We could start by saying what we know you do not need. You do not need business or management smarts. You have those. If you do not, futurists are not likely to have higher business, management, or sales skills to advise you.
That’s true too for association executives who already know more about the structure, goals, and culture of their associations than a futurist ever will.
So why bring in a futurist? What could the measurable impact possibly be?
A futurist will not immediately increase the sale of your widgets. Nor will he/she substantially increase membership this year. Past experience tells us this is true no matter how farseeing and clever we may as futurists believe ourselves to be.
What can you get, then? What can futurists deliver that is of value and use to you?
We can best describe it as thinking differently. Others have described it as seeing and capturing new insights about the organization and the emerging world it must operate in. Being a better critical thinker by adding power to your decision-making is another description. Bringing in the future enables executive thinkers to re-sort their ideas about when and how a challenge must be faced and dealt with. And so on.
You have to decide where to bring this new power to bear. Who needs to hear from a futurist the most? Who would benefit from working with one, at least briefly? Is there a project that needs the input of someone thinking beyond today? Are there a dearth of opportunities, or so it seems? A futurist can help uncover them with you.
Contact us to discuss how our expertise on the future can meet your needs today.