Thinking like a futurist to stay a step ahead

If there is one outstanding feature of our world today, it is the velocity of change. We’re not talking about a gentle stream of change here. We’re talking about a firehose of it. The kind of change that comes at you at an unrelenting pace, creating constant shifts in the way you live your life. Nowadays, experiencing regular disruption and reinvention is just the norm.

With so much change happening around us all the time, it’s easy to get accustomed to it and forget how fast things are moving. For example, if you’re over forty, you’ve been around longer than personal computers. Yep, there are computers in museums that are younger than you! These days, there are more than a billion iPhones, but just 15 years ago, they didn’t even exist. Twelve years ago, it would have been unheard of to pay a stranger to stay in their guest room. Today, there are more than?6 million?Airbnb listings across the world. Just ten years ago, if you were listening to your mother, you would never take a ride from a stranger. But now, you can order up a ride share on your iPhone to take you to your Airbnb.

In 2019, if someone had bet you that in just one year, more people would be working at home than in offices, you probably would have laughed out loud and taken that wager. And you would have lost. Big time. Because that’s exactly what happened in 2020. Thanks to the global pandemic, much of the workforce spent the year working from their homes, collaborating on video calls while sitting in their sweatpants.

In this series, we’re taking a hard look at how to manage our constantly changing world by thinking like a futurist. Today, we’ll look at some practices you can put into action to hone your futurist skills, and we’ll explore why it’s become so critical that everyone, from employees to business leaders, adopt this way of thinking.

Take the lead

While it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by change, it’s essential to understand that change brings opportunity. No matter who you are, it’s important to learn to take control of our perpetually shifting environment and make it work for you. How do you do that? By thinking like a futurist.

Futurists lead change, instead of being led by it. Futuristic thinking allows you to become the disrupter instead of the disrupted. Gone are the days that futurists are a select group of experts who predict change. In today’s world, thinking like a futurist is a necessary skill that anyone, and everyone, should learn. It’s not a job title, but something that we all can practice and become adept at. And as more people learn to anticipate, plan for, and create the future they want, the world becomes a better place.

As far as the eye can see

So, what exactly does thinking like a futurist mean? It means wrapping your head around what’s hurtling towards us and preparing for it. It means changing before you are forced to — which apparently, we’re not too good at. It’s reported that more than?25% of Americans rarely, if ever, think about their lives five years ahead. Just 35% think about their 5-year future on a regular basis. That leaves a big percentage that may not be considering their future at all. This is what’s known as the “future gap,” a great deal of people who just aren’t thinking ahead. And this lack of long term thinking is leaving them at a distinct disadvantage to those who frequently think about and plan for the future.

Bend the trend

How do you embrace futurecasting and make it part of your mindset? You can get started by putting these three things into practice — monitoring global shifts, visualizing outcomes, and adopting an innovative mindset.

Begin by paying attention to the changes that are going on in the world. The goal here isn’t to predict the future, but to keep on top of what’s happening globally and learn about current trends. This practice will help you understand what’s going on worldwide, as well as identify important trends that can help point you in the right direction. Don’t just monitor technology trends. You should also be attuned to global socio-economic, demographic, and other forces that will have a sustained, transformative impact on the world in the years ahead. Use this information to imagine the specifics of how these trends will shape our human experiences. Being aware of these shifts enables you to spot new opportunities, reach your goals, and make plans based on the world of the future, not the world of the past.

Second, learn to visualize outcomes. This means envisioning the future you want and working backwards to make it happen. Think about your mission and refine it by trying out different visualization techniques. Write a press release for your future product or company. Create a vision video or a virtual environment that brings your ideas to life.

Remember that fortune really does favor the bold, so don’t be shy. Create a big, disruptive vision and then set a plan to get there. One of HP co-founder Bill Hewlett’s bold visions was to put a calculating machine in everyone’s pocket. He charged his engineers with a very specific goal of creating a device that would fit into the dimensions of his shirt pocket. The HP-35 calculator was launched in 1972 and provided functionality that was revolutionary for a pocket calculator at that time. Bold goals will motivate you and your teams to achieve the audacious and seemingly impossible. Bold goals will force you to do things differently, think out of the box, and innovate.

Finally, adopt an innovative mindset. While envisioning the future will show you the way, an innovation mindset will help you cross the finish line. Whether you’re an employee, an entrepreneur, or a CEO, baking innovation into how you think and how you do business is crucial to your future success. As the world changes, markets change along with them and staying ahead of the curve requires a commitment to thinking big and taking chances. Becoming a futurist means being adaptable and ready to do whatever it takes to thrive and win.

Transportation transformation

Whatever is happening in the present, futurists must use it to shape an improved experience for the future. A great example of that is the work Virgin Hyperloop and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is doing to make high-speed transportation a reality within the next decade.?Hyperloops?are magnetic pods that levitate inside a tube, and they can travel over 1,000 kilometers per hour — that’s faster than a Boeing 747! In theory, you could buy a one-way ticket for less than $100 and zip from LA to San Francisco in just 45 minutes. A single lane of hyperloop could carry 30,000 passengers an hour. Just think what this technology could mean in terms of lifestyle impact. People could live hundreds of miles from work and still have an easy commute. Meanwhile, travel by hyperloop would also be improving our way of life by creating a less congested and polluted environment.

See Spot run

Another area of invention that has enormous potential to improve our lives is robotics. Case in point —?Boston Dynamic’s Spot robot dogs?— which can perform a wide range of tasks, including taking on missions that might be dangerous to humans. Spot has an arm, legs, and cameras, and is extremely agile. It can run, climb, and even jump rope. At home, Spot can take on household tasks like picking up garbage, opening doors, flipping switches, and gardening. Spot can also be used in more hazardous settings, such as construction and mining. Police departments use Spot to inspect suspicious packages and check for hazardous materials and explosives. It can also be used in emergencies to search through rubble and unstable structures. By keeping first responders and others safe, Spot isn’t just improving lives, it’s potentially saving them.

Best practice

Hyperloop tubes and robotic canines are just a few examples of how futurist thinking creates products with the potential to make our lives easier, safer, and better. The common denominator here is the push to innovate far ahead of the present. When you set your mind to think like a futurist, you look at trends as road signs for your own map of the future. You imagine the future outcomes you want and go after them boldly. You meet relentless change with your own relentless determination to invent the change you want.

The more you practice, the better you’ll become at thinking like a futurist, and the more ability you’ll have to create the future you want. In a world that’s changing so quickly, failing to look and plan ahead puts you at risk of being left behind. At first, you may have no idea how you will make the changes you envision but taking the long view will force you to be creative, ingenious, and adaptive in ways that may surprise you. So, make innovation your mindset and make change your business. It will take you to places you can only imagine.