The Hidden Power of Foresight

Photo by Kevin Mueller on Unsplash

Businesses today face a problem they can’t afford to ignore: too many are stuck focusing on the next quarter, while the future barrels toward them with greater uncertainty than ever. Strategic foresight—the ability to think ahead, imagine different outcomes, and prepare for them—is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. And yet, many organizations continue to rely on past data and quick fixes, leaving them exposed to disruption.

As a futurist, I’ve seen how this lack of long-term thinking limits the potential for innovation. If you only respond to what’s in front of you, you’re not ready for what’s around the corner. And in a world where change is constant, that’s a risky way to operate.

The danger of short-term thinking

If you’ve ever caught yourself using last year’s solutions to solve this year’s problems, you’re not alone. Too often, companies look backward for answers. It’s human nature to stick with what we know, but it’s a dangerous habit.

Think of it this way: if all your decisions are based on what’s already happened, how can you expect to be prepared for the unexpected? Biases like the status quo effect—where we assume change will do more harm than good—or confirmation bias, which makes us seek out evidence that confirms what we already believe, can limit how we approach innovation.

To be futures-ready, we need to break these habits. And that starts by being willing to think beyond what’s directly in front of us. Foresight forces us to confront the unknown and ask: what might be possible?

Innovation through a foresight lens

When we talk about innovation, many think of small improvements—better processes, new products, optimizations. But that’s just one side of the coin. Real innovation comes from asking bigger, harder questions: what happens when the rules of the game change? What if the problems we’re solving today aren’t the ones that matter tomorrow?

That’s where futures thinking comes in. It’s not about predicting exactly what’s next, but about exploring a range of possibilities. Instead of just making this year’s product slightly better, what if we imagined entirely new ways of doing things?

Futures thinking allows us to spot what I call “pockets of the future”—small signals that indicate where things might be headed. Whether it’s emerging technology or new social trends, these signals help us see beyond the immediate horizon and start imagining what’s possible.

By shifting our mindset to focus on what could happen, we create space for real breakthroughs, not just incremental changes.

Preparing for multiple futures

The truth is, there’s no such thing as a single, predictable future. When I work with organizations, we map out different potential futures using scenario planning and a process going from exploring change dynamics to uncertainty to developing the scenarios themselves.

Think back to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations that had engaged in scenario planning adapted much faster. They didn’t see the exact futures necessarily, but they had considered enough possibilities to stay nimble when the crisis hit. That’s what foresight gives us—the ability to anticipate and respond to change, even when it’s unexpected.

From vision to ction

One of the biggest challenges I encounter is helping organizations take their future vision and turn it into something practical. It’s easy to get excited about bold ideas, but much harder to implement them. And yet, that’s where the real value of foresight lies—not just in imagining the futures, but in building them.

At ANTICIPATE, we focus on a process called the ACT Foresight Framework. First, in the anticipate phase we explore what the future could look like. Then, we create strategies, products, or services that are fit for those futures. But the final step is often the hardest: to transform the organization so that those ideas aren’t just ideas—they’re put into action. It requires commitment from everyone, from leadership to employees, to make it happen.

Foresight isn’t just for companies

Governments are also starting to see the value in thinking long-term. Countries like Finland and Wales have set up futures commissions that focus on future generations—making sure that today’s decisions don’t leave tomorrow’s citizens in a worse position. It’s a lesson businesses can learn from too: the future isn’t just something that happens to us; it’s something we can actively shape.

The real question is: how are you preparing for the future? It’s not enough to be reactive. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to be proactive—engaging with foresight, exploring different possibilities, and making futures thinking part of your organization’s DNA.

The futures are out there, waiting to be shaped. And whether you choose to act now or wait for it to happen, the choice is yours. But remember, the present moment used to be the unimaginable future—and someone created it.

What futures will you create?