What is Foresight, and why do associations need to use it?

What is Foresight, and why do associations need to use it?

By Hannes Combest, FASAE, CAE and Bob London, FASAE, CAE

Every single day, we do something in our lives to prepare ourselves for the future. It may be as simple as brushing your teeth to prevent cavities or going to the gas station to fill up so that you will be able to transport yourself to where you need to go.

How often do association executives take time to think about the future of our organizations? How many of us were prepared for the situation that presented itself to us four years ago when the pandemic closed the world? Very few of us thought that a pandemic would cause the chaos that it did. In the blink of an eye, our lives changed.

In 2017, the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) began to publish a research-based program called ForesightWorks, designed to help organizations systematically think through the future of their organization. ASAE had historically issued Environmental Scanning publications, typically out-of-date as soon as the publications were printed. ForesightWorks is different as it is designed to consistently be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

ForesightWorks is based on 50 Drivers of Change, signals that have been researched as relevant to our world today and are used in multiple ways. Four-page action briefs, all of which are laid out similarly, form the basis of ForesightWorks. Page one of the action brief includes a summary of the Driver of Change and several forecasts for what will occur in the near and far term future. Page two contains supporting trends supplied to ASAE from the professional futurist research firm. Page three contains strategic insights designed to help jumpstart your or your Board’s brainstorming activities, and page four provides “take action” steps again to help you with your Foresight Journey.

The ForesightWorks User’s Guide, created by a team of futurists and practicing association executives, provides powerful, practical, and easy-to-use tools. It is designed to fit seamlessly into the lives of all who work in this profession, providing reassurance and ease.

There are four reasons for associations to use ForesightWorks:

1. Strategic Planning—Leaders today must be able to anticipate the change that will occur over the next seven to ten years in order to prepare for a new future.
2. Risk Analysis—Leaders today must become more proactive about potential regulation and vulnerabilities.
3. Anticipatory Learning—Education has always been core to many associations’ missions. Today, it is essential for association members to prepare themselves for a rapidly changing workforce, with new technology and cultural changes occurring.
4. Innovation and Business Development. By keeping their eye on the future, association leadership can spot the need for innovative products and services used by their organization.

By using ForesightWorks or any other process designed to investigate the future, associations can proactively influence their own future. This proactive approach can make association executives feel more prepared and less reactive, ready to face whatever the future may bring.

Over the next few months, we’ll continue to look at these four ways that ForesightWorks can be used to give you some hints about how to use them effectively in your own organizations.