Setting the direction to strive for

The challenges of today’s society are not as easy to overcome as sending a man to the moon. Nowadays, we may all agree that we need to reduce CO2 emissions, but there are different ways to do it. The path may depend on technological advances, unforeseen natural disasters, new actors joining the ecosystem, and others leaving it. Every single event can affect the direction.

As Mikko and Sara agree, the direction of the mission is not a given – it must be created and constantly revisited. This way, the direction of the mission is not a single endpoint, but an intent: a vision of the future we are striving for. “We need a multidimensional and empathic perspective of the future if we are to act proactively in the present – whether as citizens, policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs, or managers,” Sara says. 

Imagining a different future

Setting the direction is about waking up our shared imagination of how the future could be: creating preferred situations that we can relate to and strive for. As a result, we can shift from a problem-oriented focus to an opportunity-oriented focus when launching and driving missions.

Understanding the problem and engaging the actors is important, but so is envisioning the future. Through involve­ment of the ecosystem actors, the task is to paint a cohesive picture of the preferred future. The desired situation might be in the form of a story, an image, or a film, and this is where future design and scenarios can help clarify and frame the work. It gives us the chance to relate, engage, understand and bring the future alive – and create that empathy for future citizens.