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Predicting the future is famously difficult. Mostly because it hasn’t happened yet. But, I’m reliably informed, it will. With this in mind, preparing for the future sounds like a smart strategy right now.
In business, we often hand responsibility for our future to the leaders. Their task is to see the big picture, set the strategic direction, and shamelessly take all the credit when things go well.
But I believe that thinking about the future should be more team sport than solo adventure. Everyone can get involved. In fact, everyone *must* get involved.
I tried very hard during my corporate career, but I didn’t get better at predicting the future with each job promotion. Arguably, I got worse. My days became saturated with “very important meetings” (few were) and I spent more time looking inwards than outwards, and never beyond. Seniority turned me into a lousy futurist.
That’s why, when predicting and preparing for the future, I believe the leaders’ voices should carry no more weight than the most junior members of the team. The HIPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) is just that, an opinion. But if we fuse it with lots of other opinions from all around the company, the chances are we’ll land on a dirty average understanding of a more probable future that we can prepare for.
Think: “Ask the Audience” rather than “Phone a Friend” (even if your friend is a world-famous, crystal ball owning, futuristically name prediction wizard)
So, if you’re currently working on your future plans—and why the heck wouldn’t you be?— make it a throughly democratic process. Get everyone involved, briefly silence the HIPPOS, and listen to the heartbeat of your organisation. Together, you will find the pathway to a future you will feel collectively inspired to pursue.