If your organization wants to be prepared for the future, it must have an eye for what is happening in the contextual environment. Especially for those developments, events and deviations from trends which the organization cannot influence directly, but that do have an impact the organization. An exploration of trends can involve employees as well as experts and outsiders: everybody’s knowledge, expertise and imaginative power is valuable. Nothing should be excluded from trendwatching: it is useful to focus on as broadly a spectrum of subjects as possible, and not just on the facts, but also on ideas, opinions and observations, such as demographic, economic, ecological, political, technological and social-economic developments. Subsequently, driving forces and key uncertainties in relation to these development can be mapped. This enables better insight into the contextual environment and leads to new and better strategic questions.
De Ruijter Strategy can carry out an exploration of trends for you or provide support with your own exploration, for example by interviewing experts or facilitating a brainstorming session.
Exploring trends is often the first step in a future exploration. Based on the extent of uncertainty how a trend will develop into the future, we can combine trends in a worthwhile manner to a number of distinct and complex images of the future: scenarios. These scenarios outline different worlds in which the organization could find itself in, but which it cannot influence itself. The use of scenarios mobilizes knowledge and imaginative power of the organization. This makes dreams and nightmares discussible and appeals to the ratio as well as to emotions. Constructing scenarios is not an end in itself; they are a tool for structuring and giving meaning to information so that people in the organization can take better thought-out decisions. Thus, scenarios give better insight into future risks and opportunities.
De Ruijter Strategy is an expert in trendwatching as well as conceptualizing and developing scenarios and can assist you in any way desired.
