Foresight

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Foresight: Strategic Futures Research

As a company, government agency, association or chamber of commerce, you are continuously developing strategies for the development of your own business – and in doing so, you are constantly coming up against the thought limits of your organization? Strategic planning has never been more difficult or uncertain than in our fast-moving era, which is characterized by complexity, global interactions and digitalization.

In recent years, I have worked with dozens of players from business, politics and administration. From Dax30 corporations and SMEs to small hidden champions and along various industries, I have been able to contribute my expertise as a “Futures Thinker”. As a result, my clients get a better idea of our world in 5, 10 or 20 years – and which mechanisms of society, economy or politics they need to systematically observe in order not to lose touch.

Foresight processes with me can include the following elements:

  • Widen perspectives
  • Develop scenarios
  • Use data

We live in a world that is largely determined by exponential technology development and high fluctuation of the driving forces. It becomes more and more difficult to focus on the essentials – the core business – when stakeholders can change as quickly as new apps or platforms are popular with your target group. Added to this are social, cultural or ethical trends.

In short: Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) require new answers for strategic planning and management. Futurology helps in this respect.

If you don’t know what the future holds in store for you, you can’t plan. Many planners fall back on “gut feeling” scenarios for this purpose, which, however, do not adequately take into account the complexity of future reality. Instead, we have to use scientific methodology to work out the indications for conceivable and probable scenarios and thus consistent futures as a basis for decision-making.

In short: the methods of futurology help you to prepare for relevant, consistent scenarios and reduce uncertainty in the organization.

Without a solid database, strategic foresight is of no use to you. Without a complex interaction analysis, any scenario analysis, no matter how elaborate, is thrown away. That’s why it’s crucial for Foresight’s success today to have both a broad and deep database for strategic planning. This includes quantitative data such as evaluations of trend radars, patent databases and quantitative studies as well as qualitative analyses of the relevant research institutions and our own surveys.

In short: If you base your foresight project on a broad database, you will benefit from the theoretical and practical experience of scientific futurologists like me.

Why does my organization need foresight?

Without strategic foresight and planning, organizations today would no longer be viable. More than ever, the metaphor that organizations are like people in a pitch-black room with only a very small flashlight applies. The room is your market, the flashlight is your strategy. In VUCA times, your flashlight may have become a little more powerful, but the space is even bigger – and you won’t find the exit so easily.

Foresight based on scientific futurology shows you the light switch. Just what you were looking for? Then don’t waste any time and write us an email:

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How does a foresight process work?

Every Foresight process is as unique as the organization that conducts it. Even competitors in the same industry, size, region, etc. can pursue very different goals and tactics. Nevertheless, methodical best practices can be derived. I have compiled some of them in the section “Foresight Process”.

Foresight process