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 311 - Bets on the Future
|
Reader, Sometimes a picture is worth a lot of words, so this week’s issue of MindPrep Reflections is short and sweet. It’s always “today” when you decide, but every decision plays out in the future. In fact, every decision is a bet about the future. Sometimes the future is near and sometimes the future is far. Sometimes our decisions produce that results we want; and sometimes they don’t. If you want to make better decisions in the “here and now” you must do two things: 1. (Re)confirm the assumptions underlying the decision. Do past assumptions apply to the future you are facing? What assumptions must be true for you to succeed? 2. Think about the unintended consequences of the decision, not just what you want to happen. Sometimes the unintended consequences are good, sometimes not-so-good. What could go wrong? We are in the midst of packing for our move back to the Chicago area. I hope to see some of you soon. 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, Intercept the Future A few weeks ago (MindPrep 308) I introduced this cycle and provided some comments about the first stage of intercepting the future – scanning. I promised to jump into the second phase but was sidetracked about my IdeaQuake musings. Nonetheless, I’m back on track and have a few comments about the need to guess where the future is taking us. I say “a few comments” because the work associated with guessing about the future is hard work and we don’t have time for that...
Reader, The last issue MindPrep Reflections dealt with the work of scanning the larger environment and I told you that I would address the need to build hypotheses (i.e., guess) in the next issue. However, I started thinking about what I was seeing in today’s business and political environments, and, for some strange reason, I started thinking about earthquakes. That lead me to think about the relationship between earthquakes and “IdeaQuakes.” Bear with me as I explain my thought process....
Reader The last issue of MindPrep Reflections introduced the general framework for an upcoming workshop focused on “intercepting the future,” which is built around answering four fundamental questions. They are: What’s going on? >>> Scan the larger environment. Where is the future taking us? >>> Guess and build hypotheses. Can we intercept the future? >>> Decide on bets about the future. How are we doing? >>> Act and adapt. Answering the first question requires that you actively scan the...