Future Edge [Hardcover]

Joel A. Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 21, 1992

If you want to explore your future, read this book! As the author puts it, before you can create your future, you must first explore it. You must create and shape your future, otherwise some one else will!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (January 21, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688109365
• ISBN-13: 978-0688109363
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,146,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to explore your future, read this book!, April 5, 2000

By 

Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Future Edge (Hardcover)

Actually, this book is a sort of brief update of the author's earlier book, entitled Discovering the Business of Paradigms, & published in the mid-80s.

Drawing essentially from the pioneering work of Thomas Kuhn, who wrote the classic, The Theory of Scientific Revolutions, in the 70's, this author has very artfully expounded the concept of paradigm shift & pliancy in the world of business, in contrast to the world of science. From a strategic exploration viewpoint, this is an excellent guide book.

Understanding and mastering your paradigms is one important thing for making progress in life and in business, but I personaly feel that the real essence of this book is succinctly captured by the author in the five strategic exploration tools outlined in the book. They are the real gems of the book. [Bear in mind that the author is a process futurist, unlike most other futurists who write books & who are primarily content futurists. The five specific tools mentioned in the book are the exact process tools to aid & enhance your strategic exploration. Do not get carried away by the content part of the book pertaining to some perceived trends illustrated by the author.]

In addition, the author defines the concept of paradigm very well & also elaborates at length on its key characteristics & effects, with illuminating examples, as well as enlightening comparison/contrast of paradigm pliancy vs. paradigm paralysis.

He highlights the importance of paradigm shift, pliancy & anticipation. I particularly enjoyed exploring the two specific thought-provoking questions posed by the author:

(1) What do I believe is impossible to do in my field, but, if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business?

(2) Who, outside my field, might be interested in my unsolved problems?

By thinking about & answering these two challenging questions on your own, & against your own background, you will begin to understand & appreciate the essence of the author's proposition. This will be the beginning of your own paradigm shift, as it has happened in my own life design for the second half.

I would recommend readers to buy and read this book jointly with Wayne Burkan's Wide-Angle Vision. Wayne Burkan has been a collaborator of Joel Barker, and he introduces some more new ideas to the paradigm phenomenon.

Better still, view also and learn more from the videos (in which both authors are the lead facilitators), The Paradigm Prism and The Implications Wheel, which bring the whole paradigm concept to life and which showcase some more real-world business examples.

If you want to explore your future, read this book! As the author puts it, before you can create your future, you must first explore it. You must create and shape your future, otherwise some one else will!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful framework but lots of missed forecasts, January 2, 2003

By 

Max More "Max More" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Future Edge (Hardcover)

To its credit, ten years after this book was first published, it remains a commendable work of business futurism. One significant exception to this assessment comes from the poor record of Barker's identification of existing and coming trends for the 1990s. By now, we can see the weakness of "gambling instead of taxes", "national health care" (surely the result of Barker himself falling into a paradigm trap), "solar, hydrogen, fission" (at least ten years too early), "time taxes", "virtual reality", and others that didn't make it very far. Barker, however, is not a prophet but a guide to a more expansive way of thinking about the present and the future. Barker brings philosopher Thomas Kuhn's work on paradigms into focus with clear applications to business and any form of strategic thinking. Definitely merits a quick read by anyone interested in thinking more effectively about the future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want explore your own future...read this book!, June 14, 2005

By 

Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Discovering the future: The business of paradigms (Hardcover)

This is the author's first pioneering book, which he wrote after leaving the teaching world to embark on a career as a strategy consultant/process futurist in the early 80's. This was also one of the very first few books that propelled me into the world of strategic exploration.

Drawing essentially from the scholarly work of Thomas Kuhn, who wrote the classic, The Theory of Scientific Revolutions, in the 70's, this author has very artfully expounded the concept of paradigm shift & pliancy in the world of business, in contrast to the world of science. From a strategic exploration viewpoint, this is an excellent guide book.

Understanding and mastering your paradigms is one important thing for making progress in life and in business, but I personaly feel that the real essence of this book is succinctly captured by the author in the five strategic exploration tools outlined in the book. They are the real gems of the book. [Bear in mind that the author is a process futurist, unlike most other futurists who write books & who are primarily content futurists. The five specific tools mentioned in the book are the exact process tools to aid & enhance your strategic exploration. Do not get carried away by the content part of the book pertaining to some perceived trends illustrated by the author.]

In addition, the author defines the concept of paradigm very well & also elaborates at length on its key characteristics & effects, with illuminating examples, as well as enlightening comparison/contrast of paradigm pliancy vs> paradigm paralysis.

He highlights the importance of paradigm shift, pliancy & anticipation. I particularly enjoyed exploring the two specific thought-provoking questions posed by the author:

(1) What do I believe is impossible to do in my field, but, if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business?

(2) Who, outside my field, might be interested in my unsolved problems?

By thinking about & answering these two challenging questions on your own, & against your own background, you will begin to understand the essence of the author's proposition. This will be the beginning of your own paradigm shift, as it has happened in my own life design for the second half.

I would recommend readers to buy and read this book jointly with Wayne Burkan's Wide-Angle Vision. Wayne Burkan has been a collaborator of Joel Barker, and he introduces some more new ideas to the paradigm phenomenon.

Better still, view also and learn more from the videos (in which both authors are the lead facilitators), The Paradigm Prism and The Implications Wheel, which bring the whole paradigm concept to life and which showcase some more real-world business examples.

If you want to explore your future, read this book! As the author puts it, before you can create your future, you must first explore it. You must create and shape your future, otherwise some one else will!

[The updated versions of this book include the hardcover 'Future Edge: Discovering the New Paradigms of Success,' & the paperback 'Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future.' Also, video versions are available from www.atsmedia.com.]