I recently taught our week-long Certificate course in Strategic Foresight in Brussels. It was a great group who was already involved in some foresight work within their organizations. To use our recent lingo, a group of infiltrators. One of the participants who is actively trying to bring more foresight into her organization was excited by a module taught by my colleague Peter Bishop on critical thinking. In this module we show how inferences about the future, which come together in forecasts, are based on assumptions and evidence. It struck here that the approach would appeal to her colleagues, as they consider themselves critical thinkers.
In terms of the infiltration approach, one of the first things to do is to locate a beachhead (definition: secure initial position that has been gained and can be used for further advancement; foothold) upon which to build your base camp for foresight. This is where you will launch your campaign. In this case, our participated noted critical thinking provided a conceptual beachhead. She can frame her foresight activities in critical thinking terms and using that approach.
The question raised for other is what might provide a beachhead for your infiltration? Is a list or database or trends? Is it scenario planning? Is it the identification of emerging opportunities or threats? The benefit of being an insider is that one has the knowledge of the organization and knows the internal “currency” or what has value. For those who wonder where to start, the organizational futurists audit offers some helpful diagnostic question.
It would be great to hear any infiltration stories that anyone can share! Andy Hines
