A long time ago, I remember seeing a Glamour magazine spread showing fashion do’s and don’ts. (The people in the “don’t” pictures had a black bar obscuring their eyes, so they wouldn’t face too much shame, presumably). The table below offers some do’s and don’ts too. It shows what to be and what not to be, presuming you want to be a “foresightful” organization.
Foresightful | Not foresightful |
Acts Continuous change Early Open Experiments Expects alternative futures Creative Visions Innovates Outside the box Global Passion Excited Revolutionizes Expects upheaval Disrupts Successful Wins | Reacts Forced change Late Protective Imitates Counts on a single future Imitative Assumptions Adapts In the box Parochial Concern Afraid Evolves Expects business as usual Behaves Surviving Loses |
I urge you to think this through, and see what’s true in the organizations you are a part of. It’s possible to improve the situation, and even to transform it. Much of what I write about here at Foresight Culture, is about how to change things from the non-foresightful to the foresightful side. And we at Leading Futurists LLC are ready to help. We can work with you to make your organization more focused on the future. You might consider a workshop or Futures Day, for example, to get that started. We can help.
[For the curious and the skeptical, “foresightful” really is an English word.]
