Why tech innovators need a future vision

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This week we’re quoting Amy Peck (Founder and CEO at Endeavour XR)

What Peck said:

“These technologies will impact every aspect of our lives, so it is of the utmost importance that we build a vision for how we’d like to live in the future.”

We agree.

This is fact, not opinion: tech will be a big part of how our societies will function in the future. So tech innovators can have the best possible impact if they’re intentional about the products and services they develop – and how those technologies fit with a bigger vision.?

Does that sound simple? Maybe not. But if the notion of having a vision of how you want the world to be (and how you’re going to contribute to it) is a bit of a mystery to you, there are ways to sharpen your focus and widen your imagination – to start building that vision now.?

How to build a vision of the future

In our interview with Peck, she said she wants her clients to have an expansive vision of the future.?

Look beyond perceived limitations of your skill or your technology, and be optimistic; maybe even a little bit idealistic. To do that, experts in psychology, well-being and business have developed numerous methods to open up your perspective and see the future with more innovative eyes.?

Methods like what?

Those methods include…

• Deep mindset work. American psychologist Carol Dweck is known for her theory of growth mindset vs fixed mindset. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dweck explained how people working with a growth mindset are able to access the lesson in every challenge or failure, and can imagine a possibility for the future that goes beyond what they’re currently capable of – because they know they can learn, change, and become better.
• Those living with a fixed mindset, on the other hand, assume that what they can do and what they know right now is their limit; they’ve done their learning, they’re fully grown, and they’ve run out of potential to evolve.
• The good news? Dweck’s book (we recommend it) guides you through the process of shifting from a fixed mindset into a growth mindset. And when you make that transformation, your perception of what’s possible in the future will change dramatically.
• Market research. If you’re a tech developer, your future vision isn’t just about you – it’s about the customers and citizens you’ll be serving through your products and services. So building out an ideal vision of how you, personally, would like the world to be is a limiting (and potentially tone-deaf) approach. Market research is essential.
• Who are you developing your technology for, and how do you think it will help them? Answer those questions, and then go out and talk to those people. Do they think your tech will help them in the way that you think it will? Would they use it? Do they even want that kind of help? And how well does their ideal vision of the future align with your own?
• As Harper Lee (American Novelist, author of To Kill A Mockingbird) said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” So if you want to weave an understanding of other people into the technology you create, do the work to understand what they think and want in the future, too.
• Discovering your core values. The key word here is discover: we all have core values. It’s just that we’re not always clear on what they are. Core values are your fundamental beliefs; the critical principles that drive your choices and behaviour. And they create a direct line between the present and the future – because you know your core values won’t change, so you can build an expansion future vision around them.
• But how do you scratch away at the messy surface of your experience to figure out what your deepest values really are? It’ll take more work than we can talk you through in one newsletter, so we’ll give you another book recommendation instead: Find Your Why by Simon Sinek. This is the book that’s helped us uncover our deepest values in life and work.?

Your vision of the future can change with you

You don’t have to decide what your vision is and then stick to it, rigidly, for the rest of your life. Your vision can change as your experience grows, and as you learn more about people whose lives are different from your own.?

But a vision – guided by your core values, and expansive enough to include elements that are not yet physically or technologically possible – will enable you to play a positive role in the future of your community, society, and world.

This week we’re also quoting Steven Bartlett (Founder of Social Chain, Podcaster, and TV Personality)

What Bartlett said:

“I’ve never in my life had a plan, per se. And in hindsight, that’s a really important strategy.”?

Hold on – should you plan, or should you not?

Bartlett said this on the stage at #LEAP23 ; to explain how not having a set plan for the future has enabled him to think fast and be agile, acting on the opportunities that arise in any given moment.?

And just like having a vision is good advice, not being too attached to your plan is also good advice in an uncertain and fast-changing world.?

A future vision isn’t a fixed plan

So let’s be clear: a vision and a long-term plan are not the same thing.?

Your vision is how you truly want things to be. And to achieve it, you can adapt your strategy whenever you need to. You’ll make plans along the way, but don’t attach yourself too tightly to them: be willing to flow with the river of change.?

Watch the video: The quest for the next big thing with Steven Bartlett

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