The Futurist's Mind-set

You now have the futurist framework (the four forces of change) established in Know, the futurist's process (the Zone of Discovery) as described in New, and the 5 Percent Rule that tells you how to build the time and space to accommodate futurist thinking in your organization, as detailed in Do.

But being a futurist is as much a mind-set as it is a knowledge and practice set. It comprises an attitude and spirit that balances an enthusiasm for human potential with a need for practical application. The futurist mind-set requires openness, but loves discipline. It is committed to responsible and purposeful stewardship of all human endeavors, and the futurist always considers the long-term implications of his or her actions. The following is a partial list of the attitudes and behaviors that the futurist mind-set comprises.

Drop Assumptions and Agendas

The only assumption a futurist lives with is that any of us, at any given time, has only a partial view of reality. In fact, one of the core responsibilities of a futurist is to question assumptions at the start of any project in order to define those that will guide the work.

This directive also includes the harder task of letting go of ideologies. Ideologies are a different kind of assumption that runs deep and influences perception in unconscious ways. They wrap themselves around a belief in how things should be, and prevent perception of the world as it is.

Your ability to see what's on the horizon and recognize new ideas and opportunities can only come when you let go of preformed interpretations of reality. You want to keep your inquiry as pure as possible on the front end, for that is what will lead you to making true discoveries.

Practice Curiosity and Courage

Curiosity opens minds, hearts, and doors. And there is nothing more valuable than that.

When you come across something you don't understand, apply curiosity. Doing so will automatically light up both sides of the brain. The left brain gets to work analyzing the situation and looks for an underlying logic that explains it in terms you understand. At the same time, the right brain starts to consider, in a kind of play, new views of the situation, and poses new questions: What if I look over here? What if that's not true? How would it be if I turned it upside down or put it in a completely new set of conditions? Because curiosity yokes the best problem-solving capacities from each side of the brain, it should be your go-to tool whenever you feel stuck.

The other reason that curiosity is so valuable is that it energizes people. It ignites passion and purpose and inspires contribution from others. It is also an empathy enhancer, and opens people's hearts to other points of view, a critical part of the learning (and implementation) process. Curiosity is both fierce and friendly; it is inherently positive and is future focused; it melts cynicism and builds bridges.

Yet, without courage, curiosity will wither and become complacent, if not defeated. The good news is that, like creativity, courage is not a “gift” that some people have and others don't, but a capability we all possess. All you need is to start using it.

Use it every day. Choose to overcome resistance, no matter how small it may seem: make a decision; speak up; reach out. The more you practice courage, the more accustomed you'll become to relying on it when faced with hard choices or uncertainties. Begin with your First Movable Piece and then continue to practice curiosity and courage as you move forward.

Save “How” for Last

This is the essence of the “Before you get practical, you have to get philosophical” maxim introduced at the beginning of this book. You have to have a clear What before you can work out How you're going to get it done; but before you get to What, you have to spend some time posing Why questions first.

The ZoD is designed to satisfy these questions in just this sequence. It begins first with a step back for perspective so that you can identify what your Best Questions will be. The Best Questions bring you to the Maximum Value Scenario—your What—followed by Plan in Reverse, which, finally, gets you to your How.

Why, What, and How are answered in the left brain–right brain–left brain process in the ZoD. This bears repeating: remember not to fall into the familiar trap of trying to figure out How something is going to work before you've investigated, then committed to, exactly What it is you are doing.

Focusing on How too early in the process guarantees that you will get stuck. This is the reason that so many conversations and meetings become circular, which only frustrates people's goodwill and wastes their time.

It's the left brain's craving for certainty that keeps pushing How back into the conversation. As a futurist, you must exercise discipline: whenever the urge to figure out How creeps back in, simply table it until you're at the end of the process.

Be Comfortable with Ambiguity

You'll need a high tolerance for ambiguity when you insist that you follow Why, What, and How in a disciplined sequence. The journey through the ZoD is an exploratory process, and purposely includes subjects and experiences that are unfamiliar. You don't know what you'll discover as you go; the only thing you can do is trust the process.

Later, in the tinkering phase that follows the ZoD, when you're fully immersed in How, you'll still benefit from a comfort with ambiguity, knowing that, through each iteration, your execution grows more efficient. The simple truth is that the only way to really know how to do something is to start doing it.

Suspend Judgment

“I try not to judge each show individually; rather, I look at it as the next piece in a whole body of work.” My good friend Julia Fischer, who is a stage director, said this after a particularly thrilling opening performance of her adaptation of Wuthering Heights. This perspective enables her to avoid the defeating expectation that a show would be perfect, and instead to focus on the long arc of her development over time. What was she learning? What was she interested in? What ideas, processes, and aesthetic touches were becoming more refined, and which was she deciding to let go? Cumulatively, the succession of choices and edits defined her path and her mark as a director, and, one work at a time, answered who she is and where she's going.

Julia's comment reflects what artists know about allowing curiosity to lead them in their work. Because art engages directly with who the artist is and where he or she is going, and measures the pursuit in projects—paintings, shows, books, songs—artists trust that each project will yield new discoveries. As businesspeople and innovators, you will be well served if you adopt a similar approach to your work.

Artists fear failure as much as anyone else (though, sometimes, more dramatically). But taking the long view on “a body of work,” as Julia described it, is an antidote to the need to judge and dismiss your work based on the outcomes of a single project.

The bottom line is this: don't let disappointment derail you.

Accept that criticism is the bosom buddy of disappointment and that it will be your companion, too. Know that disappointment and criticism are a natural part of performance of all kinds; just be careful that you don't relate to it as judgment.

Judgment, a determination of someone's or something's value, kills futurist thinking. Judgment declares, “I understand everything I need to about X, and nothing I learn is likely to change my point of view.”

Your brain craves the kind of certainty that judgment presents, so, especially when you're doing something you've never done before, you want to do all you can to protect against it. Here's the secret: whenever you feel judgment creeping in, turn to curiosity and courage to help you. They act like kryptonite against judgment, which will back down whenever you return your focus to learning.