future mapping
the why and the how
future mapping
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.
Rob Hopkins • From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want
The individual’s ability to cope with uncertainty
Organizations are created, powered, and led by people. To lead organizations well, we train people in disciplines such as marketing, finance, and leadership. But uncertainty presents a special challenge since few of us have received training in how to deal with it. As a result, although we may call... See more
Organizations are created, powered, and led by people. To lead organizations well, we train people in disciplines such as marketing, finance, and leadership. But uncertainty presents a special challenge since few of us have received training in how to deal with it. As a result, although we may call... See more
Nathan Furr • Strategy in an Age of Uncertainty
“The Official Future” tells us to “think exponentially, act incrementally,” beckoning us to utilize foresight in service of the ever-expanding present systems of quantifying, micro-analyzing, extracting, consuming, and automating. This way of futuring is at the heart of Epistemic Uncertainty. “The Emergent Future” instead challenges us to “ think... See more
The Future Thinker’s Dilemma
lots of this is too nebulous - but the mindset shift from ‘think exponentially, act incrementally’ to ‘think transformationally, act transitionally’ is really potent
when you aren’t just dismantling the narrative but providing another one, you are creating a new reality for your audience.
Rebecca Johnson • Drawing Wisdom From the ‘Weird’
Organizations can help cultivate these capabilities by providing workers with the tools and safe spaces to experiment, explore, and envision possible futures. By empowering workers to ask questions about their work, leaders can lean into a more open evolution and disruption of work that values human sustainability and organization-wide co-creation.
... See moreSomething sinister happened over the past algorithmically driven decade: brands took a sharp turn toward efficiency and benefits mindshare, often focusing on a laundry list of functional and emotional whoop-de-doos.
It’s this paint-inside-the-lines mentality that stokes irrelevancy and meaninglessness. And the whole point of a brand is to create an... See more
It’s this paint-inside-the-lines mentality that stokes irrelevancy and meaninglessness. And the whole point of a brand is to create an... See more
From Brand Strategy to Brand Anarchy
But, then, ultimately, we get to this somewhat stark moment of conviction – a decision without certainty but with some level of instinct and belief. The work you’ve done is a big input, but then, I find there’s something else, too. It’s some combination of understanding, excitement, experience, gut, and fear. And this process repeats throughout our... See more
Mario Gabriele • Modern Meditations: Rebecca Kaden (Union Square Ventures)
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