- To be recognized and validated as a forward-thinking CIO, you must establish a structured approach to innovation that considers external trends as well as internal processes.
- The CEO is expecting an investment in IT innovation to yield either cost reduction or revenue growth, but growth cannot happen without opportunity identification.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Technological innovation is disrupting business models – and it’s happening faster than organizations can react.
- Smaller, more agile organizations have an advantage because they have less resources tied to existing operations and can move faster.
Impact and Result
- Be the disruptor, not the disrupted. This blueprint will help you plan proactively and identify opportunities before your competitors.
- Strategic foresight gives you the tools you need to effectively process the signals in your environment, build an understanding of relevant trends, and turn this understanding into action.
Establish a Foresight Capability Research & Tools
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out how to effectively apply strategic foresight, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.Besides the small introduction, subscribers and consulting clients within this management domain have access to:
- Establish a Foresight Capability – Phases 1-4
1. Signal gathering
Develop a better understanding of your external environment and build a database of signals.
- Establish a Foresight Capability – Phase 1: Signal Gathering
- Foresight Process Tool
2. Trends and drivers
Select and analyze trends to uncover drivers.
- Establish a Foresight Capability – Phase 2: Trends and Drivers
3. Scenario building
Use trends and drivers to build plausible scenarios and brainstorm strategic initiatives.
- Establish a Foresight Capability – Phase 3: Scenario Building
4. Idea selection
Apply the wind tunneling technique to assess strategic initiatives and determine which are most likely to succeed in the face of uncertainty.
- Establish a Foresight Capability – Phase 4: Idea Selection
Workshop: Establish a Foresight Capability
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
1 Pre-workshop – Gather Signals and Build a Repository
The Purpose
Note: this is preparation for the workshop and is not offered onsite.
Gather relevant signals that will inform your organization about what is happening in the external competitive environment.
Key Benefits Achieved
A better understanding of the competitive landscape.
Activities
1.1 Gather relevant signals.
1.2 Store signals in a repository for quick and easy recall during the workshop.
Outputs
A set of signal items ready for analysis
2 Identify Trends and Uncover Drivers
The Purpose
Uncover trends in your environment and assess their potential impact.
Determine the causal forces behind relevant trends to inform strategic decisions.
Key Benefits Achieved
An understanding of the underlying causal forces that are influencing a trend that is affecting your organization.
Activities
2.1 Cluster signals into trends.
2.2 Analyze trend impact and select a key trend.
2.3 Perform causal analysis.
2.4 Select drivers.
Outputs
A collection of relevant trends with a key trend selected
A set of drivers influencing the key trend with primary drivers selected
3 Build Scenarios and Ideate
The Purpose
Leverage your understanding of trends and drivers to build plausible scenarios and apply them as a canvas for ideation.
Key Benefits Achieved
A set of potential responses or reactions to trends that are affecting your organization.
Activities
3.1 Build scenarios.
3.2 Brainstorm potential strategic initiatives (ideation).
Outputs
Four plausible scenarios for ideation purposes
A potential strategic initiative that addresses each scenario
4 Apply Wind Tunneling and Select Ideas
The Purpose
Assess the various ideas based on which are most likely to succeed in the face of uncertainty.
Key Benefits Achieved
An idea that you have tested in terms of risk and uncertainty.
An idea that can be developed and pitched to the business or stored for later use.
Activities
4.1 Assign probabilities to scenarios.
4.2 Apply wind tunneling.
4.3 Select ideas.
4.4 Discuss next steps and prototyping.
Outputs
A strategic initiative (idea) that is ready to move into prototyping