Technique 2.57 Utopia/Blue Sky (one decade on)

Topic

. You are the outgoing/retiring senior executive of your organisation in 10 years time.

. You are writing a letter to a friend explaining what your organisation has achieved during your time in the top job.

Outline what changes have happened to your organisation from now for the next decade, ie the Ideal Situation or Wish List - what you would like to happen if the situation was perfect (utopia/your dream organisation), ie no constraints or restraints (these come later).

NB Andy Grove's statements, ie

Where do we want to go?
How will I know when I get there?

. If you need inspiration:

- consider recent trends and whether you think that these or other trends will continue, such as globalisation, increasing importance of knowledge management, rapid technological changes, economic growth of China and India plus Russian and Brazil, increasing leisure time, increasing number of women in the workforce and in management position, etc;

- think about what needs to be improved in the organization/community, such as empowerment, accountability, flexibility, transparency, etc?

- some suggestions include

i. Is it a people/customer/staff-focussed organisation?

ii. Is it at the leading edge re technology/staff/products/service, etc?

iii. Is it a fun organisation to work for?

- in addition to looking at what might change in the next 10 years, also look at what's not going to change in the next 10 years? This makes you focus less on the transitionary things, such as technology, competition, etc, as they can change rapidly. Some of the less transitionary things include customer insight (be a customer-focusing business stressing value for money, convenience, etc)

. Some questions that may help

- how would you reinvent your industry/organisation/business/activity, etc without existing constraints or restraints?

- what would it look like?

- how could you change the industry/organisation/business/activity, etc and create significant value?

An example of this is the automobile industry in 2004. It changed from old system of

"... initial car sales generate a profit for automakers (minimal profit given a mature industry with other capacity and tough competition) and some opportunity to finance and provide spare parts. All of the ongoing benefits and money-making opportunities go to others downstream, eg sales dealers, service mechanics, and tire and muffler specialists..."

James Carlopio, 2010

while in the new system

"... auto-makers retain asset ownership and lease to consumers capturing all lifetime opportunities, eg maintenance, parts, onboard vehicle telemetry allowing traffic alerts, navigational advice, roadside assistance, and music/video downloads. The automakers are responsible for sustainable disposal of vehicles..."

James Carlopio, 2010

. Preparation for the letter may be best done as a mind map (see later technique)

. Once the letter is prepared, then list any key obstacles to achieving the vision

Another way of looking at Utopia (see diagram below)

(source: Tim Cleasey, 2020)

An alternative to writing a letter is envisaging your funeral and what people would say about you in an eulogy.

(sources: John French, 1995; David Pitonyak, 2005; Julia Kirby et al, 2007; James Carlopio, 2010)