Are We Futures-Washing?

— We want to think about alternative scenarios. Still, we do not have time to do research, we do not have time to reflect on what we consider desirable or undesirable, we do not have room to make conjectures about the future, nor do we have time to take a course (neither long nor short) to learn how to use these tools. We want to say that we had a workshop on a cool topic. — It sounds like a joke, but it is an anecdote. I hear this very often.

I collaborate with a higher education institution that offers, among other services, research, and facilitation of processes to increase the future readiness of many organizations. As part of this work, we create and guide training experiences, ideate alternative scenarios and inspirational experiences around futures visions, and create strategies to manage medium and long-term changes.

Throughout these years, I have worked for organizations of different scales, with diverse interests and a common concern for learning how to surf uncertainty. Each project has allowed us to face new challenges and develop new skills to respond to those challenges.

And, shall I tell you something? I am concerned about the increasing recurrence with which many organizations (not all) are interested in futures studies and its tools as a continuation of design thinking, more as "flavor of the month" to appear trendy, without the genuine interest in exercising systems thinking, long-term thinking, strategic thinking, creativity, and intergenerational justice. It’s the same as buying and using the latest exercise machine as a towel rack (mea culpa).

I see nothing wrong with flirting with concepts or ways of thinking that seem exotic and flamboyant to us; that's better than ignoring, but more is needed for the tools of future studies to have a meaningful effect on people’s and organizations’ lives.

This superficial use of the future as a buzzword and not as a commitment to realize the most desirable scenarios is nothing more than futures washing, a marketing practice designed to create a facade of responsibility for the long term. It sounds like a paradox, but it is an irony: futures washing nests where presentism (an inflamed, perpetual present that prevents us from seeing other possibilities) is exacerbated.

Suppose your organization is interested in becoming literate in powerful resources such as environmental analysis, trend analysis, horizon analysis, long-term scenario development, futures wheels…