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Two approaches, two fundamentally different results: step change, breakthrough and transformation - the Future First -, OR the past improved - the Business Norm.
"He who cannot change the very fabric of his thoughts will never
be able to change reality." Anwar Sadat
1) THE FUTURE FIRST: Creating the future starting with the desired future FIRST, then building back to the present.
- We create the desired future, standing in the future, as an architect would, not extrapolating from the past. This create a large gap between what an extrapolation would have given us, and the actual future we have established.
- The planning and strategy process then look back from this desired future to the present, as if standing in an already realized future, and seeks to bridge the gap. This process generates breakthrough projects, that the organization will have to realize to be successful - projects that will drive state changes in the process of being realized.
- In the Future First mindset we are informed by past performance and present competencies and circumstances, not shaped, constrained or limited limited by them. The future we set is a function of what the organization REALLY desires to accomplish, and is willing to go to work on. Perceived obstacles are stated as problems to solve, needing a breakthrough, rather than the occasion to rein back. See "The Future First: 4 Critical Elements".
The Future First goes beyond setting goals. We cannot go back to the way we always
implement and get into action. The Future First has its implementation framework as a necessary companion. Continue. . .
2) THE BUSINESS NORM: forecasting a future by extrapolating from past/present data, with some adjustments.
- Businesses' standard approach, starts with the present, extrapolates from it into the future, improving it and fixing known problems. The
limit of what is considered to be possible is set by how far from the
current results organizations are able to envisage. In this model no
amount of improvement of the turbo prop engine will produce jet engine
performance. See "The Business Norm".
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The Future First
The Future created: a "mesh" of invention, and existing knowledge and data, leading to what we REALLY want.
THE BUSINESS NORM
The Future extrapolated, driven by data and knowledge, what's reasonable, what history says we can do. Ends up being a compromise, and lacks inspiration.
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