Back to the future: The duty of foresight

Jeff has kindly shared an article he wrote for the Institute of Corporate Directors in Canada, on the board’s duty of foresight. This article will be published by the Institute of Corporate Directors in Canada on Monday, 26th February 2024

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Webinar key takeaways

Back to the future: The duty of foresight

• The 2020s have been a turbulent decade so far and will continue to be. Therefore we need to think about how you’ll navigate this landscape as a board.
• Consider what actions you’re going to take to make things better for those who follow onto the board.
• Think about: What will our successors say about us?

Why is it essential for boards to choose the duty of foresight?

• Foresight is an intentional process of learning with the future.
• There is a need for deeper discovery in AI, climate etc. so that we can navigate ourselves and any organisation we’ll work with.
• We’re learning as the process unfolds. We need to consider multiple futures, not predict one.

Boards have a duty of foresight

• Think about: How could Blackberry go from being the dominant technology company in the 1990s/2000s to becoming irrelevant?
• A board’s number one threat is the principle of short sight. Failing to see beyond what you’re currently involved in.
• A board needs to do the hard work now of building for the future as a consistent practice of foresight.

Boards are human systems responsible for guiding human systems into the future

• No board can be an effective steward of an organisation if it’s not anticipating its future.
• As we come towards the end of the 2020s, we’ll see even more systemic upheaval that we’ll have to adapt to.

• We’ve shifted from a VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) to a BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible)
• There is a brittleness in many systems including health, education, chain supply etc that could be easily broken if we face more upheavel.
• There’s a lot of anxiety around climate, global conflict, how we operate in our political systems, the rise of authoritarianism, the future of work, the opioid crisis, lonlieness and suicide rates, exhaustion and burnout. This anxiety is affecting the way we think about our futures.
• Boards who choose the duty of foresight are doing a lot to contribute to their future.

Boards and CEOS will face more tough decisions over the rest of this decade

• We have to find a way to adapt to our tough decision making and the duty of foresight helps with this process.
• It helps everyone be prepared for possible future scenarios.

How do you imagine the duty of foresight can help your board?

• Boards have to find and talk about their orientation towards the future. 
• Find the balance between optimism and pessimism about the future. 
• Boards need to let go of the idea that they have all the answers. Instead, they need to be able to identify the implications of challenges they face without having all the answers.

Why is confronting orthodox beliefs critical to building foresight capacity?

• Consider: What’s the existing belief system in the organisation that’s stopping you from considering the future.
• Short termism and orthodoxy are two of the principle threats we face in our organisations.
• Orthodoxy is the noise that we need to turn down to turn up the signals of the future.
• Create space at every board meeting to discuss the orthodoxy you’re facing. 
• The idea is to get people thinking and becoming aware of orthodoxy throughout their conversations.

How can your board adopt the duty of foresight as a next practice?

• Intentional learning is a non-negotiable requirement in the turbulent twenties.
• If the belief systems of the past can be addressed, boards will be able to focus on future outcomes.
• As a board, consider Barbara Jordan’s quote: “For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future. We must address and master the future together.” 

Is your board ready for the unexpected? In the past decade, the idea that boards must not only react but also anticipate is now viewed as an absolute essential.

In this not-to-be-missed webinar, you’ll learn why being future-adaptive as a board is not just nice – it’s necessary. Discover how a board’s duty to foresee the future can transform its decision-making, especially in today’s unpredictable business world.

Jeff has kindly put together a short presentation in advance of his webinar. To access his presentation please click here.

Your takeaways

At the end of this webinar, you’ll:

– Understand the critical need for boards to develop strong foresight.

– Know the implications of the board’s duty of foresight.

– Discover how boards can use foresight to elevate their performance.

Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE, executive advisor for Foresight First LLC in Reston, Virginia, is an association contrarian, foresight practitioner, governing designer, stakeholder/successor advocate, and stewardship catalyst. In his work, Jeff advises association and non-profit boards on how they can set a higher standard of stewardship, governing, and foresight [SGF].

A graduate of the Johns Hopkins and Harvard universities, Jeff has continued his learning with the future at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Oxford University, Harvard Business School, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, BoardSource, Competent Boards, the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, and the Institute for the Future.

Jeff is the 32nd recipient of ASAE’s Academy of Leaders Award, the association’s highest individual honor given to consultants or industry partners in recognition of their support of ASAE and the association community.