Could Should Might Don't: How We Think About the Future

by Nick Foster

An invaluable guide to how to think—and not to think—about the future, by one of the premier futurists of our time.

You may not know the name Nick Foster. But after just a moment of googling you’ll realize that he’s been shaping the missions of some of the companies that have surely been shaping the world you live in —Sony; Nokia; Dyson; Google itself, where he was the head of design at Google X, the search giant’s “moonshot factory”; and the Near Future Laboratory. His insights are unfamiliar because they have been locked behind an endless series of NDAs.

Could Should Might Don’t is Foster’s public debut, the first time a much sought-after explainer of the future is able to tell us how he thinks about the future, how he sees others think about the future, and how we might be able to imagine, shape, and make the future better for ourselves. He is able to show what futurists have gotten wrong and what they’ve done right, and to synthesize years of experience into a clear and inspiring vision not of what to do next but of how to best figure out what to do next.

Foster has identified Could, Should, Might, and Don’t as the four primary attitudes his futurist colleagues take toward envisioning the future. He does not advocate any one of them. Instead, he uses them as lenses to show us where things might have gone if we had been able to think about things differently. The book is, in some ways, about the history of the future, and the history of the different futures that we have imagined, designed, or projected for ourselves.

But most of all, Could Should Might Don’t is a no-nonsense, practiced, and practical (but not especially self-serious) guide to how to think about the future for ourselves—giving us an advantage or two for use in our own lives—and how to make it so.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Design, Business, Philosophy, Self Help, Futurism

352 pages, Hardcover

Published August 26, 2025

Reviews

[Julie]

I really need to start vetting my library choices more closely. I thought this was going to be a psychology book about how the brain thinks about the future. Nope. It turns out that there is a crazy job called 'futurist' that the author lucked into. He's worked for a bunch of big name tech companies and now has parlayed that into a book deal. Well done! Foster must be doing very well for himself. No personal future worries for him! I kept wondering if he got stock options on top of his high salary and great insurance packages.

He's got a chip on his shoulder about his job and rightfully so, it's a ridiculous job. How can I get this gig?! The first fifty pages of the book, no joke, were Foster defending his career and talking about how he gets no respect. This was the point when I decided to flip through the rest of the book to see what the thesis was. Apparently he discusses the four types of futurists. Uh....ok. How is this relevant? I guess if I worked for Samsung or Apple in hiring then it would be relevant? What type of futurist do I want to hire? Other than that situation, I see zero value in spending time reading this.

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the audio copy in exchange for my review.

This book is an informative take on how to think about the future. It is difficult for me to review because Foster covers so much information and so many “fun facts” (some less fun) in a conversational and relatable way. A lot of what Foster says is stuff I already think about regularly as a self-described chronic over-thinker, and I can tell by reading the book that Foster and I probably share a lot of similarities in how we think and deconstruct ideas.

I was unfamiliar with Nick Foster before I listened to this audiobook. He is a very interesting person and when I found this book I thought his job title as a futurist sounded a bit bogus, but after finishing the book, I think he’s on to something here. I’m glad large corporations use him, but I’m worried they don’t use him or people willing to ask the hard questions enough…

[Jerry Edward Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people have some interest in the future. This interest may be limited to tomorrow’s weather. It may broaden out for others to include thoughts of new technological developments, new social attitudes and customs, or even mankind’s chance of surviving universal climate change. The author of this intriguing new book sees future thinking, futurism, and even employable work as a futurist as almost universal human attitudes. But, in reality, just how should we think about the future? That may be a much tougher question to consider. The book’s title identifies four distinct attitudes which inderlie the ways the author believes we will actually look to the future. These attitudes recognize that everyone alive today does face a future of some duration. The author, Nick Foster, is an experienced futurist. He was educated at London’s Royal College of Arts. He has significant experience designing technology products for some of the world’s leading technology companies. This new book has a range of suggestions from reading science fiction to empirical studies and narratives to think tank opinion studies and reports. The author also identifies a number of “don’t” attitudes which he describes as negative ways that should not to be used to think about the future. He believes these negative attitudes may prove to be more toxic. The final chapter begins with what should be a word of caution. Or it may be a touch of reality. Foster observes that “futurism is not for everyone” even as we all carry forward some interest or concern about the future. This is an excellent book which may introduce many general readers to a way of thinking which may help all of us. It may lead the general reader to seek further guidance. There are many books which can supplement this one. A good second book that may help here is Third Millenium Thinking (Little, Brown 2024) by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun. The authors of this book address the tremendous glut of data and ideas coming from the Information Age. Perlmutter is an academic physicist and Nobel Laurate; Campbell is an academic philosopher; and MacCoun is a social psychologist. The three orient their book as a guide to principles which can lead to clearer thinking. This book is highly recommended for every reader with a futurist mindset.

[Jack Trump · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting framework for thinking about the future from a design perspective. Nick Foster wasn't someone I was familiar with before reading this, but I no doubt interact with many products he's had a hand in producing.

In this book, he advocates (through his 'CSMD' framework) that everyone adopt a more critical lens to inform decisions about the future, while also considering the 'mundane' aspects of how our day-to-day lives will unfold in the years to come. The future isn't just all the sexy technology pitched at us in keynote speeches, but much more so the things that will creep into and drive our lives that we don't often think about.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a really interesting way to look at things. I use it more as a professional work, rather than a personal growth type book.. and I thought this book was written in a way that pulled me in without being too much. I think people who are interested in business would love this book, and it’s not too in depth or complicated to understand.

Thanks Macmillan and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this.

[Melissa Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I wanted to become more comfortable with thoughts about the future, and the book ultimately achieves that, giving you ways of seeing though messaging and balancing your thoughts. I admittedly skimmed sometimes, but would highly recommend to anyone who thinks a lot about the future.

[Erich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Future I never thought about

This book gave me several ways to look at the future. It showed me me how I have always looked forward to ideas about the future as well as ways to make those ideas more realistic. A very insightful and interesting way of opening my mind to better ways of planning for my expectations of what may come.

[Luke Latchman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how much I learned but I enjoyed hearing the author musing on the future and how it might be grand or it might be the same as today - who knows. It’s the future. It was a nice listen though. Particularly enjoyed the comparisons to Sci-fi and the last section on don’t futurists who we all know (and sometimes love) in our own lives.

[Jim Witkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a grandiose, gimmicky 5 step guides for future thinking. More a practical conversation about hype, stories, marketing, and sci-fi tropes that don’t better our lives. A broad philosophy of asking questions, including varied voices, focusing on the mundane (details, consequences, real life users) and pushing back on the hype/bullshit machine.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye-opening and ultimately reassuring look at the future.

[Kmhourihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully thought provoking and humbling if you think you are good at critical thinking….

[cactus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I’ve read about my job thus far

[Graeme · Rating 1 out of 5]

I used to think that so-called futurists were wankers and self-promoters. I still do.

[Ron Frampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Away to look at both personal life and a company

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A philosophical dive into how we might truly examine the future. I found this fascinating.

[Austin Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grounded, insightful, and refreshingly real. Nick cuts through glossy sci-fi futures to remind us that the everyday still matters, offering a sharp reframing of how we think about what’s ahead.