What is future mapping?
“Future Mapping” is a remarkable new technology for problem-solving, creativity, and innovation. It involves a map with six areas to create an action scenario to achieve your goal
… far more advanced than current methods …
… reverses existing ideas on goal achievement …
… turns thoughts into concrete action plans …
Because it is far more advanced than current methods, Future Mapping very well could be called “a method to create reality.”
It is different from other methods in two significant ways:
1) You will use the unexpected power of altruism, which is an “unselfish regard for the welfare of others.” Using altruism, your own self-interest, and all of the baggage that comes with it, drops away. Suddenly hidden resources within you begin to surface in ways that can truly surprise you.
2) You will capture conscious and nonconscious thoughts together in a unique Future Mapping chart to reduce interference from your limited conscious mind. Limiting beliefs, fears, and resistance are simply not part of the equation.
You can use Future Mapping to create a business plan, write a book, solve a conflict, negotiate a sales agreement, tackle a home improvement project, find a solution to a software issue…the applications are truly unlimited.
Future Mapping works regardless of differences in culture, ages, languages, personal background, and professional background. What you will learn in this course is very powerful and will help you release miracles in your life.
Mechanism of Future Mapping
Future Mapping involves a map with six areas as shown above, to create an action scenario to achieve your goal. On the horizontal axis, time is divided into three periods. On the vertical axis, the shift from negative reality to positive reality is indicated. On this map, you can draw a clear action scenario to achieve your goal.
Every time you use Future Mapping, whether for something as simple as planning your day or as complex as ensuring your financial future, you will create a single-page chart. The Future Mapping process transforms your thinking into concrete action plans you can use immediately.
Studies show it is very difficult to accomplish a task with just the efforts of the conscious mind alone. By tapping into the rich resources of your inner mind, you can find self-sabotage, negative self-talk, and limited thinking falling away.
Objective:
The purpose of Future Map is to create a shared view of industry trends in the recent past, present, and future. In the workshop, participants map key trends from the past year, the current year, and three years ahead. They then review the map, identify patterns and discuss the relevance of different trends. It is useful for supporting discussion and debate around high-level themes: society, technology, politics, etc.
Goal
Create a shared view of industry trends in the recent past, present, and future.
Materials
Colored pens/markers
A4 paper
Post-it
Instructions
Before the workshop make sure that you have a long empty wall with the area in front of it cleared. Divide the wall roughly into five equal sections with tape or put up five flipcharts.
At the top of each section (or flipchart) write with a thick marker: the last year, this year, and next year to three years in the future: e.g. 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.
You now have a blank timeline to fill-in.
Facilitator notes
As this is a fast, often loud workshops, soft spoken or introverted participants may slip into the background, especially when the group is large. Be sure to encourage full participation by lifting the softer voices and encouraging those who have not participated.
Step 1:
Give each participant a marker and post-its.
Bring the group to stand in a horseshoe facing the wall. Explain the purpose of the workshop and give them the following instructions:
We will, as a group, co-create a vision of the future through the lens of the past and the present.
As individuals you will write a significant “forces” (trends, technologies, political movements, behavioral shifts, etc.) on post-its: one per post-it. Then you’ll walk up to the wall and and stick it up, reading your post-its out loud as you go so the rest of the group can hear.
There’s no need to wait your turn. As soon as you have one, write it down and stick it up.
We’re aiming to fill the wall in the next 15 minutes.
Don’t overthink it too much. The aim is to get lots of different driving forces up on the wall.
Facilitator notes
The focus of the activity can be narrowed to focus on a specific theme or industry, for instance, only looking at technology trends, or trends in the fashion industry.
Step 2:
Start with last year, give them 3 minutes to fill the space with post-it, and then move to this year, and then each subsequent year.
Support the group to keep the pace up and encourage everyone to participate. If you feel the speed is dragging, ask relevant questions or make suggestions to inspire the group. You can also throw in your own suggestions to spark the group’s thinking.
Step 3:
When the time is up keep the group in front of the wall. Ask them to look at the post-its on the wall and look for patterns and common themes in each year. If time allows, create subgroups and give them about 10 minutes to sort the trends under each year and prepare a summary of the key patterns.
Step 4:
Run a group reflection and discussion. Some good prompt questions could be:
What patterns do we see looking at this timeline?
Which trends are most important for myself and us to be aware of and learning more about?
How do I feel about the past, present, and future?
What does this mean for our team? Our company? Our industry? And my own role?
Step 5:
Wrap up the session by sharing some of the key themes that you heard throughout the discussion. Ask the group how they would like to capture their thoughts and actions to use in the future.
Close by inviting each participant to share one insight or action that they take with them from the workshop.
A factory manager realized through Future Mapping that connecting “unconnected memories” would be the key to expanding his business abroad. After realizing that it had something to do with his deceased grandfather, he contacted his uncle late one night even though they had long been out of touch. As they talked about his grandfather’s involvement in a war, it all became clear and he chose to no longer worry about his business expansion.
The morning after, as if to confirm it was the right choice, the Malaysian government made an offer for a test construction for a large assignment for infrastructure.
A high school student helped an acquaintance draw a Future Mapping chart. On the chart, she made an imaginary story in which “her company will disappear” in three months. In reality, her company then fired all of its employees as it restructured itself. The imaginary story came true!
For five years after their first child, a couple was not successful in having a baby. The husband, who is a school teacher, drew a Future Mapping chart and planned to make a yet-to-be-conceived baby happy. A month later they were pregnant.
