Insights · March 8th, 2017
After I spoke to the DHL Energy conference, their industry publication, Delivered, called for an extended interview. The focus was on the nature of my work as a futurist. You can read the full article here, but among the things that I shared were…
“I help them answer three questions,” he says. “What is our ‘probable’ future? Our ‘possible’ future? And our ‘preferred’ future? The probable future means looking at where current trends could take an organization. The possible future entails investigating the direction an organization might take if it did things differently. The preferred future is looking at the strategic direction of an organization, based on probable trends and options.” This last one is his specialty.
Hiemstra believes that “If you listen carefully, you can learn what the future is telling you.” But what does he mean by that, exactly? “I’m saying that by standing in the future and looking back at today, we get a strong sense of what we should be paying attention to in the present,” he says. “For example, take the issue of climate change. If you put yourself 50 or 150 years ahead, you can look at the world and understand what it is we have to do today to either prevent global warming, or get ready for it.”
Check out the full piece here to gain a better understanding of how I approach futurist work.
