Managing Toward the "Ideal Future"

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  mkconway11/13/07 Report as spam
  1

  The future?

  Both the ideal future and the expected future are red herrings. We need to aim for a future that doesn't take us by surprise, and you don't get that by starting in the present and extrapolating out into the future (both ideal and expected futures start in the present). You need to explore the future, create a plausible view of what might happen, and prepare for that. The best way to do this is give people in organisations the opportunity to take a break from today, and think systematically about the future of their organisations. Once you have a big picture, long term view, decision making today about which direction to take will be much easier.

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  Voll11/13/07 Report as spam
  2

  Ideal future

  In my opinion, its important to remember that business is combat. You either make the required capital to stay afloat or you don't. And every sub-organization in an organization, must align to this simple principle. Make capital or support those who make capital. Given a choice, people will visualize a future that is safe and comfortable but not always profitable. There is an entire scrap heap of failed companies that thought this way. Business is war. In war, there is only one desired future state, "Victory". Once the leadership has defined victory, then managing toward it is easy. Ofcourse, this opens a whole new issue. How many leaders know how to define victory for thier business?

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  Michael Fitzgerald11/13/07 Report as spam
  3

  ideal future

  I think entrepreneurs are more missionaries (or evangelists, if you like) than
  they are warriors.

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  Michael Fitzgerald11/13/07 Report as spam
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  the future?

  So do you think planning for the future involves brainstorming sessions or
  individual goal-setting, or a little of both?

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  charles.duncan01@...11/13/07 Report as spam
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  Resonance and Alignment-on the Road to the Future

  Lovely sentiment, well put. Whether it is adventus or futurum, all the troops (another military metaphor), both management and the front -line, need to be matching to the same tune. We are still, as a culture, responding to carrot and stick motivation. In the near future, people within organizations will opt-in to the future that best resonates with their own world/career view.

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  mcbridmw11/17/07 Report as spam
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  RE: Managing Toward the

  I appreciate the introduction to these words - adventus and futurum. Great concept, and I would encourage us to stay focused on the journey/process to either future.