Thinking about the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight

Thinking about the Future distills the expertise of three dozen senior foresight professionals into a set of essential guidelines for carrying out successful strategic foresight. Presented in a highly scannable yet personable style, each guideline includes an explanation and rationale, key steps, a case example, and resources for further study. The 115 guidelines are organized into six sequential categories that mirror the phases of a strategic foresight activity, namely Framing, Scanning, Forecasting, Visioning, Planning, and Acting. Executives will find both the guidelines and the framework invaluable for understanding what it takes to successfully explore the future, while analysts who actively carry out strategic foresight projects will find the book an indispensable reference that they turn to again and again.

Dr. Andy Hines is Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator with the University of Houston Graduate Program in Foresight and is also speaking, workshopping, and consulting through his firm Hinesight. His 20 plus years of professional futurist experience includes a decade s experience working inside first the Kellogg Company and later Dow Chemical, and consulting work with Coates &Jarratt, Inc. and Social Technologies. His books include Teaching about the Future, ConsumerShift: How Changing Values Are Reshaping the Consumer Landscape, Thinking about the Future, 2025: Science and Technology Reshapes US and Global Society, and he recently earned his PhD on The Role of an Organizational Futurist in Integrating Foresight into Organizations.