future mapping

the why and the how

We need three things to release our imaginative power and exercise that muscle:

* Dedicated time and space to unblock our imagination.

* Permission, which is often withheld in a performance culture, where people may fear humiliation or being laughed at if they exercise imagination.

* Help through portals and exercises, which unlocks not just the... See more

Medium • Rewilding the Imagination

But you can’t optimize systems in a context that’s changing, especially if it’s changing in unpredictable ways. Removing inefficiencies when circumstances are as anticipated means that there isn’t much slack in the system to respond when the unanticipated happens. Optimization is intrinsically brittle , because it’s about closely matching the

Mandy Brown • Against Optimization

Our measurements are our agreed-upon codes for what matters, but once they are installed into our culture, it can be very hard to know when it’s time to rethink how we measure things in the first place. Our beliefs and feelings have a tendency to move forward before we have the models to describe them and the artifacts of culture – language, norms,... See more

Creating New Units of Culture

great strategy is more about facilitation than it is about creation. It’s the process of unearthing what is true for an organization, matching that with opportunities in the world and creating pathways so that more people can participate in that work.

Strategy is an act of democratization in an organization. It’s prying the understanding from the... See more

who makes a good midwife?

Ultimately, preserving optionality means paying attention and looking at life from multiple perspectives. It means building a versatile base of foundational knowledge and allowing for serendipity and unexpected connections. We must seek to expand our comfort zone and circle of competence, and we should take minor risks that have potentially large... See more

Farnam Street • Preserving Optionality: Preparing for the Unknown - Farnam Street

‘Memories of the future really is what you’re talking about. The idea that by briefly or temporarily putting yourself in the future and thinking about what it’s like there, and then coming back to the present, that that influences the decisions you make about your behaviour between now and the future, and how you can cope and change things in order

Rob Hopkins • From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want

there’s simply no way around the fact that we’re pretty fed up with a certain philosophical framework in Silicon Valley. It has many names: the growth mindset. OKRs. KPIs. Even Minimalism — the predominant aesthetic of our era. But at its core, it all comes down to one thing: the relentless optimization of everything in our world.

this mindset has... See more

The Browser Company • Optimizing For Feelings

When we create safe spaces, time away from screens, ‘Yes, and’ spaces, working with other people over tasks that facilitate connection and craft a narrative that offers a hopeful take on the future, the world can start to come back into focus.