FIF Series EP 62 - World Building - Part 1 - Foundations of Future Worlds

Strategic worldbuilding transcends fiction to become a powerful foresight tool that helps organizations visualize complex futures and prepare for multiple scenarios. By creating detailed, interconnected future worlds, leaders can test strategies, identify opportunities, and anticipate potential disruptions before they occur.

• Worldbuilding requires creating detailed, consistent and immersive future scenarios with clearly defined rules
• Science fiction has influenced reality – Star Trek inspired smartphones, Blade Runner shaped AI ethics discussions
• Effective scenarios must reflect the interconnectivity between technology, society, economy, environment, and governance
• Start by identifying a core strategic question your worldbuilding will explore
• Sketch the main elements of your future world across key categories before mapping their interactions
• Avoid making scenarios too vague (lacking actionable insights) or too specific (quickly irrelevant)
• Balance current trends with challenging scenarios that push organizational assumptions
• Communicate your future worlds effectively using storytelling techniques to bridge abstract foresight with concrete action

Join us for the next episode where we'll explore mapping future worlds through trends, drivers and complex systems.

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🎧 Listen Now On:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.