The Power of the Long Term Perspective

That’s the title of our pre-conference workshop at the World Future Society conference in Vancouver next month (C-8 on July 8), but what does that title really mean? High-falutin’ words, but will there be substance?
We (workshop leaders Ufuk Tarhan and Verne Wheelwright) think so. This workshop will take you places you’ve thought about and wanted to explore, but haven’t taken the time to actually tackle.

Specifically, how you as an individual fit into the future, or what knowing about the future will do for you.
There will be nothing vague about this workshop. It will be very specific. The workshop will be about leadership (that sounds vague, but you’ll see …); about learning specific futures methods; about applying futures methods to your own life and the lives of your family members, about applying futures methods in your small business or in your career. And overall, the workshop will demonstrate the value and power of a long-term perspective in each of these areas.
Everyone who attends the workshop will receive a copy of my new book, It’s YOUR Future… Make it a Good One! (reviewed by Rick Dockson in the May-June Futurist). During the workshop we will use two workbooks, The Personal Futures Workbook and the Small Business Foresight workbook. Both can be downloaded at www.personalfutures.net . They are in PDF files that permit you to fill in and save your work— and they are free.
You are encouraged to bring your computer with the workbooks loaded, but we will have copies on a memory stick. We will have print copies of the workbooks for those without computers, but you are encouraged to print and bring copies of the workbooks if you are not bringing your computer.
Although Ufuk and I will talk and guide, this is not a lecture. You will be involved, and you will be focused on what is of interest to YOU. At the end of the day, you should have scenarios, vision, strategies and plans for the next ten years.
You may be surprised at what you achieve. No matter how much experience you have with foresight and futures studies, you will learn something new. Both Ufuk and I have been told “Your workshop changed my life!”
That’s something to live up to!