Futures Work

Futures Work is still considered somewhat esoteric since it deals with the yet-to-come, the unknowable. In a world that deals usually in facts or fiction, and right or wrong, futures are all probability and possibility.

I can relate to that. I am an engineer by training. In my formative years, I was surrounded and immersed by the mechanistic ideas of natural sciences, and these perspectives were imprinted on me.

Naturally, when it comes to Futures, my engineer part is one of the lenses to look at, deconstruct, and rebuild concepts and ideas.

In my work as a futurist, one of the most recurring questions is: how do we foster and nourish the agency and efficacy in people, and organizations needed to get necessary transformations going? How do we overcome resistance to change?

Ultimately all those questions revolve around one fundamental concept of physics: Energy.

The first law of thermodynamics

Energy is one of the most extensive concepts in the world of natural science. It is one of the parts of physics that just swipe over the borders between Newtonian and quantum physics.

Also in our daily lives, we refer to energy in a variety of circumstances. We as people are low in energy, our metabolism is calculated in energy, we sense a certain energy (or the lack of it) in a room. Energy is everywhere.

That leads us to the first fundamental law in thermodynamics, the science studying the relationship between heat, work, temperature, and energy.

Energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only be converted.

Building on systems theory, that we are anticipatory systems, that take futures state into account when taking present action, we can assume, that we have a system inherent energy that is connected to our futures. This is not valid only on a personal level, but on an organizational level as well.

This system's immanent energy is a potential energy. It has no direction, and cannot move masses into any direction. Or to keep the physics slang going here: potential energy does not help us overcome the inertia of masses, that hinder movement.

To loop it back to a futures process: the system's immanent energy does not help us in creating change and transformation, we need to convert it first.

One fundamental way of transforming energies is to apply work.

Work is a form of energy

Work in physics is defined by applying a Force over a distance in a defined direction. Therefore Futures Work has of course on the one hand the directionality (towards the yet-to-come) and on the other hand the need for a Force.

That means Futures Work demands that we actively and deliberately immerse in futures, we need to force ourselves to think about, anticipate, immerse, and let emerge the yet-to-come.

The potential energy, the one immanent in us as systems, and the systems around us is significant. To be able to transform this energy, the amount of work applied needs to be bigger, than the amount of potential energy stored.

To create the magnitude of energy we need to reach those transformative states, it is not enough to build on our anticipatory behavior, we practice it in our everyday lives and businesses.

We need to scale up the force.

To be able to do this, we need to create spaces and times, where we as individuals but also as organizations, can do the Futures Work, we need.

Futures Work needs to be recognized as what it is - work.

Futures Work - a standard process

Recognizing that Futures Work is labor-intensive and essential for creating the energy needed for transformation, underlines that there is nothing esoteric about futures at all.

For individuals and organizations to engage in this work effectively, we must create spaces and allocate time and other necessary resources.

Futures Work needs to be integrated as a standard process in our everyday lives, weaving through all parts of our lives.

Only by acknowledging futures work as work, and investing the necessary resources and effort into it, can we harness the full potential of anticipatory thinking and drive meaningful change towards desired futures.

Coda - Embracing the complexity of Futures

It's essential to recognize that while the analogies from physics provide helpful insights into the concept of futures work, they inherently simplify the complexities of navigating future uncertainties.

Future studies encompass a myriad of socio-economic, cultural, and political factors that cannot be fully encapsulated by simple comparisons to physical laws. By acknowledging the limitations of these analogies and delving into potential challenges and criticisms, we can cultivate a more nuanced understanding of futures work.

Embracing diverse perspectives and recognizing the multifaceted nature of future work is crucial for effectively harnessing anticipatory thinking and driving meaningful change towards desired futures.

Hi,

I am Eva Tomas Casado, futurist by nature, engineer by training, and philosopher by heart. With Simple Thinking I am exploring the intersections of these three realms to deduct and induce new ways of acting on futures. Join me!