Used futures are seductive because they feel inevitable. For those not familiar with “used futures”, this is a a concept that futures pioneer and professor Sohail Inayatullah introduced in a paper called “Six pillars: futures thinking for transforming”. The term...
A little while ago, I wrote about the problems that arise when futures work becomes theatre. When I tell people that a great deal of my work in futures (and elsewhere) is about storytelling, many often assume that there must be some theatrical aspect to this. But...
One of the most persistent mistakes in futures and foresight work is treating participants as audiences, who are expected to consume expert input, trend decks, and scenarios prepared elsewhere. What I’ve seen is that futures work only really comes alive when...
I’ve been in futures workshops that looked impressive from the outside. There were beautifully designed slides. Sophisticated frameworks. Post-its covering every wall. People left energised, saying it was “inspiring” or “eye-opening”. And then: nothing really changed....
I use walks as a futures method because they tend to surface hope, but not the kind that relies on reassurance or positive thinking. Optimism often skips too quickly to conclusions. It smooths over tension. It looks for signals that “things will work out.” In futures...
Wes Kao wrote a piece about“spiky points of view”, and it got me wondering what a spiky point of view might be in futures facilitation. I think that, in futures work, a spiky point of view is not about provocation for its own sake. It’s about taking responsibility for...
