Driving Impact in Innovation

An excerpt from The Guide to Natural® Foresight Framework:

Today, we live in a world where creative destruction is happening faster than we can react. Whether the radical changes are in products, services, experiences, technology, or organizational models, we seem to have entered an age of perpetual instability in business and society where the new mantra is “disrupt or be disrupted.”

What if we could build proactive organizations that aren’t constantly in the act of chasing or being chased? Transcending disruption in an age of increasing complexity means we must change our organizational focus: instead of fixating on the idea of disruption “pushing from the outside,” we must adopt a new approach of “pulling” our organizations toward transformation. Whereas being pushed by external forces puts leaders constantly on the defense, the concept of pulling your firm toward transformational vision places you in the driver’s seat.

In this era of rapid and accelerating change, it is impossible to achieve true innovation without developing long-term thinking and uncovering alternative future possibilities. Most of the popular innovation tools and concepts used today were created when things were simpler and companies could operate with linear thinking. Our interconnected world is causing those once relevant innovation tools — as well as the companies that use them — to become outdated. Gone are the days of practicing incremental innovation in order to simply strengthen core competencies or gain strategic advantage in an already crowded market. Savvy thought leaders are setting the new tone of what is now being recognized as a fundamental paradigm shift in the way we approach innovation, embracing a move toward exponential and transformational change.

When companies instill foresight and futures thinking into their innovation culture, they are better equipped to see the possibilities and opportunities that are on the horizon, and seize them today.

Access a full and complimentary copy of “The Guide to the Nature Foresight® Framework” here.