Futures Folks

People who think about futures for a living are an almost indefinable group of people. They come from all walks of life, with unique experiences and a curious mindset, and are open to difference and the new.

I fell into foresight in 1999 - that's how it felt - when I was asked to integrate it into my then university's strategy development process. Before that I was on the ladder for a top-level (whatever that is) job as a university manager. But finding foresight changed my life. I left the sector in 2007 to work on foresight and futures full-time - and what a journey that has been.

The favourite part of that journey has been the people I have met. Starting with my boss, Stephen Murby, who gave me free rein to set up a foresight framework in a hostile environment at Swinburne University (scary), Richard Slaughter who came to Swinburne to teach futures, followed closely by Joe Voros, Peter Hayward and Marcus Barber. These people shaped my understanding of foresight and I couldn't have be…