Understanding Transformation Scenarios There is a particular smell and a certain sound I notice when walking into a public library. It is almost like you can smell the past. The books enclose you in their protective bindings and shelter you from the sounds of the world outside. Inside are rows and rows of…

A retrospective look at a past future vision — Note: I like to sprinkle my posts with a little bit of personality, though this week I may be adding a bit more than usual and I hope it can help others find inspiration. Yesterday I spent several hours flying across the United States to attend the funeral of my…

How optimism and data shape our views of tomorrow OK, I know we are all tired of the subject, but let’s talk about Covid for a second. I have seen a lot of articles and books with titles like “What I Learned During Covid” and “Learning Through the Pandemic” that…

An annual look at improving data driven decision making in your organization. — Well, another year is behind us and we got through January, that cold, exhausting month when new year promises are broken. As humans, we put special meaning on data each time we mark one trip around the sun. We organize our trends, our profits, our losses, and our progress based…

Finding others that think differently When I was growing up, Saturday nights were for sleepovers — staying up in blanket forts watching TV and playing video games for as long as you could stay awake. My best friend and I would switch back and forth between Elvira and Saturday Night…

I have about 20 drafts of Futures Friday topics I have been thinking about for today — but really, none of that matters. I think it is time we address the real issue, so this will be short. Can we stop the effects of climate change? With the The 2021…

Or, If You Give a Futurist a Trend… — Friends and coworkers know me as a “planner”. I like to have a solid understanding of what is going to happen AND how to get there. It makes me a good consultant, client manager, and strategist. …

Life is Like a Storybook Story — I spent many childhood hours sitting on the carpet, way too close to the television, watching Star Trek, Twilight Zone, and other influential fiction — stories that still influence me today. As inspiring as those stories were, I was also moved by the telling of the stories. Star Trek was…

Turn and Face the Strange — How does change begin? What instigates it? Is change simply a response to the world around us? How are we active agents of change? What does it even mean to be an active agent of change? As members of the human species, we have the ability to actively and knowingly…