Applying Strategic Foresight to Organisational Change

Does your organisation suffer what Futurists call ‘Operational Sleepwalking’? That most organisations (and people) willingly sleepwalk their way into their futures is not all that surprising. What is surprising about that however is that those people and those organisations are: * Surprised when something unexpected (and not to their liking) happens and, * Claim they had no alternative Tackling this all too pervasive mindset Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber will be presenting at the Centre for Organisational Development OD Professionals Network on the 24th of October, looking at how Organisational Development, HR and Learning & Teaching Managers can leverage Strategic Foresight to assist their organisations. The link to the evening can be found at the website where you can also register for the event – www.cfod.com.au. A summary of the evening follows here:

 

The role of a Strategic Futurist is to wake the organisation out of its slumber so that it can make better operational choices for the future.  Strategic foresight is at its core, the act of Organisational Development for emerging operational needs.  Where typical planning and learning and development is focused on improving existing skill sets, Future Studies nudges the focus into the space where the organisation can begin to prepare BEFORE a skill set is required.  Strategic Foresight can play a key part of leading an Organisational Development Framework.

The session will introduce you to some of the key concepts of Strategic Futures and their use in developing capabilities for organisations and individuals.  You’ll be offered a clear choice – continue sleepwalking into the future and deal with the ‘nasty surprises’ or set your own alarm clock so that your organisation is ready ahead of when the challenge hits!

To register for this event please click here.

Registrations close on Friday 19 October 2007

Australian Strategic Planning Institute work shop in Sydney fully booked

Dec 7, 2008

The Advanced one day Strategic Planning Workshop in Sydney on the 11th of December at Rydges World Square is now fully booked For inquiries about the next series of dates for the 2009 series, keep an eye out on The Australian Strategic Planning Institute website at www.taspi.com.au or contact us via email here

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Heading down the drain with the ‘4 Minute Shower’

Nov 16, 2008

Every now and again what sounds like a really good idea turns out to be less beneficial than what was hoped for. There’s lots of talk right now about technology solutions and ways in which societies can change the way they use water – there’s conferences and ‘talkfests’ a plenty featuring many of the industry…

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Blackwood 8 fundraiser assists the Ludwig Institute for Cancer research

Nov 3, 2008

The second annual fund raiser was held in late October and attended by almost 300 people. Marcus Barber offers a brief update: The Blackwood 8 commitee put together a great fund raiser on behalf of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Melbourne. With a delightful crowd warm up by Greg Champion of the ‘Coodabeen…

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Regional Produce Summit slides now available

Oct 21, 2008

The slides used as part of Marcus Barber’s key note address to the Regional Produce Summit are now available via the link below   Held at the Wangaratta Gateway Motel (and the first conference event staged in its very impressively redsigned function room) the conference brought together a range of speakers to discuss culinary tourism,…

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Victorian State Culinary Tourism Conference in Wangaratta

Oct 2, 2008

Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber will be kicking off proceedings at the 2008 Regional Produce Summit in Wangaratta on the 20th of October where he’ll detail some of the emerging issues likely to impact upon the tourism and food sector in the foreseeable future and suggest ways that businesses in the sector might be able to…

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Eco Industrial Parks & Community Development

Oct 2, 2008

Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber will both key note and act as Master of Ceremonies at the Lockhart Industrial symposium on the 9th of October, in Lockhart NSW. Marcus will discuss the clear business advantages that Eco Industrial parks provide to businesses, the way that symbiotic supply chains work to improve business resilience and the way…

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Marcus Barber discussing the Future on 774 ABC Melbourne

Sep 20, 2008

Marcus Barber joined host Tim Cox and co-host, author and writer Andrew Peglar on the Conversation hour to muse about the types of futures one might expect to see in coming years.   After Tim asked for clarification between a General, Theoretical and Strategic Futurist, Andrew kicked off with a question over the singularity.  The…

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Your Future Requires Planning – and so does ours!

Sep 4, 2008

Members of the Futures Foundation and the AFFA will be congregating in Pearl Beach in the coming weeks to consider the state of play in the Australian Futures community. Given the emerging challenges in Australia and around the world, the futures community requires just as much serious contemplation and forethought as does any one  …

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Robots of the Future

Jul 22, 2008

One of our many Nordic watchers, Are Thorsteinsson, has posted the Future Matters segment looking at the future of robotics, along with marking up full language captions in Danish. Although a couple of years old now, the early signs listed in this segment are only now coming into more mainstream focus Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber…

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Asking the unaskable question – Do we have a right not to die?

Jun 25, 2008

Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber has contributed a chapter to Volume Five of the ‘Death and Anti-Death’ Anthology which has just been published by Ria University. With contributors including Aubrey de Grey and Kevin Kelly and edited by Dr. Charles Tandy, Volume Five in the series is dedicated to the memory of Loren Eiseley, the renowned…

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