Traditionally, horizon scanning has been a bi-annual or annual process where a strategy team researches, collects, and analyses data, synthesizes and develops scenarios that are then assessed and shared with strategies developed. While these processes remain essential in providing direction, a mindset of horizon scanning can foster more significant levels of future orientation, changeability, curiosity, and learning.
The supporting practices to create a mindset of horizon scanning include:
- Fostering foresight where everyone is encouraged to think about the future and the external environment.
- Encourage knowledge sharing, including sharing, experimentation, and collaboration platforms.
- Building quick analysis and problem-solving skills where potential impacts are scoped, and pieces of information are prioritised for action.
- Integration into daily decision-making of horizon scanning such as sharing and discussing an insight topic in a daily stand-up.
- Debriefing and rewarding insights to encourage further sharing and build confidence and trust in responding.
By embedding horizon scanning as a mindset, leaders and organisations can become better informed, more agile, and able to adapt to trends. Over time this mindset will foster the embedding of a cultural norm of ‘future orientation,’ a culture that is generally more participative, human, and team orientated and is associated with the belief that current actions influence the future.
