Albert Einstein: “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
I have helped facilitate the Foresight Essentials training by Institute for the Future (iftf.org) and use their futures thinking tools for sharing the knowledge with organisations, companies and individuals. I have run several future workshops in Estonia for organisations like Tallinn Technical University, Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Estonian Business School Management Training Progamme etc.
Futures thinking is a discipline that involves systematic, strategic, and creative thought processes to understand, imagine, and influence the future. Rather than making specific predictions, it focuses on exploring a range of possible futures and understanding how current decisions might shape tomorrow. This approach helps organizations and individuals prepare for uncertainties, identify new opportunities, and avoid undesired consequences.
Benefits of futures thinking include:
Forecasting the Future. Futures thinking involves creating and assessing various future scenarios to understand different possible developments and their impacts.
Strategic Planning. It helps organizations and individuals develop strategies and plans that take into account future changes and developments.
Risk Analysis. Futures thinking helps identify potential risks and challenges and develop measures to mitigate them.
Innovation. It fosters creativity and innovative thinking, aiding in the generation of new ideas and solutions to future challenges.
Long-Term Planning. Futures thinking assists in long-term planning by considering demographic, technological, environmental, and social changes.
Methods used in futures thinking may include scenario analysis, trend analysis, surveys and predictions, and various creative techniques to help people understand and shape future developments. Futures thinking is particularly valuable in complex and uncertain environments where traditional forecasting methods may be limited or ineffective.
My knowledge of future foresight was acquired at the Institute for the Future Foresight Essentials and Scenario Building certificate programmes. Institute for the Future is the world’s leading futures organisation that cultivates the mindset and skillsets that enable individuals and organisations to prepare for the future.
