We see future thinking as a collective, collaborative, and creative process. Earlier this year we wrote about different kinds of problem and how you might approach solving, or resolving, them creatively. From our discussions with colleagues and clients it is clear that many organisations are now beginning to turn to the daunting problem of what should / could our future look like? To help you get started we would like to recommend a framework that draws on the 4Ps of Creativity developed by Mel Rhodes (1961). Rhodes identified the 4Ps as: people, product, press (or external context) and process. It is a great, simple, memorable framework for breaking down any problem you want to tackle creatively.
Here is a set of prompt questions, using the 4Ps framework, that may help you start to think about how you might work on developing a compelling and viable vision for your future.
People
- Who must we involve in this process?
- Who do we want to involve in this process?
- Who do we want / need on our team?
- What perspectives / voices / experience / knowledge do we need to hear about, integrate into our thinking and act upon?
- Which voices have we previously excluded but need to include now?
- What kind of behaviours will help us create the future we want?
- Who is going to provide the challenge we need
Product
- What attributes / characteristics must our future vision have?
- What must we bring forward from the past into the future?
- What must we leave behind?
- What have we always wanted to do but never found the space /time?
- What have we admired in others but never managed to incorporate into our own operations?
Press (or context)
- How is the current situation changing our assumptions about the future e.g. acceleration of online activity, acceptable of remote working?
- What have you learnt about the communities you serve in the past year?
- Where might you find opportunities for future development?
- Who have you met / heard about in recent months who shares your goals? How might you work together?
Process
- How do we want to approach this?
- How radical are we willing to be?
- How far are we going to use tried and tested techniques and how far are we going to try something new?
- In what ways could we incorporate experimentation into the process?
- How far are we willing to take the idea of co-creation?
- How much time do we need / have?
- What resources do we have / do we need?
In the light of all that we are learning through campaigns such as Black Lives Matter and We Shall Not Be Removed the case for widening the circle of those who are involved in visioning and business planning (and sharing the burden) has never been stronger. If there has ever been a time to try something new, to try co-creating the future, this is it.
Co-creation is the process of mutual firm-customer value creation. This facilitated (creative) process generates an active form of interaction and sharing between firm and end consumer, instead of the active firm, passive consumer interaction. One of the results of co-creation is that the contact between firm and customer moves away from transactional and becomes an experience. (De Koning et al, 2016)
Co-creation comes in many forms as the Spectrum of Co-creation illustrates. We particularly like the position accorded to traditional business planning! It is worth considering how much collaboration are you willing to undertake and how much influence over the end result are you willing to grant to others.
References
De Koning, Jotte I.J.C., Crul, Marcel R.M., Wever, Renee (May 2016) ‘Models of co-creation’. Conference: Service Design Geographies. Proceedings of the ServDes 2016 Conference. Copenhagen, Vol 125, 266-278.
Rhodes, M. (1961). An analysis of creativity. Phi Delta Kappan, 42, 305–310.