Quotable quotes
About futures, foresight, imagination, play, storytelling, experiences and more.
Why experiential futures work (and why presentations about futures often don’t)
Most futures work still treats imagination as something that happens in the head. But the brain doesn’t work that way.
Collective intelligence as a futures skill
We tend to talk about futures and foresight as analytical capabilities: the ability to scan signals, build scenarios, or anticipate change. But I’m increasingly convinced that one of the most important futures skills is something else entirely: collective intelligence, or the ability of a group to think, imagine, and decide well together under uncertainty.
Why experiential futures work (and why presentations about futures often don’t)
Most futures work still treats imagination as something that happens in the head. But the brain doesn’t work that way.
Musings of funerals for glaciers
What if we celebrated the nature that we have, and that we have lost, instead of holding funeral ceremonies?
Stories and their ability to transport
Becoming involved in a narrative world can have measurable consequences.
Questions keep the future open
We often talk about futures work as if it happens in a room. But place is never neutral. When we work with place consciously, it becomes a co-facilitator.
How to quickly insert placeholder text into your academic writing
A quick step-by-step tutorial on how to automatically format text as you are writing in MS Word.
Uncertainty isn’t the problem. Our relationship to it is
We’re wired to treat uncertainty like a threat. Not metaphorically. Neurologically. Ambiguity scrambles our attention, tightens our thinking, and makes us reach for quick answers.
The journey’s start and single steps
When you’re trying to trick yourself out of a moment of procrastination.
Hope as a form of systems literacy
In futures work, hope is often misunderstood. It’s sometimes treated as optimism, a belief that things will turn out well. But in complex systems, that kind of hope rarely survives contact with reality.
Why the facilitator’s story matters in futures work
Have you ever noticed how the most compelling facilitators, teachers, and change-makers all seem to be good storytellers?
Hope doesn’t assume a positive outcome (and that matters in futures work)
I often say that my work is oriented toward hopeful, sustainable futures. People sometimes hear that as optimism, a belief that things will turn out fine. That’s not what I mean.
What I’m paying attention to when facilitating futures
When I’m facilitating futures work, I’m obviously paying attention to the process: time, flow, activities. But a lot of my attention is elsewhere.
Sustainability as a futures facilitation lens, not a topic
I often describe my work as oriented toward hopeful, sustainable futures. When describing my work this way, people sometimes assume that means I only work with organisations, institutions, and communities who already see themselves as “doing good”.
The futures we inherit
When people struggle to imagine different futures, it’s tempting to say they lack imagination.I don’t think that’s usually the problem.