To learn to think about the future

This week I spoke at the same conference as the futurist Stefan Hyttfors, who said that in these times of exponential change, where technological advances as well as new behaviors and global events are evolving at a faster rate than ever before, the ability to evolve is the most important. Experience, which has been the most sought-after competence for thousands of years, is being replaced by adaptability, imagination and creativity. Experience can even be directly counterproductive when it comes to taking on new opportunities and conditions, as it challenges previous truths and beliefs.

The picture is of course more nuanced than what is reasonable to point out on a stage in Gävle, but that the ability to think about the future is increasingly central regardless of whether you are in a private or public organization, young or old - there is no doubt about that.

The non-profit organization Institute for the Future, based on the west coast of the United States, has developed methods and trained in strategic foresight since the 1960s, and is one of the most reputable the actors in the foresight industry. On the digital education platform Coursera, they offer a course in future thinking - "Futures Thinking Specialization" - where you as a student learn in a variety of exciting tools to become better at thinking about the future in a constructive and proactive way.

The course is made up of five sub-courses that are intended to be taken at a pace of one course a month. A course takes 10–15 hours of study time to complete, and the monthly cost for Coursera is approximately SEK 500 / month. As a course leader, you get Jane McGonigal who guides you between scientifically substantiated methods, theoretical exercises and examples from reality where a number of exciting explorations of the outside world broaden the perspectives. In addition to watching videos and reading articles and other material, you as a student can also do some tests and give proof of their newfound knowledge in the form of tasks that other students will judge as part of becoming a certified futurist. If you are at least curious about the future, a fun and educational experience is guaranteed!

At Vinnova, we started a study circle in the spring where almost 20 percent of all colleagues signed up to take the course together. Every other week we meet for an hour to discuss the lessons of recent weeks and put them in relation to activities that are current or think of new ones that we should start with. It did not take many weeks before tools from the course began to be used internally, and after this class graduates at the end of September, we will have an even more forward-thinking organization!

If you want to help your organization become more future-ready and help your colleagues avoid a state of "future shock" (paralyzing state when the future is perceived as incomprehensible and impossible to influence) I would highly recommend gathering a bunch to take the course together!

The future is not something that just happens to us, but we are the ones who create it, and with what you learn in this education, you will be one step closer to such an important superpower.