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.
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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.
What is Futures Intelligence?
You should read this if… you are a CEO or board member who wants to strengthen decision‑making for impact and growth in a world where past data alone is no longer enough. This article explains what futures intelligence is and how it brings together trends, signals, and emerging change to support foresight‑informed decisions. It shows how futures intelligence helps leaders move from insight to action by making sense of uncertainty, exploring multiple plausible futures, and understanding how choices made today shape longer‑term outcomes. By embedding futures intelligence into decision‑making, organisations can act with greater confidence, align strategy with emerging realities, and intentionally design pathways to impact and future growth rather than reacting after change has already occurred.
Why organisations need to start thinking 5 to 10 years ahead.
One way that long-range planning is enhanced is through the creation of various alternative futures, which are significantly different from one another. The scenarios that planners create can be based on different assumptions about technology, demography, economics, politics, and other factors.
Looking Beyond the Rearview Mirror.
When it comes to planning, looking at what's in the rearview mirror is not enough. You need to look ahead through the windshield at the road ahead.
Change is Happening.
Forward thinking leaders need to develop the ability to scan for signals, issues and trends that are developing now and create a view on how they might play across a range of futures.
How To Be a Good Ancestor.
It can be easy to believe that tomorrow will be like today—that customers will have the same demands, that businesses will operate in the same way, or that Governments will make similar decisions. These beliefs are comforting, in part because they suggest that nothing fundamental will change in our futures. But if we believe these things about futures, then we are limiting those who come after us to live in a world that is less than what it could be.
A Quick Refresher on How to Evaluate Growth Plans.
Before not-for-profit CEOs and Boards decide what to do to deliver growth its best to start with a refresher on how businesses grow. Business growth can occur in two categories; Organic growth and inorganic growth. Understanding which is which can help your decision making….
4 Ways to Find Clarity With Foresight.
If you are facing an uncertain or unfamiliar path, using foresight tools helps you find clarity, plan, and make decisions for success in the future. With a focus on what happens next, foresight tools help CEOs and Boards explore opportunities and challenges to deliver…