Day 13 of 21 Days of Futures Fit Learning Anticipatory Planning

25 Jun 2026 · 2 min

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2:24

In this short talk, the speaker reflects on the common tendency to postpone preparation until a problem becomes urgent, using the metaphor of family vacation packing. They argue that waiting for pressure creates an illusion that preparation isn’t needed, even though upcoming disruptions are inevitable. Anticipatory planning, built on strategic foresight and scenario planning, involves drafting response plans for likely future events while the environment is calm. By doing so, decisions become clearer, less emotionally driven, and teams gain strategic calm, reducing panic and response time when a disruption occurs. Early indicators are often dismissed because they lack urgency, but paying attention to them and preparing in advance can turn a potential crisis into a minor bump. The speaker ends by prompting listeners to consider what scenarios they envision for their business, team, department, or career, and what proactive steps they can take now to mitigate future negative disruptions.

Chapters

In every family packing for vacation, there is one who has their suitcase ready a week before they leave and the other who's still looking for a passport an hour before they have to leave for the airport. I won't confess which one is me. Anticipation of the future often feels premature. When we're thinking ahead, it feels unnecessary when things are working at the moment. The absence of pressure creates the illusion that preparation isn't needed. It feels like we're looking for problems that aren't there, that we're trying to fix something that isn't broken yet, and that there are real problems today that need the time and the budget and the attention rather than focusing on a future that isn't happening yet. But there are some real disruptions coming. Anticipatory planning is about drafting potential plans in response to what we've already uncovered with our strategic foresight skills. It's no good knowing that something is likely to occur and then doing nothing to prepare for its arrival. Calm planning beats reactive urgency any day of the week. We use scenario planning to describe those potential futures and to make decisions in the stable period. That leads to decisions that are clearer, more considered, and less emotionally driven than those that are made under pressure. Preparedness creates strategic calm. Even simple preparation can reduce panic and shorten response times, and it allows teams to act with confidence instead of hesitation. Early indicators seldom seem urgent. That's why they're easy to dismiss. But anticipatory planning begins by paying attention before there's pressure to act. And by planning in advance, we can often reduce the impact of a disruption. It can be a small bump in the road instead of destroying the business. And a crisis will expose what has been ignored. So your question is, what scenarios do you have about your future of your business or your team, your department, even your own career And what can you consider and put in place even now that will reduce the impact of a negative disruption in the future?