How to Predict the Future and Make Smarter Decisions Today / Ali Draudt / Ep #197

Imagine that you had the power to look into the future...

That you could escape from the short-term focus and envision a world years or even decades away. And on top of this, you'd be able to turn this vision into something real, a roadmap to guide your decisions today.

Wouldn't that change everything?

Now, this episode won't give you a crystal ball, but it might be the next best thing.

We all know that the challenges we face today require different ways of thinking in order to solve them. If we continue on the trajectory we're currently on, our future isn't looking very bright, to say the least.

In order to create a different, better future, we have to first imagine it.

But with our world changing so fast, how can we even predict tomorrow, let alone years from now? Aren't we just better off focussing on the here and now?

Not according to our guest, Ali Draudt. Ali teaches us that predicting the future is a hidden superpower of designers. Lucky for us, Ali is an expert – author of "What the Foresight," holding a degree in Design Strategy and Strategic Foresight, and is currently the Head of Innovation and Design Strategy at Nike.

In this episode, you'll hear how to:

• Explore worldviews that might be radically different from your own.
• Challenge your existing beliefs and biases to imagine the seemingly impossible.
• Use practical tools to make abstract futures tangible.

So, if you're to unleash your hidden superpower and make better decisions today you'll be in for a treat!

Talking with Ali reminded me that the dots only connect in hindsight. The only way to make those breakthrough, serendipitous connections is by continuing to explore things that seem irrelevant now.

Enjoy and keep making a positive impact.

~ Marc

--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---

00:00 Welcome to Episode 197

04:00 Who is Ali

04:45 How Ali Stumbled into Service Design

06:30 Lightning Round

08:00 Moving beyond antromorphic design

10:30 What's truly human-centered

17:30 Adopting to this practice

21:00 Next big thing to go beyond

24:00 Changing levels of zoom

31:00 Coping mechanism on the speed

38:00 Using the Steep Model in Teams

40:00 4 archetypes to future potentials

45:30 What good work look like

49:30 Co-creation mode

50:45 What I hope you'd remember

--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/alidadraudt/
• The Thing from the Future (Team-building game) https://situationlab.org/project/the-thing-from-the-future/
• The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson (Book) https://a.co/d/992fmv5

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals. ⁠

https://servicedesignshow.com/circle