What is futures thinking?
Futures thinking is a strategic method that collaboratively explores various future scenarios without trying to predict them. It draws from stakeholders' expertise to understand the past and present to envision potential futures. This contrasts with conventional business strategies that forecast based on specific goals. Strategic foresight, rooted in mid-20th-century research, is acknowledged by institutions such as the United Nations as an essential competency of the 21st century.
Just as design thinking democratised creative strategy, futures thinking blends foresight with these techniques so smaller organisations can use them.
Why futures thinking matters
Studies show that organisations that are more future prepared outperform those that are not, and there is evidence that lack of foresight also reduces a firm's ability to adapt products and services to changing markets. Without the ability to anticipate and strategically respond to future trends and disruptions, organisations risk becoming obsolete.
On a personal level, individuals without strong futures thinking skills may struggle to adapt to unforeseen shifts in their careers and personal lives.
75%
Organisations not prepared for the pace of change in and around their industry.
44%
CEOs do not think their companies will be economically viable in a decade if they continue on their current path and do not transform.
Unleash your potential
To help you build more robust and forward-looking strategies, we developed Portage. This is an AI-enabled strategy design platform which brings strategic foresight techniques together with generative AI to help you create strategies and courses of action which can overcome your toughest challenges.
