possible futures lie ahead of us, we can actually create the future we want by acting to influence those around us. Planning, preparing staff, influencing shareholders and informing customers are all ways in which you can affect your organisation’s future direction.

I can help your organisation focus on the most positive possible future for you and I can help you develop strategies for getting there.  To find out more about how I can help you in crafting the future of your organisation, contact me.

You set the tone and ideal context for our discussions during the two days and I feel we benefited greatly from your views.

Nigel Lees, Head of Strategy, BP South Africa

Futurists

common misperception about futurists is that they predict the future. But that is actually impossible to do, because the future doesn’t exist until it has happened, and anything between now and then can change the way things play themselves out.

The best we can do is to understand what possible futures lie ahead of us and plan accordingly. Planning requires foresight, a comprehensive understanding of what is coming our way. Lack of foresight, and the resultant lack of planning, is what has led to major hiccups like the electricity shortages in California, the Western Cape and parts of Europe.

Developing foresight, and a good understanding of what the future holds, can help you to:

   • Detect early warnings
   • Spot investment opportunities
   • Gain the edge over your competition
   • Avoid complacency during good times, staying ahead of the curve
   • Help to create a better, more desirable future

As a futurist, I use a selection of tools and techniques to help you anticipate, forecast, and assess future events.

   • Environmental Scanning
   • Trend Monitoring and Analysis
   • Brainstorming with other futurists and trend watchers
   • Scenario planning
   • Visioning

Since the future does not yet exist, using these tools and techniques to understand what the future holds means that I can help your organisation focus on the most positive possible future for you and I can help you develop strategies for getting there.

Remember, a positive future is not a spectator’s future, it’s a participant’s future!

To find out more about how I can help you in crafting the future of your organisation, contact me.

To learn more about foresight, read the World Future Society’s article “The art of foresight”