Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

The Role of An Organizational Futurist in Integrating Foresight into

Organizations

Andy HinesPrincipal, Hinesight

Program Coordinator, U of Houston Foresight Program

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

What Is an Organizational Futurist?

Percent of Assn. of Professional Futurists members classified as “organizational futurists”

• 21% of 28 members in 2002• 17% of 201 non-student members in 2007• 18% of 197 non-student members in 2010.

An organizational futurist is a professional futurist working exclusively inside a single organization

Most professional futurists are consulting futurists

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

How Does an Organizational Futurist Spend Their Time?

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

What Types of Foresight Work Does an Organizational Futurist Do?

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

What Tools Does An Organizational Futurist Use?

Project Tools Module or Workshop Tools

Exercises

Environmental ScanningScenariosDeep DivesPlatform Builds & Pipeline FillsStrategic PlanningVisioning (Appreciate Inquiry)

Causal Layered AnalysisIntegral AnalysisImplications AnalysisStrategic Issue IDOpportunity ID

Know Your Brain GameFutures WheelTrend PokerBuilding DiscontinuitiesChallenging Assumptions

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

How Do Organizations Bring Org Futurists and Foresight “In”?

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

What’s a Good Way for an Org Futurist to Build a Foresight Capability?

1. Trend infrastructure (trends & drivers)

2. Deep Dive on futures topic

3. Scenarios of your industry(with Integral & CLA)

Challenges key assumptions

4. InstitutionalizationNew thinking integrated into the

organization

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

How Does an Org Futurist Talk about Success?

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

How Can an Org Futurist “Spread the Word”?

• Push: Spread the word to new potential clients– Site Visits, Intranet sites, Business TV, Podcasts, Webcasts, Newsletters, Brown-

Bag lunches, Futures Rooms , Sample Ideation Workshops

• Pull: “Deliver the goods” and create positive “word-of-mouth” – Success breeds success– Craft a one-pager to concisely describe how you do it – Set up appointments with other functions in need of filling their innovation

pipeline

• Build: Grow your support network– Cultivate communities-of-practice– Developing your own training course

Houston FORESIGHT: Preparing Professional Futurists

Contact Info

Program CoordinatorU of Houston Foresight

Principal, Hinesight

ahines@uh.edu832 367 5575www.andyhinesight.com

Andy HinesAndy Hines