How to Use Future-Back Thinking to Create a Winning Strategy

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13 min read

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Jul 11, 2023

Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash

How do you create a strategy that helps you achieve your goals and make an impact in the world? How do you plan for the future in a complex and uncertain environment? How do you align your vision and actions with your purpose and values?

The key is to use future-back thinking.

Future-back thinking is a way of thinking and planning that starts with the end in mind. It involves imagining the future you want to create and then working backwards to figure out how to get there. It helps you focus on the outcomes and impact you want to have, rather than on the constraints and challenges you face.

Future-back thinking is not about predicting the future or making assumptions. It is about exploring possibilities and scenarios, testing hypotheses, and learning from feedback. It is about being proactive and creative, rather than reactive and incremental.

Future-back thinking is important for strategy development because it helps you:

• Define your purpose and direction. Future-back thinking helps you clarify what you stand for, what you aspire to achieve, and how you want to make a difference in the world.
• Align your actions and decisions. Future-back thinking helps you align your actions and decisions with your vision and goals, ensuring coherence and consistency across your organization.
• Inspire and engage your stakeholders. Future-back thinking helps you communicate your vision and strategy in a compelling way, inspiring and engaging your customers, employees, partners, and investors.
• Adapt and innovate. Future-back thinking helps you anticipate changes and opportunities, adapt to new realities, and innovate new solutions.

One example of a company that used future-back thinking to create a winning strategy is Tesla. Tesla started as an electric car company in 2003 but soon realized that the future of transportation was sustainable and autonomous. Instead of following the traditional car industry practices, they envisioned a future where people could drive electric vehicles that were powered by renewable energy, connected by smart networks, and capable of self-driving. They then…