Quotable quotes
About futures, foresight, imagination, play, storytelling, experiences and more.
The method is not the work. The facilitator is.
In the Gurukul system, learning happens through proximity, repetition, observation, and relationship, as . Not through mastery slides or certification.
When scenarios don’t work (and why that’s usually a facilitation issue)
I’ve seen futures processes fail, not because the scenarios were weak, but because the facilitation was. Here are common anti-patterns that I’ve noticed.
Movement is a futures method
Movement is often treated as a break from thinking. But research shows that movement is a form of thinking and meaning-making.
Our brains were not designed for slide deck futures
Most futures sessions involve people sitting still, listening for long stretches, trying to imagine radical change through abstract language and bullet points. Which is odd, because our brains didn’t evolve for that at all.
Psychological safety in futures work is not “soft”. It’s structural
Psychological safety is often talked about as if it were a mood. Let’s create a space with good vibes, a warm and welcoming energy where people can feel “comfortable”. But in futures work, I believe that psychological safety is structural.
Blind drawing and the future
There’s a facilitation exercise called Blind Portraits that has some interesting lessons for futures facilitators.
#divitips Add page name to contact form
#divitips Add page name to contact formWhy might this be useful? To work out which page people were on when they submitted a page. add_filter('et_pb_module_shortcode_attributes', 'dbc_add_post_link_to_contact_form', 10, 3); function...
The contribution of “childless cat ladies” to society
The contribution of "childless cat ladies" to societyThe BBC's post about Usha Vance defending her husband's "childless cat ladies" remark has prompted me to put a few words to paper. In my world, today's wicked problems are bearing down on us. The SDGs are brilliant...
If you’re asking a question, you still believe in a future
In her essay Important Questions to Ask Yourself, poet Jane Hirshfield tells a story about a man who travels far to ask a wise teacher a question. When he finally asks it, the teacher slaps him. The lesson, the disciples later explain, is simple and severe: never surrender a good question for a mere answer.
Don’t outsource your imagination
AI can be a powerful tool in futures and foresight work. It can scan vast amounts of information, surface patterns across domains, and generate plausible starting points for scenarios or speculative artifacts. Used well, it expands our field of vision and accelerates exploration.
Holding uncertainty together
Following on from my recent thoughts about collective intelligence as a futures skill, I thought I’d come back to the widespread assumption that leadership, and futures work, requires certainty. That someone, somewhere, should know where things are headed and what needs to be done.
Place, power, and inclusion in futures work
Place is never just a backdrop.
The futures that don’t get spoken
In many futures conversations, the most important futures are the ones no one names.
Protect children from Little Red Riding Hood. Guns are fine, though.
Guns or Little Red Riding Hood. Which of the two should be banned in schools?
Curiosity is a futures skill
Curiosity is often treated as a personality trait, a thing that you either have or don’t. But in futures and foresight work (and no doubt in other creative practices), curiosity functions more like a muscle that can be strengthened, weakened, or neglected over time.