"Future-proofing" isn't just the latest buzz term from the business world. It's a wide-ranging, holistic strategy for positioning your company on a course toward long-term profitability, relevancy and iterative improvement.
And it doesn't just pay dividends down the road. Planning for the future can profoundly impact how your business currently operates - helping you optimize organizational performance, spur productivity and efficiency, and adapt to new and emerging trends.
If all of that sounds... lofty or unattainable, don't worry. This is the work of a futurist: someone who specializes in taking those grand ideas and applying them to the granular aspects of your business. In this article, let's explore some frequently asked questions about futurists: What are they, how can you capitalize on their know-how, and what can they do for your company?
What Is a Futurist?
In this context, a futurist is a consultant or speaker who specializes in helping businesses devise long-term plans. Futurists thrive in other contexts as well - as policy advisers, foresight practitioners for non-profit organizations, etc.
Contrary to popular belief, a futurist isn't a predictor. They don't own a crystal ball or a pack of divining cards. They aren't here to tell you exactly the kinds of disruptions your industry will face in the next two decades. Instead, they are uniquely positioned to empower your company to prepare for whatever happens and scan for signals and trends that indicate what comes next. They can advise on technological adoption, organizational structuring, data analysis, trend watching, employee management, community building and more - all with an eye toward long-term resiliency and profitability. And crucially, they help challenge preconceived notions and ignite imagination in your organization.
What's Their Role? How Can Your Business Utilize a Futurist?
As mentioned, you can utilize a futurist's wealth of knowledge in a couple of different ways. Probably the most popular way is to hire them as a keynote speaker for your next corporate event. Corporate events are often about enriching a company's outlook, so it makes sense to cap off proceedings with a view of the future. For longer-term planning, there is also the opportunity to partner with a futurist as a strategic foresight consultant.
Nikolas Badminton, futurist keynote speaker at Futurist.com, explained that futurism speaking engagements typically start with organizations wanting to ignite employees, but ends with the idea of creating strategic foresight planning.
"Being able to help people look into the future and forecast, you know, based on a product or based on a consumer change and whatever, what the world would be like in five, 10 20 years -- Helps them work out how they can create a resilient business," Badminton shared in an interview with John Koetsier.
As a consultant, a futurist won't just introduce you to ideas; they will stand alongside you as you implement and actuate those ideas.
What Can They Do for Your Company?
This is the million-dollar question - the one we alluded to in the title. We've danced around the answers in previous sections, but let's be entirely clear. What can a futurist do for your company? Here are a few common value propositions:
Although they don't often make hard predictions, a futurist can advise on the potential shape of changes to come - possible disruptions, emerging technologies, opportunities and threats.
They can teach you how to adopt an adaptive, agile mindset from bottom to top.
A futurist can also help your business adopt an imaginative mindset, rather than a reactive mindset focused on present threats/opportunities.
And, in general, they can help you plot a path for decades of fruitful, profitable business.
There are few "sure things" in business. But one certainty is the future. It's coming - with all its wonders, challenges, setbacks and opportunities. Inviting a futurist to your company as a speaker or consultant is a fantastic first step in ensuring your organization is prepared.
