An attractive image of the future

Fred Polak in his book “Image of the Future” argued that the rise and fall of imaged preceded the rise and fall of the civilizations that harbored them.

When a culture has a positive image of the future, science, art, commerce and all the other aspects of a culture flourish. However, when the image of the future loses strength and declines then the civilization does not survive for long.

I have discovered that the same dynamic happens in all sorts of organizations: a positive image of the future energizes us. When a company, department or team has an attractive vision of the future it generates energy, channeling the behavior, the conversations, the choices, the commitments and propelling us towards that image of the future. It is not that we are prophets it is simply that we use the best of what we have in pull in the same direction in a coordinated manner.

In general, we tend to think in a very different manner. The normal paradigm can be summarized as follows: If we make a good analysis it changes our way of thinking and thus our behavior. That is the reason of the enormous importance that is given to all sorts of analysis and assessments.

In Madavi we believe that one reaches further and arrives more quickly in a different way. If we have an attractive image of the future, which is ambitious and doable, then the sufficient energy to change our behavior surges up and mobilizes us into action.

When the image of the future is attractive, that is to say, when we consider that it is much better than what we presently have, both for the whole and for oneself, it generates an energy that propels us towards that “dream”, creating strategies, products, services, resources, talent and initiatives.

We always have an image of the future, be it negative or positive, be it attractive or one that causes rejection. This image is created by the internal conversations that occur in organizations. What is talked about in your organization? What image of the future is associated with these conversations? If you discover what it is you will have an idea of the sort of future that awaits you.

This is then the question: How does one generate a positive, ambitious and doable image of the future? How do we manage that there be a lot of people that share this image?

This image of the future is generated in the first two phases of appreciative inquiry: The Discovery and the Dream.

To discover means to agree upon “the best of what is”, that is to say; the strengths and resources of the organization as a whole and seeing it from abundance, from “what DO have”.  Normally the starting point is the problem or what we lack, “what we HAVE NOT”, the scarcity. If we start from what is scarce it is difficult to have a vision or image of the future which is highly positive.

The next step is to have a conversation amongst many of what our organization would be like if we used all our potential. An image of the future created in this way has all that is necessary to be highly motivating; to be ambitious and doable since it is based on “what we DO want”, which by definition is a lot.

This video explains the methodology: “Changing the way in which we change”

May the abundance be with you!

MADAVI Changing the way we change from Madavi on Vimeo.