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I recently had a presentation for a group new to foresight. I had a brief time to explain the “methodology” and in the course of developing that section it came up that a definition slide would be nice. I typically will “talk” a definition in my opening remarks as needed, but agreed to add a slide. And I think we’ve all experienced what came next. I could not find a “what is foresight” slide with a definition. Searching through presentation after presentation. Surely there must be one in here somewhere?
But no. The head of an academic program – shame on me, right? I abandon the hunt as the clock was ticking, I had to start writing. To be clear, I am not one to lose sleep over definitional specificity. I understand the need, but just not my cup of tea. I will come down on the side of simplicity, especially when we are dealing with clients or the public. Let’s call the field, foresight, for instance. History studies the past; foresight explores the future. Short, sweet, memorable. In class, we talk about “beer discussions” where we dig really deep on a small point. It’s fun and part of being a good professional. But let’s keep the public and the clients out of those discussions.
So, you see how I landed. A bit clunky, but I think it’s conceptually pretty good. May I ask, what is your definition? (and confess if you had to go searching for it!) — Andy Hines
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