Description
Book SynopsisPush past resistance to discover and own new business territories Think Like a Futurist shows how to track changes, explore questions, and engage in new thinking that connects today''s pressures with tomorrow''s realities. Cecily Sommers shows how to apply long-term focus and strategies to needs as diverse as industry forecasts, innovation challenges, leadership development, or future-proofing a brand. By understanding intersecting potentials that one day may impact your organization, you can readily spot emerging trends and market shifts, uncovering opportunities on the horizon.
Think Like a Futurist explores such questions as: Where will new markets emerge over the next 5-10-25 years? What will be the big issues of the day? How will lifestyle, social mores, and policy adapt? And what role do we play in that future?
- Offers a clear framework for thinking like a futurist, and direction for how to integrate it in high-pressure corporate enviro
Trade Review
“In Think Like a Futurist... [Cecily Sommers] raises questions and points out realities that anyone fascinated with the future of the global economy should be following.”
—Adam Belz, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Table of Contents
Introduction ix
Part One: Know—The Four Forces of Change 1
1 The Four Forces of Change 3
2 Resources 11
3 Technology 21
4 Demographics 33
5 Governance 47
Part Two: New—The Zone of Discovery 63
6 Higher Learning 69
7 Phase I: Define 77
8 Phase II: Discover 87
9 Phase III: Distill 97
10 Who are You? 107
11 Where are You Going? 145
Part Three: DO—The 5 Percent Rule 175
12 The 5 Percent Rule 177
13 Tinkering: The Genesis of General Mills’s Idea Greenhouse 181
Conclusion 213
Part Four: What’s Next Toolkit 219
The Futurist’s Mind-set 221
Overcoming Resistance to Change 227
Notes 239
Acknowledgments 245
About the Author 247
Index 249
