by 
I’m sure every futurist has been asked this question. Maybe lots of times. We may have developed a stock answer. We may vary it. I was asked recently and I thought back to 2007, when I was fresh off the publication of the first edition of Thinking about the Future with Peter Bishop. We gathered statements from the three dozen contributors who sent in their tips on how to do foresight. As part of that, we identified benefits of doing foresight. We got 316 responses that we clustered according to the [then new] six steps. I published a little “Why Foresight” piece about this in a long defunct newsletter called Changewaves.
It made me wonder if or how our stories about the benefits of foresight have changed over time. Here’s the distribution:
Any surprises? At the time we were a bit surprised about the amount of attention to what we called the bookends: framing and acting. Reflecting on the present, the emphasis on Acting seems every more urgent today. It is by far the number one concern we hear from clients … how can we implement this? This is mostly a good thing, but I do fear sometimes that the pendulum may be swinging too far on the action side that leads to an impatience with thinking. The old garbage-in, garbage out phenomenon comes to mind.
Enough from me. How are you explaining the benefits of foresight to your clients? – Andy Hines
Number 11 is what I pitch to married couples. Science shows that couples who have a strong sense of their shared future exhibit the kinds of behaviors that sustain relationships long term and reduces counter-productive behaviors (e.g. alternative monitoring)
Twenty-five years after my degree, I count myself a futurist in the same way I count myself as a Six Sigma Black Belt. I want to do either full time, but it’s a skillset and framework that comes in handy in any number of real world situations.
So, why foresight? It’s a useful set of tools for when you’re trying to make a difference in your corner of the real world.
I like how you put that, Cody. It rings true to who you are.
Indeed, the power of a shared future still seems very applicable today!
To be frank, Andy, we don’t mention foresight very much at PreEmpt.life. We tend to mention the benefits of Reimagining Tomorrow, and have relegated most academic foresight methods and terms behind plain language. Works a treat.
That’s essential as our target market is everyone on the planet.
Best
Mike