This book helps managers move beyond the idea that the future of business will resemble the past and allows them to use scenarios to imagine multiple perspectives. The concepts of organizational realities, experience, and beliefs are explored to encourage and embrace change in business organizations for a successful future.

Survival means creating value for stakeholders, and the survival problem starts with uncertainty, change and the need for organizations to adapt to shifting needs and market conditions. The key question is ‘Why are organizations slow to change and adapt?’

Unsuccessful organizations are distinguished by their failure to overcome thinking and behavioural flaws at personal, organizational and community levels. In this book, we explain what these flaws are and how the scenario approach helps senior managers and organizations to overcome them. Our approach is based on reasoning, research, real world observations - and a long track record developing scenario-based thinking, combining the most effective elements of the many scenario approaches that have been tried over time.

This book explains:

• Why scenario thinking is increasingly important: how it has developed as an approach that can help build successful strategies and organizations.
• How scenarios are valuable in overcoming an obstacle or problem - current or potential - by enabling innovation and creative thinking ‘outside the box’.
• How scenario thinking can be used to resolve organizational flaws by enhancing the strategic conversation.
• How to understand the scenario approach in the context of effective organizational learning and development.
• How to ensure that scenario thinking is included in a wider strategic and organizational learning framework, essential for organizational survival.

Outlining the benefits and techniques of scenario thinking The Sixth Sense shows that scenario thinking is purposeful and effective in driving strategy and organizational development towards managerial and organizational success.

The Centre for Scenario Planning and Future Studies

Members of the Centre for Scenario Planning and Future Studies of the University of Strathclyde Graduate School of Business (USGSB) have been involved in scenario and futures work over a significant period of time, both in a consultant and an educational capacity. This combination has resulted in the development of expertise in scenario planning and future studies that is difficult to match. The Centre’s expertise is demonstrated in the range of scenario planning and future studies assignments that have been undertaken for major organizations, as well as in the production of leading edge research and publication about scenario planning and future studies, and decision-making. This combination differentiates the Centre from other organizations in the field.

The Centre has developed an international reputation for the design and delivery of purposeful scenario planning assignments. These have involved private sector organizations from a wide range of industry groupings on an international basis, and public sector organizations from local to national governments. The internal scenario teams drawn from all these organizations has included key decision and policy makers, resulting in top-level commitment to participation and active adaptive learning from the outcomes.