foresights
The decisions leaders make today are shaped by what they understand about tomorrow. That's precisely why we built foresights—a dedicated space for sharing the ideas, trends, issues, and signals influencing the futures of leaders and their organisations.
Why Simplified Scenario Planning is Essential for Today’s Executives.
You should read this if… you, or your organisation, has dismissed scenario planning as too complex or time‑consuming, yet knows your organisation is increasingly exposed to sudden disruption and strategic surprise. This article argues that traditional, heavyweight scenario approaches have discouraged executives from using a tool that is now essential, and makes the case for simplified, flexible scenario planning that fits real leadership constraints. It shows how streamlined scenario methods can cut through complexity, improve strategic clarity, and help leaders build agility and resilience—enabling faster, better decisions in volatile conditions without overwhelming teams or locking them into rigid plans.
What is Informed Uncertainty?
You should read this if… you are a leader seeking a clear way to understand what informed uncertainty actually means in practice, and why it matters for leadership and strategy today. This article defines informed uncertainty as the deliberate balance between what we know and what we cannot know, showing how foresight helps leaders navigate complexity, disruption, and interconnected change without relying on false certainty. It explains how embracing uncertainty—while remaining grounded in insight and evidence—enables more adaptive thinking, better judgement, and the ability to pivot with a portfolio of possibilities rather than committing to a single, fragile view of one future.
Five Reasons to Say "Futures" Instead of "the Future".
You should read this if… you want to break free from the assumption that there is a single, predictable “future” waiting to unfold. This article explains why we deliberately use the word futures—plural—to reflect the reality that multiple possible, plausible, and preferred futures exist, shaped by choices made in the present. It shows how shifting language from “the future” to “futures” changes how leaders think, helping them challenge linear assumptions, embrace uncertainty, and expand strategic options so decisions are better suited to a complex, fast‑changing world rather than anchored to one imagined outcome.
The Futures of Work: Balancing Technology and Jobs.
The futures of work are changing at a rapid pace, and it's hard not to be excited and curious about them! With the rise of robots, artificial intelligence, and smart technologies, it seems as though the possibilities are endless. What could happen next?
How The World Changes: Slowly, Then Suddenly.
You should read this if… you are sensing that major change rarely arrives as a single shock, but still feel surprised when disruption suddenly becomes unavoidable. This article explains how the world tends to change slowly at first and then suddenly, using concepts such as exponential growth and tipping points to show why long periods of apparent stability can give way to rapid transformation. It highlights why linear thinking leaves leaders exposed, and how futures thinking helps organisations spot early signals of change, understand non‑linear dynamics, and prepare for multiple futures before sudden shifts reshape markets, industries, and operating models.
How to Use Foresight to Ensure Long-Term Success.
You should read this if… you are looking to move beyond short‑term thinking and build lasting advantage in an increasingly uncertain business environment. This article explains how foresight can be used to support long‑term success by helping leaders better understand their industry, anticipate customer needs, and stay ahead of technological and market change. It shows how bringing external signals, trends, and emerging issues into decision‑making enables organisations to manage uncertainty more effectively, reduce risk, and make smarter strategic choices today that strengthen resilience and competitiveness over the long term.
Prepare Your Business for Futures with insight & foresight.
The world is becoming more complex and unpredictable, making it difficult for businesses to stay ahead of their competition. This is where strategic foresight comes into play. It allows businesses to identify potential risks and opportunities before they arise, allowing them to make informed decisions about how best to move forward.
futures insights: New work values.
Rather than solely striving for financial success, an increasing number of people recognise the importance of leisure time. How could this change in values alter our relationship to work and leisure? What role will AI and automation play? Its time to start thinking about this emerging change and its impact!
How To Be Ready For What Happens Next.
When your business is faced with times of uncertainty, it's essential to have a plan. Here are some tips for leaders on how to manage in difficult times.
Regenerative Leadership for a New Pathway Forward.
You should read this if… you are feeling that incremental change is no longer enough and are searching for a leadership approach better suited to today’s interconnected social, economic, and environmental challenges. This article introduces regenerative leadership as a pathway beyond short‑term fixes, explaining how it focuses on transforming systems rather than merely repairing them. It outlines how regenerative leaders think systemically, prioritise collaboration and collective intelligence, and consider the long‑term impacts of decisions on people, organisations, and the wider community—creating conditions for resilience, trust, and sustainable futures in times of deep uncertainty.
The Benefits of Shoshin: A Beginners Mind for Leaders.
You should read this if… you are a leader who feels the pressure to always have the answers and wants a leadership approach better suited to complexity and change. This article introduces shoshin, or beginner’s mind, and explains why approaching decisions with curiosity, openness, and humility can be a powerful advantage for leaders. It shows how shoshin helps leaders escape rigid expert thinking, foster creativity, encourage experimentation, and remain open to new perspectives—enabling better learning, more innovative problem‑solving, and stronger decision‑making in uncertain environments where adaptability matters more than certainty.
The Power of Curiosity in the Business World.
You should read this if… you are a business leader who wants to understand why curiosity is more than a personal trait and is, in fact, a strategic capability for leadership. This article explores how curiosity enables leaders to better understand their industry, customers, and emerging change by encouraging questions, challenging assumptions, and remaining open to new ideas and approaches. It shows how cultivating curiosity helps organisations adapt in uncertain environments, improve decision‑making, and foster cultures where learning, innovation, and meaningful transformation can take root—giving leaders an edge in an ever‑changing business world.
Making the Right Choices for Your Business in a Rapidly Changing World.
You should read this if… you are in business and feeling jammed between responding to urgent, day‑to‑day pressures and preparing your organisation for what might come next. This article explores how leaders can make better business choices in a rapidly changing world by balancing short‑term risks with long‑term opportunity. It explains why anticipating change, adopting agile and flexible strategies, and taking a risk‑aware approach to decision‑making are essential when technology, markets, regulation, and customer expectations are all in flux. By applying foresight, leaders can move beyond reactive choices and make more confident, informed decisions that keep their organisations resilient and competitive amid ongoing uncertainty.
How Imagination Can Overcome Assumptions.
To truly create value for stakeholders requires reimagining what’s possible through creative thinking and questioning our own assumptions about what we know about business as usual.
Developing Blockchain Strategy.
You should read this if… you are a CEO or board member exploring whether and how blockchain could create value beyond hype and cryptocurrency. This article explains what blockchain is—and isn’t—and outlines the key considerations when developing a blockchain strategy that aligns with your organisation’s purpose, operating model, and risk appetite. It highlights the characteristics and benefits of blockchain (such as transparency, security, and distributed trust), contrasts public and private blockchains, and explores how decentralised approaches like DAOs could enable new models—including payment‑by‑outcomes contracting in the social sector—helping leaders make informed, strategic decisions about if, where, and when blockchain makes sense.
What's the Difference Between Business Uncertainty and Risk?
You should read this if… you are a leader who wants to make better decisions by clearly distinguishing between what can be managed and what must be navigated. This article explains the difference between business risk and uncertainty, showing how risk involves known variables that can be analysed and mitigated, while uncertainty reflects unknown or unknowable conditions that cannot be reliably predicted. It argues that conflating the two leads to false confidence and fragile strategies, and that leaders who recognise uncertainty as a distinct challenge are better equipped to use foresight, expand options, and make more resilient decisions in complex and rapidly changing environments.
"What if?" - A great question to start strategic thinking.
You should read this if… you are a business leader who wants a simple but powerful way to strengthen strategic thinking and decision‑making under uncertainty. This article introduces “What if?” analysis as a foundational strategic question that helps leaders explore possible, probable, and preferred futures rather than relying on a single forecast. It explains how deliberately asking “What if?” surfaces hidden risks, challenges assumptions, and expands the range of strategic options available, enabling organisations to prepare more thoughtfully for what might happen next and to design strategies that support impact and future growth in a changing world.
The Benefits of Systems Mapping.
You should read this if… you are curious and want to better understand the complexity of your operating environment and make more informed, confident decisions. This article explains the benefits of systems mapping as a way to visualise how different elements of a system interact, revealing relationships, feedback loops, and unintended consequences that are often invisible in linear thinking. It shows how systems mapping helps leaders step back from isolated problems, ask better strategic questions, and identify leverage points for change—supporting clearer sense‑making, stronger collaboration, and more resilient decisions in an increasingly interconnected and uncertain world.
futures insights: Working in a holacracy.
Holacracy is a system of governance that seeks to replace the rigidity of a traditional command structure with a more flexible and adaptive system. Could it be the future of work?
futures insights: Universal Basic Income.
Universal Basic Income is a system where all citizens of a country or state receive an income from the government to meet their basic needs. What could futures that include Universal Basic Income look like? How could it be funded?