The Wicked Opportunities Podcast

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Check yourself before you wreck yourself”? It certainly seems like a lot of governments and organizations have never listened to Hip Hop, and that lack of awareness is making us an Endangered Species. (Two Ice Cube hits, and we’ve barely gotten started!) Without being able to reflect deeply on our own thoughts, feelings, and desires, we can’t possibly hope to effec...

“Hey, Yvette and Frank, I’ve been loving how you’re demonstrating the connection between the Inner Development Goals and a futurist mindset, but what does “being present” have to do with foresight?” We’re glad you asked! (And, no, you won’t have to take a self-help course on multi-tasking.) In this final podcast in the “Being” domain, our “what lies ahead wayfarers” explore how practicing the act...

A famous axiom states that “If you never know, you’ll never grow; if you don’t grow, you’ve got no place to go.” (OK, we just made that up, but it’s pretty catchy… right?) Even if it isn’t an actual timeless idiom, the sentiment holds true - when we’re open to learning and expanding our field of knowledge instead of becoming closed to ideas that shake up our cherished worldviews, we discover ideas...

In a zeitgeist of extreme tribalism and partisanship, it may seem that having integrity and authenticity means standing firm in your worldviews no matter how they might impact those around you. The truth is that acting with sincerity has much more to do with the ability to be vulnerable due to the maturity that comes with a deeply developed identity that is not easily threatened or manipulated. Fo...

Welcome to 23 and Me , a series that explores the synergy between Foresight and the 23 skills and qualities that comprise the Inner Development Goals . The IDGs represent the inner capacity needed to deal with the increasingly complex environment and challenges represented by the Sustainable Development Goals and also mirror the inner skills needed to be a robust futures thinker. Join Futurists Yv...

When it seems hard to think about the future with intention. When you feel surprised by events that could have been easily imagined, when nostalgia for the future seems impossible to embrace, if you or a loved one have struggled with any of these symptoms, you may have Foresight Deficit Syndrome. FDS can be hard to manage using the well-worn approaches in our present-day systems, but help is avail...

We are fond of saying that foresight is a team sport, but what happens if you are the sole player on your squad? Whether because of funding constraints or due to a lack of organizational support, navigating foresight implementation all alone can feel overwhelming. How do you build a futures thinking culture and avoid burn out you while wearing all of the hats in your foresight practice? Join Frank...

The ideological war that has raged between the youth and the traditional environments that they are born into is nothing new. However, our present-day “meta crisis” - the confluence of climate change, supply chain disruption, authoritarian governance, digital misinformation, extreme economic inequality, and a rising sense of impending global armed conflict - is stirring our youth to become more in...

Welcome on board! Let's go on a metaphorical flight from the turbulence of prediction to the friendly skies of perception, recounting every foresight practitioner’s most agonizing journey - the screening process of organizational professionals who demand that we pack a crystal ball. Join us in the airport lounge of podcasts where you’ll be upgraded to a status beyond traditional forecasting,...

While an organization may care about the “future of hair care in-shower,” framing our future thinking efforts around immediate concerns and very short time horizons will only reinforce organizational blinders that result in missed opportunities. Instead of doubling down on near term trends like #nopoomovement, we must stretch our thinking to address provocative ideas that open our eyes to the real...

Traditional long term planning does not really consider the future; it extrapolates the past. Often our Five Year Plans include only an asterisk  alluding to future "threats" and "opportunities." It's time to stop making the future just a footnote. 

It was the great civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer that said, “Nobody’s free until everybody is free.” We would add that unless everybody is empowered to think proactively about our collective tomorrows, then we will continue to see foresight treated as a luxury for the privileged few who control the future. In other words, nobody is empowered until all voices are included in futures thinking....

How do we explore the future if we are tethered to today? Framing our foresight efforts can be a challenging balance of the "right now" and the "what's possible." Hear Frank and Yvette share how they've helped clients expand their vision beyond the obvious.

Foresight inspiration can come from anywhere, and Disney's hit film Encanto is a great example. The movie is a tale of an enchanted family with a painful secret: Bruno, their prophetic uncle, has become a sore subject for the household and villagers alike due to their negative view of his visionary gift. What can we learn from Bruno's prognostications, his exile, and the lessons learned...

What have you done for me lately? Today's short attention spans usually result in clients asking practitioners to reduce a 100-year old discipline into pithy soundbites and back-of-the-napkin explanations.  As frustrating as this can be, it is possible to drive home the benefits of long-term thinking in a short period of time.  Short interventions can drive big impact, and can open the door t...

We introduce our special, year-long collection with a "good bye" instead of a "hello." Join Frank and Yvette as they share lessons from client engagements that didn't go as planned. Learn how Frank's failures in journalism, supply chain management, and construction led to his success as a foresight professional. ;)

Victor Frankenstein created a single body out of spare parts, but we need to create a set of products, services and experiences out of many different bodies. Listen in as Yvette and Frank give life to "Tik Tok education," open source research and environments of play that expand the laboratory of science to the masses. A new perspective on being alive is awaiting us all!

“Trust the science!” But what if the science hasn’t traditionally included me? Mapping the future to our Wicked Opportunity requires us to consider simultaneous multiples: resilient, adaptive, and transformative paths forward. We challenge our institutions to clean up their act, call for more inclusionary scientific practices, and consider a world in which science moves beyond the STEM silos. You...

Did these trends start in a petri dish, or did they emerge from the broader social landscape outside the lab? Our scan hits this month include designer babies, citizen science, the billionaire space race, and gamers saving the world.  Does the research point to more “cowboy science” or are there signs of more inclusive experimentation on the horizon? Join us to find out!

Welcome to Victor Frankenstein’s foreboding lair strewn with insane equations, strange artifacts and miscellaneous body parts. Is Frankenstein a lone genius unlocking the mysteries of life for the benefit of humankind, or a mad scientist seeking to fashion the world in his own image? The masses certainly want to attack his monstrous laboratory with torches and pitchforks, but what if we instead us...

To see like an alien requires us, "to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!" Join Yvette and Frank as they prototype "out of this world" metrics, messages, and modifications to the human experience. By naming these formerly "unidentified future ontologies," we hope to make believers out of ev...

When mapping the future, there are so many possibilities that we don’t have the Space or the Time to Continuum.  However, it is hard to ignore the obvious alien in the room which has invaded every facet of our lives for the last 18 months. Whether we build a wall, create a herd, or foster an empathic mutation a successful, sustainable response to this novel virus will require that we embrace &quot...

The truth is out there, and it's not for the faint of heart. The search will surely result in the unearthing of aliens, but you may find that embracing uncertainty and curiosity is even scarier. Join Agents Salvatico and Spencer as they attempt to make first contact with topics such as disgust, exclusion, and our place in the cosmos. As we comb through all of these X-Files, what weak signals...

"Take cover! It's the little green men!" That's what those who claim to have seen aliens in the famous "Close Encounter at Kelly, Kentucky" in 1955 might have said. Of course, alien visitations have been documented around the world, and stories of invaders from outer space continue to supercharge our imaginations (and our hysteria). Why do we fear these "others&q...

You know the drill: to stop a zombie, you must "shoot the head or you'll be dead." However, a headshot in the landscape of the Global Brain takes on a whole new meaning. Instead of simply  eliminating anything that threatens to consume our cognitive capabilities, we can design a world where products, services and experiences expand our collective imagination. Join Yvette and Frank a...