BUS 294 W — Seeing the Future in the Present: Learning to Think Three Steps Ahead
Quarter: Summer
Instructor(s): Lee Shupp
Date(s): Jul 15—Aug 16
Class Recording Available: Yes
Tuition: $530
Refund Deadline: Jul 18
Unit(s): 1
Enrollment Limit: 45
Status: Open
Quarter: Summer
Unit(s): 1
Duration: 5 weeks
Date(s): Jul 15—Aug 16
Tuition: $530
Refund Deadline: Jul 18
Instructor(s): Lee Shupp
Enrollment Limit: 45
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Open
Foreseeing the future is a power typically associated with fairy tales or mythology. In reality, it’s a learnable skill with practical benefits for business and personal decision-making. By understanding the dynamics of change, examining our assumptions about how the world works, and improving our capacity for critical foresight, we can better identify emerging opportunities or competitive threats before they impact our businesses. We can also see new possibilities and uncover points of intervention, leading toward better outcomes for our customers, our employees, or our planet. In addition, learning to anticipate potential futures enhances our openness, our systems thinking skills, even our creativity.
Rather than being a vague or unknown variable, the future emerges from patterns observable in the present, and this course teaches students to identify and accurately interpret those patterns. Through lectures, readings, and exercises, we will explore the practice of futures thinking, how it is used by businesses and organizations, and why disruptive innovations like blockchain and AI are likely to change the world. Students will gain an appreciation for the role future studies plays in strategic planning, product development, risk analysis, and more.
Rather than being a vague or unknown variable, the future emerges from patterns observable in the present, and this course teaches students to identify and accurately interpret those patterns. Through lectures, readings, and exercises, we will explore the practice of futures thinking, how it is used by businesses and organizations, and why disruptive innovations like blockchain and AI are likely to change the world. Students will gain an appreciation for the role future studies plays in strategic planning, product development, risk analysis, and more.
This course is appropriate for any student with an interest in understanding future studies and its application in a business or personal context. It will feature videos with Christopher Ireland, who co-developed the course with the instructor.
LEE SHUPP
Futurist; Innovation Leader; Design Researcher
Lee Shupp is an applied futurist who helps companies better understand how to achieve their optimal future. He is a founding member of the Association of Professional Futurists. Shupp has 20 years of consulting experience guiding companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, Intel, and many others. He teaches master’s-level foresight classes, most recently at California College of the Arts.
Textbooks for this course:
There are no required textbooks; however, some fee-based online readings may be assigned.