The project grew … with no design and no clauses (other than an injunction to think in the future perfect and create a much cleaner Sydney Harbour) … in an ecologically symbolic representation of the success of the project, three 80-ton whales came into the harbour to frolic under the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge … whales had never been this far into the Harbour before: The Olympic dream appeared to have been spectacularly realized.
Pitsis et al, 2003
What’s it all about?
Using a future perfect approach to planning helps to achieve a shared vision of the future. It is a form of time travel that encourages you to consider preferred futures and their potential impact on what you are doing now. The process involves scenario planning, which is designed to generate a range of plausible futures to help you move towards a preferred vision of the future. It is a collective and creative approach that moves people out of their more usual focus on present and short-term problems.
What’s it for?
The purpose of using futures search is to allow organisations and/or communities to learn more about themselves and their aspirations by bringing everyone together. Together you create a preferred view of the future, which in turn generates practical action planning for how to get there. This approach generally has three uses (Weisbord & Janoff, 2000):
- It supports those involved in creating and acting upon a shared future vision for their business or community
- It enables those involved to discover shared intentions and take responsibility for their own plans
- The events can help groups implement a shared vision that already exists
It is probably best known through its use as part of the Olympic Games preparation in Sydney and by Shell Petroleum.
Using the tool
The tool takes you through the scenario planning process to help you think about different possible futures for your business. You start by reviewing the past, then assess the present and finally look at the future. If you enjoy storytelling, this is a great activity for you. It works best with a group of people and ideally you need to set aside a day to work together.