Hinesight for Foresight

Emerging Need State 9: Living in real time

May 18, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Opening up to spontaneously take advantage of opportunities as they arise

“Living in real time” is the third of three emerging need states at the core of our third meta need “Every Moment Matters” in ConsumerShift.

These consumers are seeking to live in the moment. Their core needs are being creative, spontaneous, and reaching their fullest potential. They see life as an adventure and filled with possibilities. They feel it is up to individuals to discover their passion and pursue their dreams. They prefer to keep an open and flexible schedule and avoid getting tied down by too many commitments. They abhor monotonous routine and will struggle in these situations.

This may be a reaction to previously feeling that they missed out on the simple pleasures of life in dogged pursuit of some goal or dream—or just being caught up in the struggle to keep up with an overload of responsibilities. Their spontaneity may be viewed by others as impulsiveness. If a mood or idea strikes them, and they want to do something about it, they would rather go for it in that moment and not wait for the “proper” time. They resist convention and expectations about what they are supposed to do. If today seems like a good day to go to the beach, they arrange it and go, confident that they will make up for any lost time and keep their commitments. Andy Hines

Filed Under: Values Tagged With: meta needs, need states, needs, real-time, values

Emerging Need State 8: Investing time like money

May 15, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Time is valued as more precious than money and is approached with an investment mentality

“Investing time like money ” is the second of three emerging need states at the core of our third meta need “Every Moment Matters” in ConsumerShift.

Time is the precious commodity for these consumers. They feel they have enough money, even if they could use more, and are likely to use their money to buy time. For example, instead of saving money by cutting their own lawn, they see the time involved in this task as more valuable, and will hire it out. In the time-money tradeoff, they increasingly favor saving time.

They pay greater attention to how they are spending their time. If time is more precious than money, and people typically pay attention to how their money is invested, then a similar if not greater commitment should be made with time investment. Sent a meeting request, for example, they will weigh the time costs and benefits. They would not refuse out of laziness or because they would prefer to do nothing, but rather because they see other, more worthwhile uses of that time. They are continuously thinking in terms of options. They have a portfolio of activities waiting for the next available time slot, creating a competitive aspect around which option gets the time. At the same time, they recognize the value of free time, and will be mindful of not falling into the trap of busy-ness.

Filed Under: Values Tagged With: free time, meta needs, money, need states, needs, time, values

Global Foresight Books recommends ConsumerShift

May 15, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

I was pleased to see Global Foresight Books has listed ConsumerShift as one of its recommended business books. Global Foresight Books is run by Mike Marien, whom many of you probably remember as the long-time editor of the Future Survey, which I always felt was the single best source of futures scanning hits for many years. The new service is totally web-based and accessible to all — a terrific resource any futurist should be taking advantage of. A great site to peruse for fresh reading material and you can sign up for his newsletter and feeds. Andy Hines

Filed Under: Books, Values Tagged With: ConsumerShift, future, recommendations, reviews, values

Emerging Need State 7: Wherever whenever whatever

May 11, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Going beyond traditional schedules and timing to being available when needed

“Wherever whenever whatever ” is the first of three emerging need states at the core of our third meta need “Every Moment Matters” in ConsumerShift.

These consumers are rebelling against the constraints of schedules and seek to better manage their time and commitments. It’s part of taking back control of their lives. They have a core need for freedom, and at the same time seek respect for their time in their dealings with other people and organizations. They are a tech-savvy group and see technology as a tool for empowerment and for helping them better manage time and life. They expect others to be technically capable as well and will often be impatient with those who are not.

While there is an element of simplifying, a stronger theme is better management and a consequent search for technologies and solutions that can enable it. They stay connected to the world of information, networks, and people and are at the ready to deal with opportunities as they arise. They are less intimidated by obstacles and have the sense that they can take charge of any situation and navigate through obstacles as they arise.

They can be very demanding, but they are not necessarily prima donnas. They are driven by a strong sense of practicality. Their view is that there are tools to make life more manageable, so why not take advantage of them? They see an abundance of solutions and are impatient with organizations, products, services and even people lacking this same vision. They reject the tyranny of the schedule. They prefer, and even demand, that things be done on their time whenever possible.

Filed Under: Foresight Tagged With: control, freedom, meta needs, need states, needs, simplify, time, time management, values

Emerging Need State 6: Getting real with the virtual

May 9, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Seeking assistance in incorporating the growing presence of the virtual into one’s life

“Getting real with the virtual” is the second of two emerging need states at the core of our second meta need “Pushing the Envelope” in ConsumerShift.

Those pushing the envelope will often see the virtual world as a rich playground to expand their capabilities. They will embrace the novelty and look for ways to add it to their repertoire of tools for improving personal performance. They may try on different personalities in the virtual world as a means to better empathize with others in the real world. The virtual world will be viewed as a new frontier full of enticing possibilities.

These consumers will seek assistance in how to integrate these possibilities into their lives, and be the first to try the latest innovations in the virtual space. They will not be overly concerned with the practical applications, at least in the beginning, but will enjoy the experience of something new. At some point, however, the enthusiasm will wear off if there is no longer a sense of how it can add to one’s capabilities. Their thirst for novelty will push those providing offerings in this area. Andy Hines

Filed Under: Values Tagged With: meta needs, need states, needs, values, virtual, virtual worlds

Some thoughts on the workforce of the future

May 6, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Some thoughts on the workforce of the future for BeInkandscent e-zine, such as how the recession (and other negative events) inspires innovation, retirement-age boomers not retiring, and counseling patience for the gung-ho Millennials. Andy Hines

Filed Under: Work Tagged With: Boomers, Millennials, recession, retirement, work, workforce

Some thoughts on narcissistic leaders

May 3, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

A grad student asked me to take a look at Michael Maccoby’s Narcissistic Leaders: Who Succeeds and Who Fails. As I started to back away and cite the size of my reading “to do” list, I was cleverly enticed by his noting that Maccoby cites foresight, systems thinking, and visioning as three of his “five elements of strategic intelligence” deemed essential to building and sustaining a business. So our Houston Futures Studies program is all about teaching foresight, we have a class devoted to systems thinking, and we teach visioning as part of Strategic Thinking and part of a new topical course on Alternative Perspectives I’m putting together for the fall. The other two elements are partnering and motivating, which I wouldn’t say we directly cover in our curriculum, but three out of five ain’t bad!

That was enough to take a peek. First, a narcissist is “the kind of person who (1) doesn’t listen to anyone else when he believes in doing something and (2) has a precise vision of how things should be.” (p.9) Yikes, that’s not exactly the message we want to send to our students. He also notes that a narcissistic vision always starts with a rejection of the status quo. Again, not sure about this either. Our framework forecasting process starts with producing a “baseline future,” which is basically a view of the status quo, and then we challenge that with potential alternative futures. But I would not advise to automatically reject the baseline – sometimes things are going well and one hopes they will continue – although most often we tend to be advocates of change. To reinforce this point about not absolutely rejecting the status quo, when we talk about visioning, we suggest that a vision and visioning process is most appropriate when there is a need for transformational change. If things are okay, changing incrementally, there may be nothing fundamentally wrong with the current vision and the status quo.

Okay, enough on that. I take the point that it sometimes takes someone with a narcissistic personality to stand firm with their vision in the face of detractors holding on to the status quo. I might ask whether this is the only way to do so – can one stand firm and be a non-narcissist?

Another point of interest was the focus on personality type as the lens through which to view the leader. Having just finished a book on values, ConsumerShift, I would put greater emphasis on the values of the leader as a key driver of their goals and style, with personality a secondary influence. But as I noted in the book, I think it is valuable to look at issues from different “centers,” whether values, personality, generations – though I still come out with the view that values makes the most sense at the center.

So a values-based interpretation of the narcissist leader is that it sounds very much like a “modern” style that could work in a modern organization with its emphasis on hierarchical approaches. I suspect it would not do as well in a postmodern organization with a network approach. That said, however, it may not quite be over yet for narcisstic leaders. I’ve often associated Gen Y with narcissism and I’m not alone Gen Y’s Most Perilous Trait? Yep, a thought worth pondering…..and a style worth considering??? Andy Hines

Filed Under: Foresight, Values Tagged With: foresight, intelligence, leader, leadership, strategic, systems thinking, vision

Emerging Need State 5. Performance Enhancement

May 3, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Applying science and technology to improve performance

Performance Enhancement is first of two emerging need states at the core of our second meta need “Pushing the Envelope” ConsumerShift.

These consumers see life as providing challenges and opportunities for personal growth. Their core need is to reach their full potential in the areas they deem of interest to them. It is not necessarily an across-the-board phenomenon, though in some cases it could be. In most cases, there will be particular activities or areas of people’s lives where this need state expresses itself. In other areas, people will be content with just getting by. An important distinction needs to be made between the postmodern-integral approach to performance enhancement and the modern approach. The former is motivated by personal improvement, while the latter is more inclined to the “beat-the-competition” ethos.

These consumers find joy in the pursuit of perfection, a good feeling in seeing progress, while recognizing that there may not be a particular end point where they are fully satisfied. As they grow, their expectations grow with them. There is a search for an edge or a means to push themselves beyond conventional limits. A sense of experimentation, even a hint of playfulness, accompanies this pursuit. There is a constant quest for new concepts, techniques, and approaches. Limits are seen as conventions to be pushed beyond, as long as others are not harmed along the way. They want to be empowered to make their own decisions and they resent intrusions by regulatory groups into the personal domain.

There is an element of risk-taking behavior, but it is carefully thought through, not a reckless pursuit that disregards consequences. Rather, it is a decision to try the experiment, gathering as much information as possible and making an informed choice. The risk factor is accepted as a necessary evil in pursuit of the greater good of making the breakthrough to enhanced performance. It is about self-expression, not necessarily to persuade others to adopt a similar approach, but to live one’s own life to its fullest potential. Andy Hines

Filed Under: Books, Values Tagged With: augmentation, meta needs, need states, needs, performance, performance enhancement, values

Emerging Need State 4. Less Is More

April 30, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Valuing the chic of pushing the envelope toward more sustainable lifestyles

“Less is more” is the fourth of the four need states at the core of our first meta-need “Keeping it real” in ConsumerShift.

These consumers, along with those of the preceding need states, also relate to the sense of a world that has gotten too complex and overly managed. The feeling of powerlessness and being overwhelmed is not one that people enjoy, and these consumers have reached a point where they are ready to do something about it. Their core needs of recognition and idealism suggest they want to do something about it and tell the world. They are proud of their new lifestyle, and they feel that others should adopt it as well. But it is more subtle than evangelical proselytizing; it’s more about being a role model—demonstrating a new approach, often through the products, services and relationships one chooses—as a way to attract others.

They see themselves as trendsetters and opinion leaders and prefer to lead by example. They may do with fewer overall possessions but are not afraid to spend money for the right cause. They are willing to spend more for a green product, and they want their friends and colleagues to know about it. They are not above applying peer pressure in service of their goal of spreading the word. They enjoy the attention, if not admiration, they get for adopting this new lifestyle. Andy Hines

Filed Under: Values Tagged With: meta needs, need states, needs, sustainable, sustainable consumption, values

Emerging Need State 3. The Simplicity Premium

April 26, 2012 by Andy Hines Leave a Comment

Appreciating the extra work and elegance that goes into simple offerings

The Simplicity Premium is the third of the four need states at the core of our first meta-need “Keeping it real” in ConsumerShift.

The core needs of freedom and a sense of order for these consumers hearken back to traditional values even though they are embraced by the postmodern consumer. Those exposed to the values shift often remark at first glance that there appears to be a cyclicality in that postmodern values to some degree mark a return to traditional values. While there is some truth in this, the common thread between traditional and postmodern values is that they are both anti-modern and thus appear similar. And in some cases, a postmodern value is simply a reinterpretation of a traditional value. The value of simplicity, for example, can be thought of as evolving from the traditional value of thrift, and both of these are at odds with the modern value of luxury.

As with the previous two need states, this one also is a reaction against a sense of an overly managed and complex world. There is the sense that humankind has gotten too smart for its own good and has introduced as many problems as it has solved. Technology is often seen as a culprit in making life more complex than it needs to be. Thus, simplicity emerges as a core value for these consumers. They recognize how easy it is to get caught up in gadgetry and lose touch with the purpose that the gadgets are intended to serve. They are thus being more thoughtful about the technologies they choose to invest in, and they will ask the question whether there is a simpler way. Andy Hines

Filed Under: Values Tagged With: meta needs, need states, needs, simplicity, values

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