The Future Backwards
When you reflect on all the ground you’ve gained as an organization, through dreaming big and working hard, there is an incredible story to tell. When you look forward to the work ahead, there is an ambitious vision to share. Between that story and vision lie everything you’ve brought to bear, and all that you’ll need on the road ahead.
Originating from the Cynefin Centre, The Future Backwards uses the practice of visual storyboarding to lead your team in mapping your current reality and the significant events that got you here. From that vantage point, we’ll lead you through collectively envisioning two divergent futures: your organization’s nightmare and dream scenarios. (It’s a real eye-opener.) In defining the space between what is and what could be, your team will converge with an energized, strategic clarity on the next steps that need your attention to bring the dream scenario to life, while flagging the pitfalls you need to avoid.
In The Future Backwards, you will:
- create an opportunity for long-standing and newly added team members to build rapport while sharing their views on your organization’s history and goals;
- build a deep appreciation of how much ground your organization has gained over the years;
- identify the biggest opportunities that lie ahead and ready yourselves to maximize them;
- develop an inventory of weak signals that indicate emerging risks, and ideate on mitigation strategies; and
- multiply your collective focus, energy and efforts through a whole new level of alignment.
What You’ll Have After Looking at Your Future…Backwards
The Future Backwards empowers your team to see what needs immediate attention. Noise drops as signal intensifies. You’ll have clarity about the risks you’ll need to mitigate. Suddenly choices will appear much more clearly on the path—and your people’s responses will be focused and confident. A tangible takeaway from this powerful process is a shareable visual resource that communicates your best thinking to the broader team, your board and your clients.
