Webinars

Thinking Futures runs free, one hour webinars on futures approaches and methods.

Dates are advertised through Shaping Tomorrow and in the Thinking Futures newsletter, and via email to anyone who has signed up for updates.

Register to be notified of dates for the next webinars.

Follow the links after each webinar description to download copies of previous slides and webinar recordings.

Webinars on Scanning

Environmental Scanning 1: what it is and how to do it

This webinar provides an introduction to environmental scanning, what it is, where it fits in the strategy development cycle, how to start scanning, what to look for, and how to start interpreting and reporting results. It will give you a comprehensive overview of scanning and how it can be applied in your strategy processes.

Some comments from previous participants:

“I wanted more…I really enjoyed it and found this to be an excellent entry point for ES…”

“One of the best I’ve ever participated in.”

“I especially like the intro section where the importance of thinking about the future in general was put into the context of the importance of the decision making/strategic planning process.”

Download slides and the webinar recording.

Environmental Scanning 2: setting up a scanning system in your organisation This webinar provides more detail about how to set up an environmental scanning system in your organisation. It covers gaining CEO sponsorship, setting up a scanning team, getting your stakeholders on board, identifying a focus for your first scan, and embedding scanning in your existing strategy and planning cycles.

Download slides and the webinar recording.

Environmental Scanning 3: analysing and reporting your scanning This webinar starts when you are ready to report your scanning findings to the organisation – what level of analysis should you provide? How do you report your findings? It covers understanding the various way to report your findings to suit your organisation, and different approaches to analysis of scanning output.

Scanning in Practice: Case Studies From the Field:  This webinar provides two case studies on doing scanning in organisations.

Download the Scanning in Practice Slides.

Download the Scanning in Practice Webinar or watch it online.

Webinars on Strategic Thinking

Strategic Thinking: Strategy’s Orphan We spend a lot of time getting our strategic plans right, but we spend precious little time engaging in thinking about the strategy that informs that plan. Strategic thinking is critical for the development of robust, futures ready strategy, yet our focus on ‘the plan’ has made it the orphan of strategy development and implementation.

This webinar will explore why you need to think strategically – often and in a crowd – and how you can integrate strategic thinking activities into your existing strategy processes.

Download slides and the webinar recording.

Webinars on Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning: what it is and how to do it In our ever more busy lives, we are always looking for ways to get our work done more efficiently. In the quest to save time, we have seen strategic planning be reduced to a formulaic approach. We spend as little time as possible on planning, which has turned into a compliance exercise rather than a way to ensure everyday action contributes to the achievement of strategic goals. Perhaps even worse, we think that getting the plan done is all that matters.

This webinar explores the place of planning in strategy development, and how we can use environmental scanning and strategic thinking to inform the development of plans that are meaningful and used to guide decision making on a daily basis. It’s designed for people new to strategic planning and/or who have just started in a strategic planning role.

Download slides and the webinar recording.