The Uses Of Foresight In Everday Life. THE USES OF FORESIGHT IN EVERYDAY LIFE: A survey of the available research into the capability of foresight.pdf A survey of the available research into the capability of foresight Peter Hayward AUSTRALIAN FORESIGHT INSTITUTE February 2002 ABSTRACT: The ability to use foresight in order to make wise or prudential choices is one of the most powerful capabilities of individuals.
Theories of how this capability, however, arises in individuals appear to have been largely ignored. Introduction In the preface of his book, The Foresight Principle, Richard Slaughter describes the present reality of planet earth as one of declining natural systems and a human species on the edge of survival. The ‘Science’ of Time vs. Time is however a very different conception for the social sciences. It would therefore appear that there is a conflict between the ‘fact’ of time and the ‘feeling’ of time. No relevant research could be found which might shed light upon the previously mentioned questions. Strengthen Your Strategic Thinking Muscles. Have you been told that you need to be more strategic?
Whether through 360 feedback or after a failed promotion attempt, being told that you aren’t strategic enough really stings. Worse is when you try to clarify what “more strategic” would look like and get few tangible suggestions. Being more strategic doesn’t mean making decisions that affect the whole organization or allocating scarce budget dollars. It requires only that you put the smallest decision in the context of the organization’s broader goals. Nurturing a relationship, such as one that could provide unique insight into a supplier, a customer, or a competitor is highly strategic.
If you’re not being seen as enough of a strategic thinker, my guess is that it’s because you’re so busy. In this context, it’s critically important to make time to reflect before making decisions. Your other response to your harried life might be to make a list of things to accomplish, put your head down and get things done. Anticipatory Systems and The Philosophical Foundations of Futures Studies. Back then part of the motivation and opportunity to think about the philosophical foundations of futuresstudies arose from the urgency and scale of the tasks at hand.
As articulated by the German philosopherOssip Flechtheim, the role of futures studies should be to “eliminate war and establish a state of peace, tostabilize population growth, eliminate hunger, misery, oppression and exploitation, to democratize statesand communities, to stop exploitation of nature and protect it from humans, to work against alienation andfor the creation of a new homo humanus” (Ketonen, 2009). With such tasks in mind it is no wonder thatFlechtheim paid close attention to the theory of the future and even proposed that schools should teachabout the future (Flechtheim, 1972; Barbieri Masini, 2009).In addition to the imperatives of reconstruction, on less horror prone foundations, there were thechallenges posed by changing post-war societies. The Art of Conjecture Riel Miller Roberto Poli References.
Art%20of%20Foresight.pdf. Thinking Futures – Foresight Resources. Foresight ResourcesMaree Conway2014-12-15T19:19:55+00:00 One of the reasons I set up Thinking Futures was to spread the word about the value of using foresight in organisations. the popular Strategic Futures Guides series, downloaded almost 1500 times,a range of free downloads about using strategic foresight,the ebook Foresight: An Introduction that provides information about foresight approaches, tools and methods (coming soon), andthe Thinking Futures Insights Newsletter on change that matters.
If you want to know more about implementing foresight in your organisation and integrating these approaches into your strategic development processes, these resources will get you started. Association of Professional Futurists - It is only in the future that you know how smart you are in the present. “In hindsight...”.
That perhaps embarrassing, sometimes painful phrase can lead into a confession – or at least may make hubris look a little silly - but who we are and what the world is continues over time, and continues to take on different, more inclusive points of view. Hindsight can be useful. When pressing ‘go’ or ‘stop’ on major decisions, whether business, personal or social, we don’t really know precisely how things will pan out. Assumptions are just that and in complex social systems are often proven wrong no matter how diligent or smart we are. Including the one about knowing everything we need to know. In business, strategies get applauded when announced, only to be questioned, unwound or perhaps mocked years later.
But hindsight is only invoked once we know the ending (global financial crisis anyone?). Foresight Alliance. Articles. 2014 will be an important year, as Turkey and India, two major giants and world players are scheduled to have elections.
In the run up to the elections in India, I have been reading several new books on modern Indian political history, and have been particularly fascinated by the story of Indira Gandhi. The iron lady of India, it seems, had a rather strange lack of foresight when it came to the growing dissent in the country. She paid for it with her life.
This absence of foresight and strategic thinking seems to be lacking a great deal in the leaders of the world today. Many leaders have adopted a Machiavellian approach and are using crude force to retain power. 500 years after Machiavelli’s treatise, just as his hero Cesare Borgia fell, so will many leaders in their own spectacular fashion. In March 2011 in Daraa, a small town in southern Syria, a group of young school kids were arrested and tortured for graffiti on their school walls that called for changes in the regime. Systems%20Thinking%20in%20Foresight.pdf. Changing the conditions of change by learning to use the future differently. FOR-LEARN.
Future oriented thinking is vital for any forward planning or policy activity to be able to meet future challenges proactively.
Foresight enhances such thinking by gathering anticipatory intelligence from a wide range of knowledge sources in a systematic way and linking it to today's decision making. "Ignoranti, quem portum petat, nullus suus ventus est" (If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable)SENECA Note: This guide is continuously updated to reflect feedback from Foresight experts and other users, so you may notice some changes each time you visit. See also: More about this site and how to use it... - Click here to send us your comments or suggestions...
Foresight, hope and adaptation to a changing world. Videos, articles, and tips to help you succeed, from the world's leading experts. Making-the-Future-Visible.pdf.