Experiential Innovation Activities

How to Think Like a Futurist: A Leader’s Guide to Strategic Foresight and Better Decision Making! Futuring is not about finding the right answer or predicting what comes next. It’s about widening the frame, asking better questions, and making space for new ideas to emerge. The more we can make futuring available and tangible and possible for people, the more likely they are to start thinking long-term. And if everybody starts thinking long-term and systemically, we can start solving these big issues that exist—and we can design the future that we want. Key Takeaways 1. Futuring is about preparation, not prediction It helps leaders make better decisions today by exploring what might happen tomorrow.
 2. Start just beyond your planning horizon Near-futuring is a practical way to stretch your thinking without getting lost in abstraction.
 3. Ask better questions A go-to prompt: “What would have to be true for this to work?” It shifts focus from barriers to possibilities.
 4. Make futures tangible Use artifacts, stories, and everyday scenarios to bring long-term ideas to life and make them actionable.
 5. Futuring is a leadership skill It fosters agency, clarity, and purpose and empowers teams to imagine and work toward a preferred future.
 6. Embed futuring in your culture Integrate futures thinking into your planning, meetings, and team rituals—not just strategy decks.
 7. You don’t need to be a futurist to think like one Start small. Start near. And help your organization become more future-ready, one decision at a time. Make sure to check out this podcast Jennifer Lo, Senior Director of Design Futures at IDEO here: https://lnkd.in/drB7uWZs —— For regular updates on Transformative Innovation, make sure to follow us here: The Futuring Alliance The Futuring Alliance unites visionaries across business, policy, science, and society who believe the best way to predict the future is to shape it – together #innovation #transformativeinnovation #foresight #futures #systems #systemschange #strategy #venturing #impact

Do organisations need to start thinking about having a 'futurist-in-residence'? IDEO think so (...and so do I, but I *might* be biased). One of the frameworks they mention in this article is creating "artefacts from the future". We had so much fun doing this a couple of weeks ago in symbio-futures workshop for the AdaptNSW Forum X Purpose Conference (cc: Arielle Breit, Andy Marks & Symbiocene Institute. During the workshop, we were able to create a bunch of products and visions of the future for the food system and the built environment, and bring them to life with generative AI. What's so great about this particular method is that it creates a platform for discussion around these artefacts, and what it might mean for the future (and even whether we want to build them!). Off the back of the AdaptNSW Forum, Catherine Kerr had a lovely way of thinking about adaptation, saying "adaptation is future crafting". As the climate changes and technology rapidly evolves, we need to start having more conversations about the future we want to build and also how to better prepare for it. This is where futures thinking is key (or futures crafting!). From the article: "Having a futurist-in-residence is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic imperative. This role is critical for two reasons: preparation and opportunity. With so many variables at play—from technological advances to societal shifts—it’s critical to have someone who can filter through the signal noise, identify potential game-changing opportunities, and help those who guide the organisation to adopt a more forward-thinking approach. The role can also foster a culture that challenges assumptions, encourages innovative and creative thinking, and equips teams to identify and interpret the forces that are shaping tomorrow." #futuresthinking #futurescrafting #futures #adaptation #futurist #ideo https://lnkd.in/g9CseRAG

The harsh truth: Many leaders treat the future as a fixed destination - not a space to shape. That mindset leaves critical opportunities untapped - leading to reactive decisions, short-term fixes, and missed signals. Here’s what happens when you underestimate the importance of Futures Thinking: • Strategic 'planning' becomes narrow, blind to signals of change outside the immediate horizon. • Teams focus only on today’s problems, missing emerging risks and opportunities. • Innovation stalls, because your vision is shaped by the past, not the possible. I’ve seen organisations hit avoidable roadblocks - not because they lacked ambition, but because they lacked foresight. Real strategic leadership in uncertainty requires tools to explore and influence what's next: 1. Horizon Scanning – Spot weak signals and emerging trends early. 2. Futures Triangle – Balance the pull of aspirations, the push of current forces, and the weight of legacy systems. 3. Futures Wheel – Understand the ripple effects of change before they hit. 4. Scenario Planning – Stress test your strategy against multiple futures. 5. Backcasting – Start from your desired future and design the path to get there. Instead of just reacting to change, Ask, “What tools will help us shape the future - not just survive it?” Good organisations prepare for the future. Great ones design it. Which one are you building? _____ FYI - That's why we're building The DUCTRI Playbook. A practical, proven system to implement human-centred innovation (while you still deliver on BAU). Join 215+ future thinking leaders already on the waitlist here: https://lnkd.in/g6kr4b62

Most companies are planning for the next quarter. The smartest ones are planning for the next decade. Here's how. Futures Thinking in 2025: Seeing Around Corners The pace of change is wild. AI is rewriting industries, climate events are disrupting economies, and customer expectations are shifting overnight. The companies and leaders who think ahead won’t just survive—they’ll dominate. Futures Thinking isn’t about predicting the future—it’s about preparing for multiple possible futures. Industry leaders use structured foresight to anticipate change, spot opportunities, and avoid disruption. You can apply it with three proven strategic foresight methods: 1. Horizon Scanning – Spot weak signals before they go mainstream In 2010, Tesla bet on electric vehicles when most automakers dismissed them. How? By analyzing regulatory shifts, battery tech improvements, and consumer sentiment before they became obvious trends.   Ask yourself: What emerging technologies, behaviors, or regulations could change your industry? 2. Scenario Planning – Prepare for multiple futures, not just one Shell has been using scenario planning since the 1970s. In 2020, they modeled a future where oil demand would peak earlier than expected—and adapted their strategy before the crash. Try this: What happens if your biggest revenue stream disappears in 5 years? What’s your backup plan? 3. Backcasting – Work backward from the future you want Instead of guessing what’s next, start with a desired future state and reverse-engineer the steps to get there. LEGO wanted to dominate the educational toy market by 2032. They mapped backward—investing early in robotics, coding kits, and partnerships with schools. Apply this: Where do you want your business to be in 2030? What decisions must you make today to get there? Futures Thinking isn’t a luxury—it’s a survival skill. Which of these methods are you using? #FutureThinking #StrategicForesight #Innovation