Reports from the Knowledge Labs about our recent findings, research topics, and interviews with lifestyle leaders who are creating their own futures.
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How to stimulate your own powers of foresight. Consider the following thought provokers. Ask yourself, in these categories what are the brand new trends and forces? Which are the ones growing in importance? Which current forces are loosing their steam? Which have peaked or are reversing themselves? Which are the "wildcards" about to disrupt us in the future? POLITICAL AND TECHNICAL thought for food: Electronics, Materials, Energy, Fossil, Nuclear, Alternative, Other, Manufacturing (techniques), Agriculture, Machinery and Equipment, Distribution, Transportation (Urban, Mass, Personal, Surface, Sea, Subsurface, Space), Communication (Printed, Spoken, Interactive, Media), Computers (Information, Knowledge, Storage & Retrieval, Design, Network Resources), Post-Cold War, Third World, Conflict (Local, Regional, Global), Arms Limitation, Undeclared Wars, Terrorism, Nuclear Proliferation, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Governments (More/Less Power and Larger or Smaller Scale), Taxes, Isms: Nationalism, Regionalism, Protectionism, Populism, Cartels, Multinational Corporations, Balance of Trade, Third Party Payments, Regulations (OSHA, etc.) Environmental Impact, U.S. Prestige Abroad. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC Food for thought:
Labor Movements, Unemployment / Employment Cycles, Recession, Employment Patterns, Work Hours / Schedules, Fringe Benefits, Management Approaches, Accounting Policies, Productivity, Energy Costs, Balance of Payments, Inflation, Taxes, Rates of Real Growth, Distribution of Wealth, Capital Availability and Costs, Reliability of Forecasts, Raw Materials, Availability and Costs, Global versus National Economy, Market versus Planned Economies, Generations: Y, X, Boomers, Elderly, Urban vs. Rural Lifestyles, Affluent vs. Poor, Neighborhoods and Communities, Planned or Organic Growth.
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The Journal of 2020 Foresight
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Sunday, June 30, 2002
Future by Life Design
Chapter One: Basecamp
By Steve Howard, CKO
The Knowledge Labs
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Basecamp
Chapter Two: The Ridge
Chapter Three: The Outpost
Chapter Four: The Tribal Territories
A few more pages into the learning expedition's journal notes, I discovered a section called, “Future by Life Design.”
The expedition sketched out overlapping concentric circles, bordered by a randomly meandering line.
In the middle of the overlapping circles, at the heart of the chart, they labeled “Me” and included “Lifecycle” and “Spiritual”
Beyond the chart’s edge – surrounding both the border of interdependent circles and chaotic squiggles -- someone had written “Universe” and scratched it out, replacing it with “Multi-Universes,” “Planet”, and “ Environment.”
Within the border at the outer edge and bounded by random, irregular lines lie “Technology,” “Economics,” “Social” and “Political.”
Just inside of “Technology” and “Economics” on the right side, moving from the outer to the inner, I encounter a circular band,“Industry,” “Competition” “Inflection Points”, “Perfect Storms”.
On the left, just inside of “Social” and “Politics” I see “Generations,” “Communities,” “Consumers,” “Clubs and Volunteer Organizations,” and “Values.”
Moving “one circle” away from the heart – “Me, Lifecycle and Spiritual,” yet, just inside of “Industry, Competition, Inflection Points, and Perfect Storms” I discovered “Work Life.”
And, mirroring it on the left, I find another circle, “Home Life” sitting just inside of “Generations, Communities, Consumers, Clubs, Volunteer Organizations and Values.”
Inside of “Home Life” and one step removed from the overlapping heart of the chart sits “Family,” “Friends,” “Fitness,” “Hobbies,” “Recreation,” “Education,” “Investments” and a couple more that have been smeared by drops of water.
Finally, inside “Work Life” I can make out “Career,” “Job,” “Organization,” “Culture,” “Markets,” “Customers,” “Suppliers,” “Networks and Alliances,” “Team,” and “Training.”
Is this how the expedition decided what course to take? Is this meant to be the playing field, I wonder.
Are we all at the center of our own lives taking a past, present and future snapshot of an ever-changing, interdependent system?
This must be what Grey Owl meant when he quoted Sun Tzu by saying, “The world is a place full of interesting options for those who plan to fully explore their potential.”
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Copyright ©2002 - 2006 Aarnaes Howard Associates. All rights reserved worldwide.
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