Write Your Book in Under 30 Days: Writing as a Futurist

Futurists Lead

In order to be seen as outstanding, you should stand out.

You may be an analyst, strategist, economist, or some other kind of professional. And if you want to be seen as a leader, I recommend you write your book with the tone and perspective of a futurist.

This is because futurists are going to be increasingly important for helping people and organizations think about the future.

Three Kinds of Futurists

Of course, people define futurists in different ways. There are various folks who consider themselves futurists, and they fall into three camps.

First, there are academic futurists. They usually operate out of universities and produce academic literature. Their focus is often on frameworks rather than specific problems and industries.

Second, there are people who call themselves futurists who are essentially future fanboys and fangirls. Some of these people have an almost religious optimism about the future, insomuch as some of them believe that the future will always be better.

Third, there are applied futurists.

This is what I do — and what The Futurist Institute trains people to do. In short, this is for futurists who work as analysts, consultants, or strategists.

We try to create and use futurist theories — and apply them to the practical — to come up with ways to think about alternative future scenarios.

Futurists like me think about what the most important levers, drivers, and change agents of the future are. We look at what the big risks and opportunities are, and we examine what trends and underlying fundamentals might not change.

Change Agents and Themes for an Uncertain Future

Looking at change agents — as well as the big themes and trends that are unlikely to change — helps to foster and lead constructive discussions around what the future may hold.

After all, the future is not certain. But we need to think about how our expectations of the future align with fundamentals of human nature, technological development, and historical trends.

This is why it’s important to frame discussions in terms of technologies that are likely to be broadly adopted over the coming decade — as well as those that are likely to be more important beyond that time window.

The team at The Futurist Institute and I refer to this time dichotomy as the “almost now / maybe someday” dynamic.

Knowing what seems likely to be critical in a near-term time window is just as critical as being able to identify those that could be more important further in the future.

For example, expecting more broad-based remote work is something we have seen in the “almost now” 10-year window for the past four years.

But remote working off-planet is something we continue to see as “maybe someday.”

In my experience, limiting the number of “maybe someday” discussion points is critical for getting corporate and organization buy-in.

But how you treat this dichotomy should be determined by the impression you want to make and what topics are of the greatest importance to your target audience.

The Future Hedge

You may want to share a variety of potential futures as part of your book. But be warned: Some might view the discussion of different potential outcomes to be a bit of a cop-out in a time when people are seeking a vision and certainty. Nevertheless, sharing a range of potential outcomes could be most helpful for fostering discussion and strategic planning among your target audience.

At the end of the day, there is no set rule in how you need to discuss the future in your book.

You can shape the narrative in your book around the near-term future, the long-term future, or both.

And you can share your visions of the future with as much — or as little — certainty as you like. You can even discuss scenarios, including levers of risk and opportunity. 

Like the rest of your book, how you shape the analysis, the discourse, and the discussion of the future ahead is completely up to you.

Long-term analysis and strategic planning around trends and technology are going to become more critical going forward.

For this reason, as I look ahead at the future, I expect being a futurist will become an increasingly important profession.

And as you write your book, the most valuable thing you can do to elevate your visibility and standing as a leader is to share your visions of the future.

The Future is for Futurists

Long-term analysis and strategic planning around trends and technology are going to become more critical going forward.

For this reason, as I look ahead at the future, I expect being a futurist will become an increasingly important profession.

And as you write your book, the most valuable thing you can do to elevate your visibility and standing as a leader is to share your visions of the future.

Write the Future — Previous Articles

In case you are writing along this month with me, here are the articles I've shared so far to help you write your book in under 30 days:

• Writing Schedule on Day 1 — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-write-your-book-under-30-days-writing-schedule-day-jason-schenker/
• Publication Schedule on Days 2 to 5 — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-publication-schedule-2-5-jason-schenker/
• Identifying Your Audience — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-identifying-audience-jason-schenker/
• The Audience of One — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-audience-one-jason-schenker/
• The Secret Formula — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/how-write-your-book-under-30-days-secret-formula-jason-schenker/
• Picking a Book Cover and Title — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-picking-cover-title-jason-schenker/
• How Can a 30 Day Book Not be Junk? — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-how-can-day-junk-jason-schenker/
• Building a Team with a Hype Man — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-building-team-hype-man-jason-schenker/
• Outlining Your Book — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-outlining-jason-schenker/
• A Sample Book Outline — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-sample-outline-jason-schenker/
• Publication Schedule on Days 6 to 10 — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-publication-schedule-6-10-schenker/
• You Will be Wrong — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-you-wrong-jason-schenker/
• Fonts, Font Size, and White Space — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-fonts-font-size-white-space-schenker
• Perspectives and Priorities — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-perspectives-priorities-jason-schenker/
• The First Rule of Writing a Book — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-first-rule-writing-jason-schenker/
• The Secret of Second Editions — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-secret-second-editions-jason-schenker/
• Publication Schedule on Days 11 to 19 — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-publication-schedule-11-jason-schenker/
• Footnotes, Endnotes, and Citations — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-footnotes-endnotes-jason-schenker/
• Set Reasonable Goals — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-set-reasonable-goals-jason-schenker/
• Mental Real Estate — https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/write-your-book-under-30-days-mental-real-estate-jason-schenker/

These articles draw on content from Jason Schenker's book Write the Future, which was released on 24 June 2020.

Write the Future is online here: www.WriteTheFutureBook.com

Jason Schenker is one of the world's leading futurists. He is the Chairman of The Futurist Institute and the President of Prestige Economics. Jason is also an instructor for LinkedIn Learning.

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