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, Technology, Self Help

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 2025

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Girts Strazdins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. Part of that is my own fault: I was expecting more than the book had to offer. Howerer, I struggled to underatand the point of the book. In the 8 hours of the audiobook the author was basically telling "predicting future is hard, not worth trying." I typically assess books by whether there are some food for thought (learn something new) and whether the delivery is engaging. I struggled with both here. I got one message though (hence two stars, not one): we should stop using SciFi as anchors for the future and extrapolate today outwards.

[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…

[OliveOil! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one! It lays out in very clear way 4 different approaches for thinking about futures work and how we can engage in thinking about the future. But what I especially enjoyed was how well the book grounds these approaches in reality. Foster calls it the Future Mundane, where we imagine these future scenarios and technologies not through a series of lofty ideals and wide eyed hope or doom, but really as an evolution of the present through the yes of ordinary people. How would they interact with it? How would their lives change, would they change?

Fascinating stuff! Can highly recommend, this book has something for everyone :)

[T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everything wrong with contemporary pop-nonfiction

*irrelevant tidbits of information that are only included to impress those uneducated in the areas being discussed
*self absorption
*categories written to help form a sort of self help style summary of its contents (the five agreements, the seven secrets, could would should etc)
*quotes from pseudointellectuals and politicians like Obama
*very little substance - okay so there's 4 different types of thinking, how does this actually help other than reframe simple ideas?

[June · Rating 2 out of 5]

I looked forward to reading this book because of the title and the author's experience, but I was very disappointed because 90% of the text was a b0ring compilation of anecdotes of what had been cutting edge many years ago. This text's history of the last 10-30 years ago was what I already knew so except for a few examples of future-thinking, it was repetitive.

[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.

[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.

[Dave G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Foster is pretty high on himself. A book that goes nowhere! Yay!! No really. What is the point of this book. I read it and sadly don’t see the author’s point. He talks a lot about being a futurist and mentions the Jetsons, Minority Report, Star Trek and Epcot as his go-tos on the future. What came to my mind was more on the lines of Planet of the Apes, meaning more how we think about each other and ourselves and less on a material aspect of the future. Then on page 228 of just over a 300 page book, he mentions, ever so briefly, Planet of the Apes, and then drops the topic without further evaluation. Now he didn’t really need to harp on POTA, as anything on those lines would have sufficed to illustrate the point of it all. He just kept on plugging away with…well I am not really sure because the book ultimately went nowhere.

Of course things-computers, transportation, technology- are going to be a part of the future but people remain the catalyst. Ask yourself, who builds a house? The hammer or the carpenter? You guessed it, the carpenter. Same with the future. People first, all else second. He likes his futuristic references, and who doesn’t, but eventually he needed to come full circle and he didn’t.

A lackluster effort of writing and of train of thought. More useless dicta than anything else.

[Anna M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books that I couldn't help tearing through while simultaneously wishing that I could make it last longer. I find it rare to find a non-fiction that introduces and challenges me to genuinely new ways of thinking, and Nick Foster does so with an exceedingly impressive ability to transform complex, often abstract topics into a masterfully rich writing style that kept me wanting more.

Maybe some would find the subject matter a bit dry, but as a Gen Z in the of generative AI, I struggle to discover truly novel ideas. I found Foster's frameworks for future-forward thinking to be transportive, immersive, and revelatory.

Although not designed to be a tactical guide, I was able to draw many takeaways, especially applied to redefining my dream future, bridging the gap between present and potential selves, and realistically mapping my goals onto the fabric of the unknown.

The reviewers questioning why anyone should care about this book clearly didn't read all the way to the end, got lost somewhere in the introduction (admittedly long but valuable to lay the foundation), or were unable to see the expansive value of exploring novel perspectives on a topic that impacts every single one of us.

[Mark Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to rate this as if I had received an advance copy - I bought it from a bookseller in the city, with an orange softback cover! Anyways, an interesting read... though, having gotten the difference between the four different forms of futurism, I was sort of left with the question, why? I'm still not entirely sure of the aim for this book.

Fav quote, which is almost a meta-summary for the book: "Here's my one piece of advice: when thinking about the future, try to think less about what you saw in a sci-fi movie and more about where you buy your chewing gum" (p. 309).

Because we should be applying the 'mundane' filter when considering future shift. Perhaps, then, I do know why: we should be wary of living in the futurisms of others. Real shifts take place when ordinary lives are affected.

[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.

[Tilda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’d recently been exposed to concept of ‘futurism’ through work so thought I’d give this book a go to see what it’s all about. This book not only could have been an essay, it could have been a short article. While there are some elements of futurism that seem interesting, it does seem to be a very dressed up way of expressing established concepts ‘thinking outside the box’ and ‘scenario planning’. I found some of the analysis of how we tend to view the future through sci fi kinda interesting (it’s funny to think of the jetsons now) but there was a lot of filler and not enough killer and I ended up giving up just past the halfway mark.

[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.

[Kelly]

A neat breakdown of a very big topic. More of a philosophical and (maybe) practical lens for business than personally applicable. I liked the specific examples within each type of futurism, but there were not many and they sometimes veered into very general ideas.

My major gripe is the repetition—there are so many instances where a list of three words is used to say what one word can. And the “don’t” futurism part at the end gets kind of lazy

[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.

[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.

[Divyesh Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thought provoking book on how different people view the future and general types of thinking about future. The book also talks about the importance of grounding the thoughts about future in present and extrapolate the change and think about how we can get from here to there.

[Juan Abarca · Rating 2 out of 5]

No entendí para nada el sentido de este libro. Un futurista que dice que predecir el futuro es difícil? No shit, Sherlock.
Algunas citas interesantes que podría haber sido un post corto en un blog.
Que lata que haya sido fome.

[Jacqui Busch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A guide through multiple perspectives you could take when you think about the future. It helps you to think with discernment about new things on the horizon, how not to be such a passive consumer of the future.

[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

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The core ideas are insightful but I feel the book itself could have been more succinct.

[Mark Danowsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could be a short essay.

[Jed Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intriguing premise but the book never approaches its potential.

[Abigail Peacock]

can’t believe i spent so much money on this self-aggrandizing rambling 🤡