A Cost of Short-Term Thinking … | Hinesight....for Foresight

… or , another reason why After Capitalism is going to take longer than it should.

I/T is supposed to be the vanguard of change ushering in a wonderfully convenient future. [I will not rant here that this future seems to consist of laying on the couch, watching one of several dozen streaming services, flipping through social media, and making continuous purchases effortlessly.] I/T and other techs as savior is a dominant logic.

But how many readers in large organizations — or those working with large organizations — have noticed the regularity of said large organization using software (and presumably hardware) that is years if not a decade plus out of date? I am talking about Fortune 500 companies, major universities, large government agencies, global NGO types of organizations, who ought to be at the forefront of technological change, right? It came to my attention twice in the same week – where I used a meeting platform that I thought had gone out of business. In both cases, my client/colleague on the other side apologized for using the platform. You’ve probably been in that situation where you haven’t used it for so long, that it won’t let you on or your settings are off? It made me take a gander at some of the software/hardware services I am using and I found at least a few in there that, shall we say, have passed their expiration date.

What gives? I know in some cases organizations get locked into long-term contracts to save money. And rather than admit the mistake, they force us to use the software until the contract is over. The reward system for short-term thinking is such that the original purchaser is lauded for getting a bargain and saving money in the present. It isn’t too hard to project that there is going to be an issue down the road, but the long-term loses out to the short-term. [If the purchaser is smart, they get out of town before all these short-term purchases start to show their age.] It’s strange that I/T, the vanguard of change and enabler of the future, has evolved into a cost center where the goal is not to provide the best tools, but to cut the most costs. That, my friends, is capitalist logic at its best. After Capitalism waits once again. – Andy Hines

About Andy Hines

Dr. Andy Hines is Program Coordinator at the University of Houston’s Graduate Program in Foresight, bringing together the experience he earned as an organizational, consulting, and academic futurist. He is also speaking, workshopping, and consulting through his firm Hinesight.

Before that, he was Managing Director of Social Technologies/Innovaro, and served as an Adjunct Professor with the university since 2004. Hines enjoyed earlier careers as a consulting and organizational futurist. He was a partner with Coates & Jarratt, Inc., a think tank and consulting firm that specialized in the study of the future. He was also Futurist & Senior Ideation Leader at Dow Chemical with a mission of using futures tools and knowledge to turn ideas into new business opportunities. Before that, Hines established and ran the Global Trends Program for the Kellogg Company.

Hines is motivated by a professional hunger to make foresight practical and useful, and he believes that foresight can help deliver the insight that is so needed in today’s organizations and the world. His goal, he says, is to infect as many change agents as possible with this message. Thus, he has honed a skill set designed to make foresight more actionable in organizations.

In this pursuit, he has authored five books: Teaching about the Future: The Basics of Foresight Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); ConsumerShift: How Changing Values Are Reshaping the Consumer Landscape (No Limits Publishing, 2011); Thinking About the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight (Social Technologies, 2007); 2025: Science and Technology Reshapes US and Global Society (Oak Hill, 1997); and Managing Your Future as an Association (ASAE, 1994) and has another in the hands of publishers: Teaching about the Future: The Basics of Foresight Education. He has also authored dozens of articles, speeches, and workshops, including the 2003 Emerald Literati Awards’ Outstanding Paper accolade for best article published in Foresight for “An Audit for Organizational Futurists” and the 2008 award for “Scenarios: The State of the Art.” He has appeared on several radio and television programs, PBS Houston, KRIV-26 News, and the CBS “Early Show.” He also co-founded and is former Chair of the Association of Professional Futurists.

Comments

q smith says

May 30, 2024 at 10:21 am

nothing human takes longer than it should. everything happens at a pace that societies can tolerate. economics 101

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