What will be different about the structure of our business by 2032?
A decade from now, what new products or services will your company offer? What skillset will your teams need to possess? What aspects of your workday will be less relevant or no longer apply? If your organization doesn’t have confident answers to all these questions, you’re in good company. Only 17% of executives reported that their organizations are actually planning for multiple versions of the future, according to Deloitte’s 2021 Global Human Capital Trends report.
As a futurist who’s helped organizations like Fidelity, HBO and Novartis anticipate tomorrow, my go-to technique for long-term planning is called Picture the Future. It helps people strengthen their skills of visualization and learn how to effectively communicate innovative ideas. Start by gathering senior leaders as well as your innovation team for a 90-minute session.
Open with the following question: “The year is 2032 and our organization is a leading innovator. We’ve achieved a position of dominance in our industry, but how did we get here? As in, what specific decisions and actions enabled us to reach this level of success?”
To focus the creative process, direct participants to capture their answers individually or as a team to the following questions:
- What new things will we be selling or doing?
- What changes will enable us to sell and do those things?
- What will be different about the structure of our business?
- What skills will we need to be successful?
Next, ask each participant or team to start drawing their vision of the company 10 years from now, using their answers to the four questions above as a guide. Maybe they predicted that “50% of social interactions now occur in the Metaverse” or “nanobots are as commonplace as vitamins” or “cable TV no longer exists.” However they imagine 2032 impacting their industry and organization, direct participants to convey it through a mix of words and images and then share with the group.
During the presentations, take note if several teams or participants’ sketches are strikingly similar. Likewise, if everyone drew something markedly different. In either of these cases, facilitate a discussion around the implications of having aligned or differing visions for the company. Then, take a group vote on which drawings represent the ideal version of your organization’s future. Using the top one or two drawings, identify what you can do now to manifest your vision of tomorrow. Use the actionable ideas from this exercise to strategize, align and implement a ten-year plan for innovation success.
When a financial-services company conducted this exercise several years ago, its core revelation about the future was that “all employees work remotely.” This level of foresight has enabled the brand to not only survive a pandemic — it’s enabled the entire company to thrive. Picture the Future not only helps you communicate really big ideas, it helps align the vision for your company and inform strategic planning. The ability to visualize your company’s success can actually help you shape the future, and by mobilizing your teams today, you’ll be well prepared for 2032.
