Verne Wheelwright's blog

No matter how well you plan for your (or your organization’s) future, change will happen. Possibilities will emerge that didn’t exist or weren’t plausible at the time you made your plan. So what do you do?

Embrace the new possibilities!

Change your plan!

What if everyone understood the concepts of futuring? Can you imagine if everyone thought about and understood the consequences of their actions before they acted? That one, tiny piece of future thinking would probably have a sizeable impact on the world, because people do a lot of dumb things simply because they have not thought about the consequences.
Let’s take it another step. What if most people seriously thought about their own futures, understood the potential, and acted to achieve the future they wanted. That might change the world!

A strategy is simply how to do something. Some strategies are better than others, so it’s worthwhile to take the time to understand which life strategies will be best for you. While you are thinking of strategies, consider goals and tasks. These are terms that are tossed around in business, but not always clearly understood.

The first thing to understand is that a vision is a destination in your future. A vision is what you see as your life in the future. If you haven’t thought about your life in the future, now is a good time!

The two types of forces that will affect your life are the internal forces and the external forces. The internal forces are the forces that are part of your life, every day, throughout your life. The external forces are found in the world around you and may occur locally, nationally, or internationally. These are the forces of change in your life, and each will have an impact over time.

Stakeholders are the people (and sometimes the institutions) who can have an impact on your life and your future. Stakeholders are also those who will be impacted by your life and your actions, now and in the future.

Start with your family and close friends. If you have children who are under ten years old, during the next ten years they will become teenagers. That will have an impact on your life!

When I was a student in the Futures Studies program at the University of Houston Clear Lake (Class of 2000), there was considerable concern among students about how they would build a career from what they had learned. Some would apply what they learned to their current career, others expected to become consultants (internal or external). A few hoped to be professional speakers or writers.

The World Future Society has a theme for this year’s conference in Toronto:
DREAM, DESIGN, DEVELOP and DELIVER.
A very appropriate theme for futurists. So I’m going to jump right to the point, Deliver. Because that’s what I’ve been working on for several months. So here’s the headline:
Es TU Futuro and O SENIN Gelecegin.

The Wall Street Journal (4/22/12) headlined the story “A Quixotic Quest to Mine Asteroids,” about a number of well known, respected individuals who have formed a company (Planetary Resources, Inc.) to search for natural resources in space, with the potential to mine asteroids.
Very exciting!

For me, 2011 was highlighted by two events. The first was a trip to the global HRD Conference in Mumbai to talk about Leadership and the Long Term Perspective. This was very well received and I came home with a plaque, trophy, video and terrific memories. The second event was in July when I flew to Vancouver for the WFS conference and The APF meeting. A great time with old and new friends in one of my favorite cities.