Articles

Have you ever read an action-thriller novel or watched a mystery movie that kept you on the edge of your seat, only to learn near the end of the story that things are not what they seemed? This famous literary technique known as the “plot twist” jolts an audience’s perception, introduces a surprising conflict, or radically alters the context of the story in order to produce an unexpected outcome.

In 2018 Central Florida launched an ambitious plan to reconceptualize economic development through participatory foresight. Kedge had the privilege of partnering with the region’s local economic development organization, The Orlando Economic Partnership (the Partnership), to advance its mission for broad-based prosperity using foresight. The project launched with an immersion phase (including targeted interviews, a survey and extensive trend research).

We are no stranger to the question, “Do you have a case study about X foresight work you conducted with X organization?” While over the years we’ve had a variety of briefs detailing transformation in strategy, city development, innovation, change, and culture via our foresight toolkit, we did not have a start-to-finish case study in writing. 2019 is the year that changes!

Excuse me, have we met? Weren’t you the one questioning leadership at the last company town hall? The so-called “squeaky wheel” that’s forever pushing back on the status quo? The person that the organization has learned to avoid, undermine or even silence? Oh, yeah, we definitely know you, and we feel your pain.

The first two decades of the 21st Century have proven to be a time of radical change and transformation for humanity. Healthcare has made incredible leaps in eradicating age-old diseases through bioengineering and genome editing. Global economic development has lifted unprecedented numbers of people out of poverty. Clean energy solutions are reducing our carbon footprint and arming us in the fight against global warming.

Over the past several years, many organizations have told us that they see the long-term value of foresight and futures thinking, but are unsure of how to translate that skill set into immediate action and outcomes. This is where I inform them of the ultimate value of foresight: it’s ability to create the future today. This can mean introducing brand new ideas, strategies and innovations for the organization to implement, as well as ways in which the present strategies and…

Many business professionals are not aware that the secret to success in today’s fast-paced environment is having a better understanding of the future. However, that’s exactly what former Walt Disney International VP of Human Resources Richard Ramsey learned when being tasked with leading the WDI Global Futures Team for six years.

In today’s rapidly changing environment, C-Suites, leaders and executives are at a loss as to what exactly they should do to lead their company into the future. Most are waiting for a return to an operating environment that is familiar and comfortable — or for the business models, processes and strategies of the past to lead them to success again. It’s like they are waiting at the bus stop for the “normal bus” to arrive. For those who are clinging…

According to Amazon, you are most likely familiar with the concept of generations in the workforce or “generational warfare” all too well. When you search for books on their website using the phrase “generations at work,” you will find over 39,000 entries. And yet, with all of that information at our fingertips, we still don’t know how to effectively manage the clash of generational differences in our organizations. Now, just when you thought that you had successfully memorized the human…

As Frank and I travel across the globe speaking to organizations and conference delegates, the most common question we hear is “How do I bring futures thinking back to my company?” or “How can I practice strategic foresight in my personal life?”In response to this pressing need, we convened an advanced practitioner training session (open to our Kedge and TFS alumni) focused on practical steps to integrate the tools and methodologies of foresight.