BM Thinking Out Loud

Reflections on In-Class Future Search Experience

            Having read the Future Search book and experienced the abbreviated exercise in the classroom I see a great deal of similarities between Future Search and Open Space Technology. The differences are clear as well. Having whole groups participate together to experience the event and the discovery and sharing of themselves is a common theme. Also, having the whole group work together on common task and develop concrete actions plans is also similar in both strategies. Including stakeholders from within and outside of the company is also a tactic that both strategies share.

            I understand the premise of getting people to think about their lives in the context of time and of whatever the topic is at hand. This again, gives everyone the opportunity to offer their own perspective, as well as learn about the perspectives of others in the room in order to discover common ground and to learn about how each group impacts or is impacted by the topic or situation at hand.

            I liked the mind-mapping of the important trends and topics that impact the topic at hand and the sharing of each group with the entire group offers everyone the chance to learn about the perspectives and the work of others in the room. The sharing of the ‘prouds’ and ‘sorries’ is also a very worthwhile activity, especially if it is done with a group of people working in the same environment/company. This could break down barriers which may be hindering groups from understanding and working together.

            I like the creative way our facilitators had each group imagine the future of the issue at hand from our own perspectives, as faculty, student, or alumni and then think through what the challenges and successes might be. It was both fun and telling to watch everyone dress up and illustrate the future they envisioned.

            Not having groups tackle the ‘how to’ in this setting is important. This would defiantly stop the creative visioning and side track people from the point of the experience. Like Open Space, people who feel passionate about some issue or task can take ownership of that and work to accomplish it when they are back in their own work environment.

            The experience of Future Search helps to get people to think outside of their usual constraints and to consider perspectives of others. I like the way it enables people to vision together about the future and meld their different experiences together as they work through this process. I believe it encourages global and systems thinking as each person learns from their team mates how changes may impact others and other systems.

            The debrief session the following week was well organized. The Future Search team was able to share the theory and history behind Future Search, as well as expand on the different elements of the process. It was interesting to learn that this intervention works with a group as small as 32 participants and is not only appropriate with larger groups. The team shared some good examples of how this intervention has been implemented and a few ways to use parts of Future Search in other whole group interventions. I know that our group on Open Space will talk compare the two interventions and I even have an example of both of them being used together. I really appreciate the work the Future Search team did in preparing this experience for t he class and how knowledgeable they were on the topic.