Strategic Foresight: Learning from the Future

by Patricia Lustig

Revised and fully updated in August 2017, with an important new section on Scenario Tools and Scenario Planning. his is a book is for leaders, to aid their practice in strategy, decision making and change - it's a very practical (field) guide to foresight and foresight tools. It's aimed at leaders in manufacturing, service, non-profit, government and fourth sector organisations. Strategic Foresight is a set of skills and tools used to explore potential futures exercising your 'futures muscles' so that you are able to plan for and take advantage of these possible futures. The book first explores how we think about the future, looking at ambiguity and uncertainty and how these play a role in our ability to think into the future. It introduces a simple model of preferred thinking styles and talks about the 'baggage' and values that form our perceptions. The next section covers models, tools and maps that people will find useful for developing their own Foresight and using this knowledge to make decisions, whilst uncovering innovation and creativity to turn this Foresight knowledge to competitive advantage. This is not a comprehensive list - just a selection of the most effective tools with their use and case studies that are easy and effective to use. The next two sections How to identify emerging trends; what impact they may have on your business; the strategic importance of early recognition; and how to apply the knowledge in your business. Harnessing Foresight as a spring board for innovation and creativity to develop new paradigms and take advantage of what may come. Finally, the author pulls it all together by showing how to develop a practical method of exploring potential futures in the context of your existing business in order to take robust decisions and develop strategies that help you work towards your preferred future. Case studies are interspersed throughout the book to illustrate the points made along with exercises, where appropriate, to encourage people to 'think along' with the ideas and new ways of approaching Strategic Foresight

186 pages, Paperback

Published July 21, 2015

Reviews

[Alireza Hejazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book introduces strategic foresight (SF) as an essential skill that can be learned by managers and leaders. It explains the processes, tools, techniques, and ideas that cooperate to shape preferable futures. Learning those tools and techniques, the readers will be able to use them to develop strategies effectively. While there are many books written on this topic, Strategic Foresight is an outstanding work due to its practical characteristic helping readers find a better understanding by introducing relevant cases in each chapter. This book is excellent for readers who are new to the foresight field. It helps them find a future-oriented understanding of strategic planning.

[Rubén · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book has strengthened my professional practice as a futures thinker by providing me with a set of accessible yet powerful frameworks to navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change. The book not only deepens my understanding of how to apply tools like the Three Horizons, CLA, and STEEPLE in real-world contexts, but also emphasizes the importance of personal reflection through metaphors like the fox and the hedgehog and exercises such as the lifeline. It reminds me that effective foresight work requires both analytical rigor and emotional intelligence, allowing me to better guide individuals and organizations through transformative futures thinking.

[Todd Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best i have found so far on Strategic Foresight. I don't give it high marks because it would have been really easy for the author to spell out various foresight exercises with bullet points. Instead the steps are left in the body of the text and it is up to the reader to identify the various parts of an exercise. And the diagrams explaining many exercises are atrociously more complicated than they need to be. I wouldn't start with this book but it is very good after you've delved into the subject at least once.

[Marco]

I was excited to read this book since the topic is so close to my work, and yet this work managed to bore me and frustrate me in major ways. A lot of ideas have not been clearly explained, there is a ton of logical fallacies, and the author oversells the book's main points as if trying to market the consultancy work. Poorly conceived, alas.

[andy noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to strategic foresight

Recommended this book by a colleague to help with an assign.Well written introduction to the topic that provides a clear grasp of the key concepts.

[Manoj Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lustig has given justice to this critical thinking on sharpening foresight. Do you have this faculty within yourself? if not explore with this researched text.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every business puts forth a strategic plan for its future. This book provides a structured means of exploring what that future, or many possible futures, might look like.

[Liz Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first came across Patricia Lustig's book Strategic Foresight when asked to write a business magazine article on the topic. As someone with very little knowledge of the futures field at the time, it provided a wonderfully clear, easy-to-grasp overview. Not only of what strategic foresight involves, but why any organization grappling with the challenges of today's VUCA business environment needs to seriously think about adding this set of principles and practices to their strategic repertoire.

Lustig moves beyond scenario planning (about which most of us have some knowledge, given its prominence in articles and books about Royal Dutch Shell) to articulate a much fuller "toolbox" of approaches in order to successfully practice strategic foresight. Each of these is described fully in the book's ten chapters, along with helpful illustrative case studies. It is clear that the author has considerable experience with the methodologies she espouses, not simply as a "consultant" but someone who has worked "in the trenches" and can compellingly articulate the advantages of foresight for all types and size of business.

As she points out at the end of her book, "when you execute the resulting strategy, your business stands the very best chance of success and of being ‘future proof,’ because you’re prepared."

If you want to be one of the prepared, rather than the blindsided, I highly recommend you read this book.

[Patricia Lustig]

I wrote it, so it would be wrong for me to put up a review!