If it’s responding to seismic shifts in your industry or trying to plan for the long term, changing the future orientation of your organization can have innovative solutions in all areas of the world significant advantages. Research has proven that companies with a strong future-oriented mindset are more productive and innovative. To become more future-oriented you can inspire your employees and management to develop new strategies and processes to help your company prepare for the future.

In order to develop future-oriented innovation the use of a dialogue approach is required to analyze potential barriers and business opportunities. This can be achieved by using a framework of futures literacy that incorporates futures knowledge and awareness and the ability to predict the future. Futures literacy refers to the capacity of a person or an organization to construct, identify and articulate futures and is based on a belief that the creation and articulation of futures is a multidisciplinary endeavor which involves multiple domains, spheres and stakeholders. Futures awareness is the ability to recognize the existence of future possibilities and is dependent on an individual’s awareness of their perception of the world around them.

Future-oriented technology can be created by developing products and services that enhance the lives of people. These improvements are the result of collaboration among several high-tech process stakeholders. They require a detailed analysis of the present challenges and alternative options. This kind of innovation requires a complete epistemic understanding and the ability to hear suggestions from the future.