Back to the Future (But With Strategy, Not a DeLorean)
What does a successful future outcome look like? This is the one consideration that’s either missed entirely or glossed over during most foresight work. Don’t sell yourself or your organization short by skipping this! Reminder: We make decisions every day that shape the future. Make these decisions with a desired outcome in mind and a plan in place using backcasting.
Backcasting helps us create a clear roadmap for reaching long-term objectives by focusing on the end goal rather than being limited by current constraints. It helps us identify what’s needed today to make the future you want tomorrow a reality.
How To Backcast:
Determine what a successful future outcome looks like for you
Set up your backcasting effort by starting with your desired future & date (feel free to use the template below)
Work backwards to the present, considering what would be required for this future to come to life. We repeat, start from the desired future, do not start from today. See above in bold on why! → Aim to identify 2-3 milestones for each period that would be required to get to this future → Keep the STEEP categories in mind to make sure your milestones cover a broad range of factors
Start taking actions to meet those milestones
