Future, Inc.: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit from What's Next (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Joseph Coates (Foreword)
Key Phrases: beer industry, United States, Baby Boomers, Wall Street (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Garland is imaginative but also a bit of a pragmatist in recognizing the usual forces that exert themselves upon human behavior, and this approach informs most of his work. Also, he's a good writer, so his prognostications are presented in a pleasantly entertaining manner. Beyond amusement, the value of this book is its usefulness as a guide to evaluate trends that may evolve into opportunities….Garland provides an interesting perspective from which to evaluate events and project their possible future outcomes.”

-Miami Herald

Review

“... Cleverly illustrates both how to incorporate future planning scenarios into business strategy development and the benefits of doing so.”

-Competitive Intelligence Magazine

“Beyond amusement, the value of this book is usefulness as a guide to evaluate trends that may evolve into opportunities.”

-Miami Herald

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (December 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814408974
• ISBN-13: 978-0814408971
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #525,312 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garland provides a timeless method for strategic IT moves, May 2, 2007

By	redbrianza - See all my reviews

As a newcomer to the field of information technology, I was hopeful that this book would provide insights on how to manage change from a technological viewpoint. Although the purpose of the book was not technology alone, the theme was intertwined throughout the book and explored in creative ways. The technology topics were not discussed in depth which left room to explore analysis techniques. These tools will be applicable even when current technologies are obsolete. Therefore, this book will be a reference for years to come.

The book is divided into two sections: Tools and Techniques and Drivers of the Future. In the first section, each chapter discusses one important stage of the futurism process. The second half devotes a chapter each to eight different broad categories of trends. Each chapter contains real world examples that demonstrate companies succeeding or failing at strategically planning for the future. The last page of each chapter contains a handy checklist of the important points from the chapter and a section explaining activities or implications of the topic. This provides a quick reference guide and easy access to information from the chapter.

The basic premise of the book is to introduce futurism and provide the tools necessary to develop scenarios of the future that may not be obvious to the analyst. The step by step process is easy to follow and uses graphics to illustrate key points. In fact, Garland stresses that graphical representations lead to the successful implementation of the futurist techniques. Wagner in "Partners for Progress" supports this when she explains how road maps help leaders focus on ways of conceptualizing the future. Garland uses many real business examples that illustrate his points in dramatic ways. He even manages to show how chocolate bars and bottles of beer are affected by technology trends.

In the second section of the book, Drivers of the Future, the author begins by stating that new capabilities in information technology are leading most changes. Then, he scratches the surface of other topics and devotes a chapter to each: aging, information technology, heath care, biotechnology, energy, nanotechnologies, media and communications, and ecology and sustainability trends. To my surprise, the theme of technology was present in each of the topics. From the notion of smart homes that support the changing needs of the aging population to the nanotechnologies that are changing healthcare, technology is either responsible or reactive to the evolving society. To remain competitive, businesses must stay informed on all of these topics and prepare for the future.

Of these broad topics, the aging trend was particularly interesting to me. Charles Lanigan in "Preparing a Capable Workforce for the Knowledge Economy" underscores the importance of the aging trend as he discusses the effects of the changing demographics. As the shift from physical labor to intellectual labor continues, businesses must face the fact that capturing the knowledge from retiring employees is not an easy task. Businesses must create tools to enable the proliferation of knowledge. In addition, he states that "many problems in our modern world are caused or exacerbated by human beings who fail to think and communicate, relate to others or respond mindfully to changing circumstances". This is one of many reasons why Garland's tools and techniques are valuable for the success of a company.

One other item of note is the chapter dedicated to information technology trends. Although technology plays a major role throughout the book, the ideas presented in this chapter support Nicholas Carr's controversial IT ideas in "IT Doesn't Matter." Garland acknowledges that information technology is becoming more powerful, less expensive, and available to all. Both Carr and Garland treat IT as a commodity that does not provide a strategic advantage from competitors.

After reading this book, I was left with two questions. First, how do companies assign a value to each scenario? The book successfully demonstrates the tools that are required to list possible outcomes, but it is lacking in the valuation department. Secondly, how do companies successfully implement the scenario? Andy Hines, a leading futurist by his own right, provides a complimentary process to Garland's but in six phases. He starts with understanding the present with what he calls "Framing" and "Scanning" steps. Then, he explores the future in the "Forecasting" stage. After his "Visioning" and "Planning" stages he explains the "Acting" stage where he describes how to implement the plan. Garland stops short of this final implementation phase.

In conclusion, anyone involved with strategic planning should definitely have the tools that Garland describes in this book. His step-by-step process engages the organization in seeing the value of looking at a broad range of areas and has brought many companies successfully into the future.

References
Carr, N.G. (2003), "IT Doesn't Matter." Harvard Business Review, (81:5), May 2003.
Hines, A. (2006) "Strategic Foresight." The Futurist, Sept/Oct 2006.
Lanigan, C. (2007), "Preparing a Capable Workforce for the Knowledge Economy." CIO Magazine, March 14, 2007.
Wagner, C. (2006), "Partners for Progress: Creating Global Strategies for Humanity's Future", The Futurist, Nov/Dec 2006.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's really worth every penny!, June 28, 2008

By	Berenice Ring "Strategic Planner - FGV MBA te... (Sao Paulo, Brasil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Future, Inc.: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit from What's Next (Hardcover)

Fantastic book!
Very interesting and well written. Connects directly "future studies" with "strategic planning". Introduces the concept of System Thinking, analizes trends and go through scenario generation, all ilustrated by good cases.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Future Inc, February 8, 2008

By	Anthony J. Priest (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After hearing the author speak on a panel about the future, I decided to buy his book. And what a fabulous book it is! Displaying in-depth knowledge, and conveying it in an entertaining and clear manner usually don't go together. That is what makes this book a great read.
If you like ideas, thinking about them, exploring them, etc., then you will love this book.