You might be doing future planning to understand how the world is changing – that’s good. You might even be adjusting your plans based on what you learn – even better! But are you also changing HOW you plan? Many leaders miss this change, and it can make a huge difference to the quality of your plans. Things like AI, hybrid work, and generational diversity in your teams all bring new tools and insights to the planning process. When you use them to update your process, your future strategy becomes much more powerful.

https://swiy.co/go-the-process-is-the-point

I’m preparing to deliver my Future Scenarios program soon for the leadership team of a organisation, and it’s the fourth year in a row I’ve been working with them.

Of course, the outcome of the program will have changed, because 2022 was so different from 2025. But the process has changed as well.

What has changed in that time that could influence the planning process?

Here are a few things ...

* COVID restrictions meant participants weren’t out interacting with the world as much

* Hybrid work now means particpipants spend more time in their local communities

* Some Gen Z employees are now moving into management roles

* We have more generations in the workplace

* Online meetings have become more common

And then, of course, there’s the growth of AI.

Over the last three years, we have used AI differently in this program:

* Three years ago, in early 2022, we talked about the potential growth of AI as a significant external pressure, but we didn’t have ChatGPT and generative AI to use during the program itself.

* In 2023, we had seen the growth of generative AI, but this organisation was fairly restrictive in allowing their people to use it. So I could show them how to use it, and do some AI education, but they couldn’t directly use it in the program.

* Last year — the third year we ran it — they all had access to AI, so I asked them to do some pre-work using AI, and they could use that as a starting point for their future planning.

They year, I’ll ask them to go even deeper and further with the pre-work – because AI has come a long way, even in the last twelve months. Now they can do deep research into their area of responsibilities to understand the future challenges and opportunties they are facing. With AI doing a lot of the heavy lifting for them even before they arrive, they can dedicate more time in the two-day program to make it even more practical, useful, and customised for their needs.

So how has YOUR future planning changing?

Are you taking advantage of these tools that are available now?

Are you leveraging the unique perspective and insights of your team – with up to five generations in your workplace?

Are you using the hybrid work opportunity to bring in external perspectives?

It’s not only that the future has changed — and will continue to change — but the way you THINK about the future should change as well.

I’ll be talking more about this in my online presentation “Seeing Into the Future”, where I will share some of the tools we futurists use — and how those tools are evolving. It’s free, public, and open to everyone — so please register, and invite others in your team and network as well.

Register for the virtual masterclass:

https://swiy.co/go-the-process-is-the-point

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