Think Like a Futurist (PDF)

Push past resistance to discover and own new business
territories

Think Like a Futurist shows how to track changes, explore
questions, and engage in new thinking that connects today's
pressures with tomorrow's realities. Cecily Sommers shows how to
apply long-term focus and strategies to needs as diverse as
industry forecasts, innovation challenges, leadership development,
or future-proofing a brand. By understanding intersecting
potentials that one day may impact your organization, you can
readily spot emerging trends and market shifts, uncovering
opportunities on the horizon.

Think Like a Futurist explores such questions as: Where
will new markets emerge over the next 5-10-25 years? What will be
the big issues of the day? How will lifestyle, social mores, and
policy adapt? And what role do we play in that future?

* Offers a clear framework for thinking like a futurist, and
direction for how to integrate it in high-pressure corporate
environments

* Explains how the social, economic, and environmental crises of
our time spring from just four constant and predictable forces

* Reveals the three dramatic disruptions on the horizon that
should be a part of every strategic conversation

* Written by Cecily Sommers the Founder and President of The Push
Institute, a non-profit think tank that tracks significant global
trends and their implications for business, government, and
non-profit.

Filled with tools and models for a new world, this book should
be required reading for strategists and innovators across
disciplines.

"Refreshing. A book that does not follow today's
push to be 'innovative' just to snag attention because
of the current hot trending keyword. Matter of fact, Cecily
Sommers' book works to get us away from simply identifying
and going for a ride on the latest trend(s) in our respective
industries.

Quite the contrary, rather than avoid a scientific or tactical
discussion of trend identification, she works to give us the
ability to go beyond trends and into the future.

Cecily has drafted a book providing a nice blend of practical
reality, philosophy, and practical execution. It speaks well
to current discussions about how to drive 'innovation'
or, better, creativity within your businesses--however large
or small.

All in, this is a book 254 pages long, including index, that is
written at a practical level that, after closer study following an
initial read-through, provides a methodology for anticipating the
future and taking action to meet it.

Provides a methodology for anticipating the future and taking
action to meet it.

Think Like a Futurist is a good read for anyone struggling with
how to move their organization forward. Business leaders,
product and program managers, service providers will all find the
concepts Cecily introduces to be well laid-out with a reasonable
amount of supporting content."--The source is a blog: href="http://jtpedersen.net/2012/11/15/what-ive-read-lately-think-like-a-futurist/">http://jtpedersen.net/2012/11/15/what-ive-read-lately-think-like-a-futurist/