Four careers over 50+ years. USMC, engineering, consulting, education. Past twenty years have focused on helping leaders become and remain relevant during times of change.
MindPrep 287 – (Premises, Questions, Actions)x5
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Reader I’m in the process of interviewing people about the challenges of building foresight and being prepared for the future. The intent is to write a follow-on to our book The Prepared Mind of a Leader. So far, I’ve interviewed a former city manager, a hospital president, the leader of a business incubator, a supply chain expert, the leader facilitator of a northern Colorado industry group, and others. Let me know if you’d like to be included. We can have a phone conversation, a Zoom meeting, or meet in person (if you’re in northern Colorado). The interviews are being used to explore five premises and their driving questions. The book will focus on the “how to” actions needed to answer the questions. Here’s the basic structure of the book: Five Premises1. Lifecycles are destiny. 2. The world is increasingly complex, connected, and dynamic. 3. There are no data from the future. 4. Decisions are bets on the future. 5. Creative destruction is ongoing. Five Driving Questions1. Can we survive and thrive? 2. What’s going on? 3. Where is the future taking us? 4. Can we intercept the future? 5. How are we doing? Five Overarching Actions1. Agree to actively look for trends and clues. 2. Scan and confront reality with an open mind. 3. Guess and assess the probable, plausible, and possible impacts of what you see. 4. Place bets today to intercept the future. 5. Adapt and learn from successes and failures. Care to join me?I’m an old guy watching the evolution of organizations from the sideline and I need to talk with people who have their “boots on the ground.” If you have opinions, observations, or tips about any of the above, I’d appreciate your help. Also, if you know of others who can help, please let me know or pass this on to them. Next WeekNext week’s issue of MindPrep will dig into some of the questions that must be answered as you work on scanning and confronting reality. Cheers, Bill |
Bill @ MindPrep
Four careers over 50+ years. USMC, engineering, consulting, education. Past twenty years have focused on helping leaders become and remain relevant during times of change.
Reader, Have you ever seen decisions that seemed like a great idea at the time—only to see them backfire later? For example, the widespread use of antibiotics saved millions of lives, but overuse led to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making some infections harder to treat. Or maybe you held on to your bestselling product for too long and you became irrelevant (Kodak). These are examples of unintended consequences—the hidden, second- and third-order effects of decisions that only become...
Reader, Foresight and the lack of it has been on my mind. Here's a short piece about "news" that has almost become background noise. Leaders should be paying more attention. Facts According to the CDC, as of February 21, 2025, the ongoing H5N1 avian influenza outbreak has led to the culling of approximately 162.8 million poultry in the United States. This extensive loss has significantly disrupted the egg industry, resulting in soaring prices and supply shortages. In January 2025 alone, over...
Reader, Did Sears Roebuck intercept the future of retailing? Did Tesla intercept the future of the automobile? Who is in the process of intercepting the future of “intelligence?’ For too many organizations the question of “Can we intercept the future of our industry?” is a work in progress. This issue of MindPrep continues our examination of the work associated with building and using foresight for our businesses and our careers. The last issue addressed the question of “Where is the future...