Scanner Attributes

I devised this list for a presentation in 2009, and then turned it into a resource for a client who was putting together a scanning team.

The basic organising principle for a scanning team is that any staff member can think strategically if they are given the opportunity and are supported to un-learn conventional approaches to gathering strategic information.

This means that the most appropriate people to join a scanning team may be scattered throughout your organisation, beyond the senior management/executive group. Indeed, it’s a myth that only people who have risen to senior management positions can think strategically.

The following statements describe some of the characteristics of effective environmental scanners. It’s unlikely that one person will have all these characteristics, so a scanning team should ideally include people who together can create a group that displays these attributes.

	I am open to new ideas including what others might call weird and whacky. I’m not afraid to explore the periphery.
	I am a systems thinker. I look for internal and external connections between what I do on a daily basis, and where I fit in the ‘big picture’.
	I am curious – I want to know why it is so.
	I accept diversity – I understand that there are no right or wrong perspectives, just perspectives that ‘are’.
	I think outside the box. I understand my industry, but I’m interested in global trends as well. I look for opportunities to push the boundaries.
	I think outrageously at times. I try not to be limited by what I know.
	I challenge assumptions about the future and how it might emerge – for me and others.
	I am aware of my worldview – I  know how I see and make sense of the world.
	I enjoy making sense of disparate information and digging deep to find out more, synthesising it into useful documents and/or other artefacts.
	I am comfortable with technology, and enjoy exploring how I can use it to enhance my life and my work.
	I am resilient. I understand that the value of scanning to better understand the future may sometimes be difficult to communicate.
	I know how to present the weird and whacky ideas in ways that make sense to my organisation.
	I trust and value my expertise and knowledge that allows me to identify observations that are relevant and important for my organisation’s future.