For it’s the future – and the way we address it – that will define the success of our enterprise.
…we should all be “futurists” (courtesy of the World Future Society)
Adopting a “futurist “mindset requires us to build corporate financial tools to help manage the future – and create sustainable business performance that is better than the present.
With this concept of future focus in mind, I would like to share with you – firstly a recent event and secondly a process to get you to your destination.
Referring to the event, here are some of key takeaways from the recent World Future Society London event.
Overheard at the House of Lords, WFS London
Lord Sheikh of Cornhill, challenged all of us to act, and to act decisively to influence the course of the future,
“Don’t be half-hearted about it,” he shared. “Having a vision is nothing without a committed dedication to achieving it.”
This theme was echoed by the founder of the World Future Council, Jakob Von Uexkull, “We live with problems we can solve, and yet – for one reason or another – choose not to.”
That evening was an experience shared by people from many different backgrounds, experience levels, industries and cultures.
Futurists shared views on defense, the environment, food production, artificial intelligence, human purpose, emerging technologies and education.
And over the course of the evening, one major theme emerged.
The power of a “futurist” mindset.
The power of a group of humans approaching discussions from a shared approach.
Some years ago, Napoleon Hill referred to this same activity and coined the expression the “Mastermind Principle” – or the power of an additional “collective” mind.
I believe in the “Mastermind Principle” and practiced it extensively in my long and varied business career – with great success.
From a management perspective, commonality of purpose – or shared vision – begins with the participants.
And like all shared visions which require multiple participants, understanding the vision, committing to it, is essential.
I have always admired those of us blessed with creative talents, the artist, sculptor, poet and musician – for the way in which they transform their visons into reality – each using their personal creative skills.
I guess the finite detail inherent in the final creation was created as part of an evolutionary process.
In a similar fashion, I suppose visions are translated into strategies and subsequently into action plans.
And at some stage they need to be tested and validated – quantified and evaluated – failing which I respectfully submit, they are nothing more than wishful thinking.
So now we come to the process referred to previously.
Quantifying and evaluating strategies and action plans requires a holistic and detailed appreciation of all the key elements – requires research and analysis – requires one to validate assumptions and essentially prove that the various elements are “doable.”
This can be a time consuming and sometimes daunting task – but is absolutely fundamental.
Having satisfied oneself about these fundamentals, the next step is to construct a comprehensive financial model based on international best practice methodology, a flexible, structured, logical model with a range of alternative values allocated to key model drivers and the ability to carry out what if analysis and test various scenarios.
This penultimate step, provided the model has financial integrity, provides all participants with both understanding and commitment – and hence the basis for a shared and believable vision.
Colin Human CA (SA)
