Trends & Foresight

We live in volatile and complex times. Everything is in motion. Whether in politics, in society, or with always advancing technologies. It is becoming increasingly hard to keep up. There will be no return to “normal.”

Our futures-thinking approach helps you locate yourself amid the confusion and enables you to act instead of just reacting. It shows you how to plan for an uncertain future and make better decisions in a continually changing world.

Our framework consists of two phases: Orientation and Design. The orientation phase will broaden your horizons to possible and plausible futures based on current trends and developments. In the design phase, we will guide you through envisioning your preferred future and implementing it in your organization, strategy, and products.

1 — Orientation

Researching

We're continually scanning for signals of possible changes and use ethnological methods like interviews to dig deeper into current developments as pointers towards future transformations.

Sensemaking

Based on our trend research experience, we identify patterns to anticipate relevant developments specific to your context. We present each trend with explanations, associated signals, and near-future probabilities to look out for on your radar.

Futuring

From worldbuilding and scenario development to experiential journeys and design fiction, we use various methods to create vivid stories, images, and artifacts of possible futures to explore and evaluate for you, your team, and your organization.

Outcomes & Products

Futures Report	A comprehensive study involving signals, trends, and scenarios around a topic or specific context for your organization, including strategic recommendations. Like our Futures of Healthcare report for a pharmaceutical company
Trend Briefing	Broaden your horizon and discover blind spots in a distinct field with this condensed research document, which will nurture your ideas and help you make better decisions. Examples: We have done trend briefings for topics like digital writing,  the future of care, synthetic media, and many more.
Signals Radar	Continuous scanning for and periodic briefings about new developments over a period of time, including workshops to evaluate and implement fresh insights Example: We’ve kept the Messe Munich up-to-date through the tumultuous  time of the pandemic

Futures Report

A comprehensive study involving signals, trends, and scenarios around a topic or specific context for your organization, including strategic recommendations.

Like our Futures of Healthcare report for a pharmaceutical company

Trend Briefing

Broaden your horizon and discover blind spots in a distinct field with this condensed research document, which will nurture your ideas and help you make better decisions.

Examples: We have done trend briefings for topics like digital writing,  the future of care, synthetic media, and many more.

Signals Radar

Continuous scanning for and periodic briefings about new developments over a period of time, including workshops to evaluate and implement fresh insights

Example: We’ve kept the Messe Munich up-to-date through the tumultuous  time of the pandemic

2 — Design

Vision and Mission

We design your organization's narrative about its preferred future and help you define its role in this future.

Organization and culture

We guide your organization to implement its vision through skills, structures, and culture, first, to set it up for sustainable success.

Strategies and Products

We support your organization in getting the vision on the road through product thinking, including concept development, prototyping, content strategies, etc.

Outcomes & Products

Innovation Advisory	From coaching and training managers and teams to setting up innovation departments – we support the leaders tasked with preparing organizations for the future. We helped launch the WDR Innovation Hub. Take a look
Vision Workshop	This 2-day workshop will lead you and your team through a series of exercises to define and work out an energizing vision of your organization's future. Example: We assisted the government of Karlsruhe in defining its vision  of the city for 2030
Futures Sprint	We work through the whole process from signals to the vision in an intense 3-to-10-day sprint, with periodic input and feedback from you and your team. Example: We guided the Messe Munich through a sprint of identifying  trends and scenarios to imagining its preferred future.

Innovation Advisory

From coaching and training managers and teams to setting up innovation departments – we support the leaders tasked with preparing organizations for the future.

We helped launch the WDR Innovation Hub. Take a look

Vision Workshop

This 2-day workshop will lead you and your team through a series of exercises to define and work out an energizing vision of your organization's future.

Example: We assisted the government of Karlsruhe in defining its vision  of the city for 2030

Futures Sprint

We work through the whole process from signals to the vision in an intense 3-to-10-day sprint, with periodic input and feedback from you and your team.

Example: We guided the Messe Munich through a sprint of identifying  trends and scenarios to imagining its preferred future.

Next up: Examples of our Work

Case Studies

Learn more

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