This document discusses the importance of strategic foresight and developing a "futures culture" within organizations. It emphasizes that the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn is critical in today's changing environment. While many organizations treat foresight as just another project, it is best integrated as an operating philosophy. Developing a futures culture allows organizations to better innovate, seize opportunities and generate valuable intelligence about future trends. The document also introduces the concept of "Generation Cohorts", where individuals are increasingly aligning based on shared passions rather than traditional generational labels.

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2. “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those
who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Alvin Toffler

3. Strategic Foresight helps develop the ability to
learn, unlearn and relearn with tools that allow us to:
• Uncover our personal and
organizational blind spots
• Broadly scan the external
environment to identify risks and
opportunities
• Make sense of what‘s emerging
so we can take action today

4. Many organizations treat foresight efforts like an app…
when it should be their operating system.

5. Strategic foresight is a discipline but is actually best served
as an integrated philosophy. Organizations that
intentionally develop a futures culture are primed for
market-leading innovation, successful opportunity
development, and revenue-generating futures intelligence.

6. In today’s business environment, a quarterly deadline
will always take precedence over thinking about the future.
funding, and headcount because leadership
struggles to see the connection between
the future and today.
Projects with long-term planning horizons lose support,

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How we think about the future directly
impacts the decisions we make today.

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Advanced Analytics, Inc.

11. WHAT ISTHE ISSUE?
THE ‘FACTS’
:: official unquestioned view of reality ::

12. WHAT ARETHE CAUSES?
THE ‘SYSTEMS’
:: social systems/structures informing ‘reality’ ::

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Benchmarking is so last year….

14. Culture cannot be
copied, benchmarked, or googled
but it can be developed.

15. WHAT ‘TRUTHS’ INFORM
THE SYSTEM?
THE ‘WORLDVIEW’
:: deeper unconsciously held beliefs ::

16. THE ‘MYTH & METAPHOR’
:: unconscious emotional narratives about reality ::
WHAT STORY DOYOU BELIEVE ABOUT
THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE?

17. CAUSAL LAYEREDANALYSIS
Transforming Narratives for
Organizational Change
START HERE
THE ‘FACTS’
:: official unquestioned view of reality ::
“Generational warfare”
THE ‘SYSTEM’
:: social system/structure informing ‘reality’ ::
WHAT ISTHE ISSUE?
WHAT ARETHE CAUSES?
THE ‘WORLDVIEW’
:: deeper unconsciously held beliefs ::
“Capitalism and a puritan work ethic”WHAT STORY DOYOU BELIEVE ABOUT
THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE?
WHAT ‘TRUTHS’ INFORMTHE SYSTEM?
THE ‘MYTH & METAPHOR’
:: unconscious emotional narratives about reality ::
“The wisdom of the elders”
“Hierarchy, tenure and
certification based”
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23. A new vision requires
a new measurement.

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27. Generation Cohort

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Balancing the Future
Trends &
Emerging Issues
Aspirations &
Preferred Futures
“Here comes
the future.”
“The future
is ahead.”

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The transformational shift in society and
business along with the convergence of
emerging technology, social change, and
new landscapes of complexity are causing
the concept of the socio-historical
generation to begin to fade.
The “Generation Cohort” Future
Generations are giving way to
passion-oriented cohorts.

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While there are still
Boomers, Gen Xers,
Gen Y, and whatever the
next generation is being
called, the lines are
increasingly blurring.
In this new world where resilience and flexibility are king, the meshing
of social tech and collaborative communities is not only allowing
open-source ideas and grass-roots initiatives to thrive, but is rallying
individuals from across the generations to activities of like-
passions.
Generation Cohort