POINTS TO PONDER: STRATEGIC FORESIGHT

According to Alfred North Whitehead, a British mathematician & philospher, in a celebrated lecture given at the Harvard Business School in 1931, 'strategic foresight' is the crucial feature of the competent business mind.

He had defined it as the ability:

- to see through the confusion;

- to spot developments before they become trends;

- to see patterns before they fully emerge;

- to grasp the relevant features of social currents that are likely to shape the direction of future events;

- to look for generality where there is variety, and to look for idiosyncrasy where there is generality";

How does one develop & apply 'strategic foresight'?

Richard Slaughter, a well respected expert in this emerging field, has written an excellent article on this subject.

He defines 'strategic foresight' as "the ability to create and maintain a high-quality, coherent and functional forward view and to use the insights arising in organisationally useful ways; for example: to detect adverse conditions, guide policy, shape strategy; to explore new markets, products and services. It represents a fusion of futures methods with those of strategic management."

Here is another interesting article by another expert, if you are still keen to read further on the subject.

One more interesting article to go, if you are still hungry.

From my perspective, the two best field books ever written about this subject are:

1) 'Strategic Foresight: The Power of Standing in the Future' by Nick Marsh. You can read the first chapter at the Global Foresight Network website;

2) 'Thinking about the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight' by Andy Hines & Peter Bishop. More information about this book can be found at the Social Technologies website;