The Future Lens

Every problem has a future, but nobody knows what it is. Instead, we have a collection of hopes, expectations, fears, and assumptions about what will occur.

The Future Lens helps us examine these ideas and how they inform current behavior. Behind them are often beliefs and attitudes that have nothing to do with what’s most likely five or ten years from now. Examining them helps us prepare for the real future when it comes.

GETTING STARTED WITH THE FUTURE LENS

1. In general, what do people think the future of your problem looks like? Who is optimistic and who is pessimistic, and what assumptions inform those feelings? How do those assumptions influence behavior now?

2. What are some events in the future of your problem that are considered improbable? What about impossible? What behaviors might be unleashed if those unlikely futures came to be? Is there any way for you to use those behaviors now?

3. Imagine a future where your problem has disappeared — either because it has been solved or because it has become irrelevant for some other reason. What happened? How do you feel about it?

The Future Lens

Every problem has a future, but nobody knows what it is. Instead, we have a collection of hopes, expectations, fears, and assumptions about what will occur.

The Future Lens helps us examine these ideas and how they inform current behavior. Behind them are often beliefs and attitudes that have nothing to do with what’s most likely five or ten years from now. Examining them helps us prepare for the real future when it comes.

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