Futures work is a branch of design that seeks to translate trends, ideas, and imagination based on data into visions of where we might go. What happens when we bring psychologists along? The popular deployment of generative AI tools has put ‘futures thinking’ into our collective imagination front and centre. We humans love futures thinking …
The AI Revolution is here. How we can adapt our nervous systems to deal with the pace and scope of the changes around us? Charlie Warzel’s Galaxy Brain newsletter from The Atlantic is among the best venues for insights into the cultural issues associated with technology. Warzel’s astute observations and commentary on not just what …
At the time of this writing, Russia has just invaded Ukraine, protesters have just left a 3-week occupation of the Canadian capital, and we’re leaving the most devastating wave of COVID. Foresight and futures work was unhelpful in all cases and that says a lot about the field and the humans using it. The Russian …
What if we viewed our strategy as a vehicle for shaping our services rather than the other way around? By looking at a strategy as more than a plan, but as a service design we can better align what we want with what we do. We begin this look by considering what kind of questions …
While this title is ridiculous, the practice of futures work is not and is more important than ever to support the kind of innovation we need for the planet. Unfortunately, too many futurists seem to be content to make broad proclamations instead of demonstrating their value. Anytime you see a title that says “The Future …
Our understanding of situations are co-constructed and that means our future is, too. Shaping our future — at least one we want — requires not only thinking about our present situation, but our past, too. This means listening to the stories we tell ourselves and others — and paying attention to the ones we’ve missed …
Turbulence offers a chance to put into place new, better habits, behaviours and structures if we know which ones to freeze into place. Turbulence is a word suited to the times for many markets, human service situations, and communities. The massive jostling of our way of life and the effects on social life and the …
A bull is charging us and knowing which which — if any — horn we will take will determine what we innovate for. Clayton Christensen passed away in 2020 — one of the year’s many losses — and was responsible for developing and popularizing the concept of the innovator’s dilemma. The book was largely focused …
Perception is what distinguishes some of the best innovators from others. There are ways to expand this view and give you the skills needed to see possibility.
How do we think about the journeys through complex situations when we are unsure of a destination? There is a saying that the journey is the destination which speaks to the value of learning by doing — praxis — and how much it means to those who seek to create things. What happens when we …
