Futures Sessions

01 · Future & Vision Pillar Change

How to create a shared future vision

Everything starts with a shared picture of the future. What if this is not just a time of change, but a change of time?

In this session you create a clear and shared picture of the future together. You learn to see the underlying drivers of change, recognise patterns and create scenarios that give direction to today's choices.

A shared vision inspires people and organisations to work on solutions for tomorrow's questions. You explore technology, social shifts and global challenges, spot the meta trends and see how innovation cycles, economic waves and social movements interact.

That is how your futures literacy grows: the ability to understand the future and deal with it actively. You look not only at what is probable, but also at what is possible, think through second and third order effects and work back from a picture of the future to the choices of now.

A team discusses pictures of the future at a table

Participants experience the future with a VR headset

Two participants arrange images of the future on the wall

The programme

Mapping the zeitgeistThere is an enormous amount of research into future developments. You learn to recognise the assumptions beneath these pictures of the future and use them as a starting point.
Stretching the possibility coneYou place future events on the Cone of Possibilities and assess their impact. From probable to plausible to (im)possible moonshots.
Making a story of the futureWhat if? If only? You connect the dots into a future scenario and look from multiple perspectives, from threat to solution, based on explicit assumptions.
Speculative designYou design a speculative experience to take others into your scenario and have the conversation about the meaning and consequences of this direction.
Challenging limiting beliefsDo not walk into the future looking in the rear view mirror. With backcasting you work back to now and find the triggers, thresholds and dilemmas that need attention today.
Tips, tricks and toolsAn inspiring set of instruments to guide teams in creating new, challenging future scenarios.

Key working models

**Speculative scenarios**Exposing the assumptions beneath existing scenarios and analysing the causes.

**Backcasting**Working back from the desired future to the steps and dilemmas of now.

**Wheel of reasoning**A powerful instrument to build your own story for a future scenario.

**Cone of possibilities**Placing events across multiple horizons, from probable to (im)possible.

**Long waves**Spotting trends through the cycles of economy, technology, society and ecology.

Facts & figures

61%of directors do not feel prepared for the challenges coming their way.
77%higher profitability at organisations that manage to unlock a vision of their future strategy.
4/5of employees think leaders should have a clearer picture of the direction of the organisation.
5 à 7things our brain can actively remember. So you need to connect and bundle new information smartly.
1 dayis the average time a board spends on vision per year.

Details

Format: Workshop
Participants: 6 to 20
Duration: Half a day, 4 to 6 hours
Preparation: Collect 5 to 10 trends, about 1 hour
Track: Change mindset
Online: Optional
Certificate: On request
PE points: 5
Applied: Not applicable

Plan this session View Trends Research

Extra modules

You can extend this session with the Trends Research module. Your team learns to spot signals, cluster trends into meta trends and builds its own Trend Radar as the basis for the picture of the future.

View the Trends Research module →

02 · Design & Create Pillar Design

Work like a designer

From the problem of the organisation to the real need of the user.

In this session you turn the perspective around: from what you make to what the user really needs. With a bias for action we reframe the problem, prototype quickly and discover what works.

The approach resembles a design sprint: a short, intensive round of empathising, defining, ideating and testing. That way you lower the risk, adapt faster to changing needs and design services that add more value, ease or enjoyment.

This approach works especially for wicked problems, without a clear problem or ready made solution. With end users and stakeholders at the table, and with all disciplines together, across the silos.

The programme

A human centred approachYou seek out real situations, look at how a product or service is used and gather insights from users and stakeholders. How and why do they do what they do?
Keep reframing: what are we actually solving?You keep shifting perspective, reframe the problem and then choose a new direction to solve the challenge.
Ideas from the solved situationYou start at the end: what does a solved situation with a satisfied user look like? From there you ask design questions that start with: how might we…?
Define the real job to be doneWith the JTBD framework you determine what the user is really trying to solve, and which functional, social and personal values play a role.
From idea to conceptThrough the groan zone, from diverging to converging. With affinity maps you see patterns and with quick prototypes you test your assumptions.
Tips, tricks and toolsAn inspiring set of tools to design and guide a creative session or design process yourself.

Key working models

**Design sprint**Fast and iterative through empathising, defining, ideating and testing.

**Job to be done**The real user benefit mapped, personal and social.

**Persona: user centric**The requirements for the design, from preconditions and intent to principles.

**Continuous reframing**Keep switching perspective and see new possibilities.

**Ideation & prototyping**New concepts in sketches and prototypes, tested with users.

Facts & figures

228%better performance of design driven companies compared to the S&P 500.
88%of leaders name a better customer experience as the top priority for next year.
6xbetter performance of business model innovators than product innovators, over three to five years.
1/5of companies say the design approach and principles are part of their current culture.
91%of CEOs expect design thinking to become essential for the engagement of users and employees.

Details

Format: Workshop
Participants: 6 to 20
Duration: Half or full day
Preparation: Formulate a few challenges, about 1 hour
Track: Design thinking
Online: Optional
Certificate: On request
PE points: 5 to 10
Applied: Yes, with your own question

Plan this session

03 · Experiment & Learn Pillar Learning

How to run rapid experiments

Measuring, learning and building to challenge assumptions and discover what works.

Experiment, discover, validate and scale

In this session you learn to experiment fast. You challenge the riskiest assumptions with small, smart experiments and discover what really works, before you invest a lot in it.

Continuous learning is about small improvements that add up. With the mindset of growth hacking, a small win every day, you work with curiosity, adaptability and a bias for action: in real situations, with minimal viable prototypes and real data.

You learn to design experiments to discover and to validate, with a PDCA cycle as the rhythm. With an experiment board, user stories and ICE scores you choose which experiments go first. Failing is not a problem, but a lesson.

A team works together on an experiment canvas

A participant at the experiment board on the wall

The programme

Continuous improvementA practical introduction to Kaizen, Lean, Agile and growth hacking. You create a PDCA cycle to turn assumptions into validated insights about users.
Discovering new insightsWith minimal viable prototypes you test new ideas quickly, see weak spots and unexpected consequences sooner and gather feedback early. You make several prototypes during the session.
How do you validate new ideas?You learn the difference between discovering and validating: room for creative freedom and scientific rigour, in one integrated approach.
Designing fast experimentsFrom user stories via hypotheses to experiments that give fast feedback. You set up several experiments during the session and run them live.
Setting up the experiment flowBuilding, measuring and learning as an ongoing process. Because resources are limited, you prioritise experiments on a board by impact, confidence and effort.
Tips, tricks and toolsAn inspiring set of examples and instruments to set up user experiments quickly and validate new ideas.

Key working models

**Experiment strategy**A canvas to design your experiment strategy.

Discover and validate — **Discover & validate**Consciously choosing when you design to discover and when to validate.

ICE score: impact, confidence, effort — **ICE score**Ranking experiments by expected impact, confidence and effort.

**Plan do check act**A model to anchor continuous improvement in your team or organisation.

**Experiment design**A complete toolbox to design and run fast experiments with users.

Facts & figures

51%of internal improvement experiments save time or costs, or increase satisfaction or quality.
3/10of experiments with new business ideas succeed. That is a normal success rate.
<5%of the people who test have written goals or test in iterations.
12.000experiments Amazon runs every day.
37xbetter you are at the end of the year if you get 1% better every day.

Details

Format: Workshop
Participants: 6 to 20
Duration: Half a day, 4 to 6 hours
Preparation: A digital questionnaire, about 1 hour
Track: Learning toolset
Online: Optional
Certificate: On request
PE points: 5
Applied: Yes, with your own question

Plan this session

04 · Systems & Change Pillar System

A systems way of thinking

See the system behind the problem and find the leverage point.

New redesign coming early 2027

An audience in conversation during a gathering

05 · Strategy & Goals Pillar Structure

How to make strategy an experience

Strategy as a daily experience: creating choices together before you make choices.

In this session you turn strategy into a participatory process. You involve the whole organisation, make hidden assumptions explicit and find the balance between short and long term.

Wise decisions look at the gains of now and the long term consequences. By designing the decision making process clearly and participatively, you share not only what is decided, but also why you hold on to something, let it go or start something new. That creates engagement and ownership deep in the organisation, close to where value is created every day.

With A4 business plans everyone gets their own strategy connected to the whole: a compass and conversation piece in daily work. You connect the business model with the operating model and get inspired by companies that set up new business models, from Patagonia to Spotify.

A team in a circle with strategy cards on the floor

A group works together on a strategy on the wall

The programme

Defining a growth strategyA good strategy is a shared roadmap for growth. You determine which phase of the growth curve your organisation is in and which options and consequences go with it.
Wise decision makingCreating choices and making choices. You design decision making that is open and participatory, with room for different perspectives on what you hold on to and what you let go to make room for innovation.
What would X do?New values and technology create countless new ways to deliver value. You get challenged by disruptive models from Patagonia, Uber, Adobe, Spotify, Nike and Roblox.
A participatory processWhat is a good strategy? Often you only know afterwards. But you can also judge a strategy by its process: participation, commitment, applicability, agility and clear choices about what you will not do.
True future valueBusiness plans are about connecting the business model and the operating model. Where you resolve the friction between the two, innovation really makes the difference.
Tips, tricks and toolsAn inspiring set of instruments to design strategy processes that create more engagement.

Key working models

**Business modelling**A canvas that shows how values, goals, purpose and strategy connect.

**A4 business plan**Everyone their own strategy, connected to the whole and usable in daily work.

**Growth S curve**Seeing where your product or organisation stands on the growth curve and what the best next step is.

**Strategic dilemmas**A set of well known strategic dilemmas to start the conversation in your team.

Facts & figures

61%of management does not feel prepared for the strategic challenges ahead.
<30%of employees feel connected to the strategy of the organisation.
1/10of directors actively involve other stakeholders in the strategy process.
40%+of CEOs think they need a completely new business model for the near future.
1 yearis the average horizon of a strategy. A good strategy looks three to five years ahead, a long term strategy ten years.

Details

Format: Workshop
Participants: 6 to 20
Duration: Half a day, 4 to 6 hours
Preparation: Filling in the canvas, about 1 hour
Track: Strategy mindset
Online: Optional
Certificate: On request
PE points: 5
Applied: Yes, with your own question

Plan this session

06 · Culture & Teams Pillar Culture

A real thriving culture

Teams that look, decide and act better together.

New redesign coming early 2027

Teams in conversation with practice cards

Participants in conversation in two rows

07 · Impact & Engagement Pillar Impact

How to engage people

Behaviour does not change because of a plan, but because people start doing something different.

In this session you design for behavioural change. With game design thinking you create interactions that invite people to take part, strengthen motivation and make progress visible.

A cocreative format for teams that develop new concepts or services, rethink existing directions or look for unconventional solutions for behavioural change at a larger scale. With a clear bias for action: not endless analysis, but actively designing, prototyping and testing what works.

The core question is always: what is the user actually trying to get done, and how do we tempt them to play along? That way you design a customer journey and triggers that set behaviour in motion. Always within the limits of good ethics, and as the starting point for a strong proof of concept.

Participants in a circle, writing in their workbook

A participant presents his sketch of an app to the group

Enthusiastic participants with their prototype

The programme

Behavioural change at scaleThe art of compelling experiences: connecting to different motivations, designing meaningful challenges and finding the balance between difficulty and reward.
Change through people in motionMovements give participants more autonomy, mastery, connection and meaning. You design the setting of such a movement: the storyworld and the rules of the game.
Interaction types and motivationIntrinsic motivation is the engine behind change. With four typical interaction styles you design interventions that really touch different people.
Activation: from hooks to habitsYou build habit loops of trigger, routine and reward, so that desired behaviour comes back by itself and becomes a habit.
The real job to be doneHow do you make the user more successful? You determine what customers really want to achieve and build an interactive relationship around it.
Tips, tricks and mechanicsCountless tools and behavioural mechanics to design for behavioural change directly and quickly.

Key working models

**Experience design**A flow from invite and entry to experience, exit and extension: the 5 E’s.

**Make a playbook**Inviting users into a magic circle, with challenges, smart mechanics and rules of the game.

Habit loop and triggers — **Habit loop & triggers**From trigger to reward, and from intention to repeated behaviour.

**Interaction tools**A toolset with countless easy to apply techniques for behavioural change.

**Motivation types**Unlocking different user motivations and engaging them in your solution.

Facts & figures

70%of (online) services lack a clear call to action or job to be done for the user.
47%of users with a negative experience share it with friends and colleagues.
86%of buyers want to pay more for a great customer experience.
3/4of directors call engagement crucial for success. Yet more than 2/3 of users and employees do not feel engaged.
4xmore revenue growth at companies that focus on the success of their customers.