Leading From the Future

We live at a time when the improbable becomes the inevitable with amazing regularity and speed. No one can predict the future: it is emergent. So, companies need to try and future-ready their businesses. That is why we want to lead from the future, with our vision as a compass for our transformative investments. It is a guiding star.

Why do we need a vision at all? It could be several reasons really: to inspire the team, build confidence in leadership, de-risk and strengthen competitive positioning, identify and fill skills gaps and establish more effective capital and personnel allocation. Furthermore, it is our belief that companies without a vision are shortsighted and risk to be disrupted by emerging competitors based on new technologies, solutions, and business models. To be relevant in the future, businesses need to think and differentiate themselves in the long term. Make no mistake, vision and thought leadership are the mother of all strategies, roadmaps, and execution worth any effort at all.

Nobody knew how to land a person on the moon, how to create reusable rockets, or how to build a personal computer for all. Yet, people had a vision and the conviction that this should happen, and they would be the ones to try hard. Out of that leadership came, for example, solar cells, insulin pumps, artificial limbs, affordable space travel, laptop, smartphones; and people-centered technology design.

To plan, execute and move the first steps in the right direction we must first envision a desirable future. To overachieve and out-innovate we need to have an audacious innovation vision, a much larger picture of our business and future state.