It’s been a decade now that I’ve been leading the Houston Foresight Program. We’re preparing the next generation of the …
Why Foresight?
I’m sure every futurist has been asked this question. Maybe lots of times. We may have developed a stock answer. We may …
Introducing TIPPOs: Trends, Issues, Plans, Projections and Obstacles
We at Houston Foresight are always tweaking our core Framework Foresight process. The short version of the process is …
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What Is a Preferred Future?
Oh wow, a definitions discussion … how exciting. Bear with me. I think there is some juicy stuff here! We futurists all …
Mapping Archetypes and After Capitalism
More from our “Mapping Archetype Scenarios Across the Three Horizons” research. Today, we look at how to apply it. …
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Futurists Carrying the Fire
There is no doubt that the work of the futurist can be frustrating. We see opportunities or threats ahead but our advice …
Personalization and the Tub of Goo
The tub of goo refers to the scene in The Matrix when they pull Neo out of the pod. For those who haven’t watched the …
After Capitalism: What the Signals are Saying Q2 2024
Here is the second installment of a quarterly check-in on what the signals are saying regarding After Capitalism. (See …
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Keeping Our Eyes on the Futurist Ball
Futurists suggest change … and most people/clients would rather not. Sometimes I think it is helpful to get back to …
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Is Collapse the Most Common Pathway to Transformation?
I promised more from our "Mapping Archetype Scenarios across the Three Horizons" research. Let’s geek out a little bit. …
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After Capitalism: How Might We Pay for It?
Followers of After Capitalism are familiar with concepts such as post-work, UBI (Universal Basic Income) and UBS …
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Mapping archetype scenarios across the three horizons
I am so happy to be able to provide free access to our just published article in Futures: Mapping archetype scenarios …
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College Should Be for Everyone
I seem to be hearing that “college isn’t for everyone” more frequently these days. Being in a university setting these …
Opposition to Degrowth Is a Sign of Progress
The National Review’s ”Degrowth Is a Dead End” suggests that degrowth as an approach to environmental stewardship “isn’t …
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Introducing Foresight: A Community of Practice Approach
It’s been great to see the rise of Communities of Practice in the Foresight field. They are popping up both within …
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A Cost of Short-Term Thinking …
... or , another reason why After Capitalism is going to take longer than it should. I/T is supposed to be the …
Scanning, Paywalls, AI, and After Capitalism
It's a somewhat bitter irony that just as many organizations are finally committing to developing a community of …
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After Capitalism: What the Signals Are Saying Q1 2024
I’ve been horizon scanning for After Capitalism for more than a decade now, albeit a bit sporadic in some years. The …
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Can a 20-80 World Work?
Those who have worked in a volunteer organization probably have witnessed that it’s a small percentage of people who do …
Polycrisis Analysis
I'm usually not very timely here in terms of commenting on hot-off-the-press type of events, but I'm going to do it …
Why Futurists Fail … in their forecasts
Last week we talked about some typical resistances to information about change we see on the client or public side. Lest …
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Sources of Resistance to Information about Change
Last night we had a class in World Futures on wildcards in which we reviewed Oliver Markley’s wonderful piece that …
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Stretching our Scanning: Snowball Scanning
I’ve been getting a lot of requests lately to “help us stretch our scanning.” It’s something we’ve been thinking …
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Work ain’t Workin’: Is Stinkbombing Next?
The way we work ain’t workin', right? So far workforce resistance has been mostly passive. But what if it turns active … …
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How much sacrifice …
... are we willing to make? Sacrifice seems to be a concept that is out of fashion. Aren’t things tough enough …
Post-Work: What if we sat around and did nothing?
The opposition to the idea of post-work has lightened. It generates fewer snorts and eyerolls. I can sneak it into …
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Futurists as the voice of reason
Is there a new role emerging for futurists? For many years, I’ve used the slide depicted in the figure to suggest …
Check out the Open Foresight Hub! (Drivers included)
The Open Foresight Hub is an exciting new development for all we futures information hounds. It’s a wiki devoted to …
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Ineffective left driving towards After Capitalism
The last in our series of seven key drivers influencing the move to After Capitalism is the Ineffective Left. The far …
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Climate and Carrying Capacity driving towards After Capitalism
The sixth in our series of seven key drivers influencing the move to After Capitalism is climate change and carrying …
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