Thriving in disruptive times – Part 2

Key Verse:Proverbs 22:3: “A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences,” (TLB).

How to avoid being blind sighted in the New Year and how not to wait for the New Year to happen to us is to foresee difficulties ahead and prepare for them. This is what is called strategic foresight. God wants us to take hold of situations rather than situations taking hold of us. We should not approach the New Year blindly. We live in a volatile society where changes are happening very fast, but these changes need not to take us unaware rather we should prepare for them. Knowledge is expiring very fast and today a lot of people are experiencing what is called “Educated Incapacity,” which is being incapable of solving problems because of the education you had before. The illiterate of the 21st century are not persons that did not go to school, but people who are not willing to unlearn to relearn.

Strategic foresight helps us to think more comprehensively about the future. We should actively look ahead with wisdom and discernment,anticipate challenges and plan accordingly. Joseph applied strategic foresight when consulted by Pharaoh. He identified both future positive and negative scenarios and prepared Egypt for a future famine (Genesis 41). Joseph identified both the positive outcomes (seven years of plenty) that may take place and also the potential danger (seven years of famine) that was coming.

When the seven years of drought arrived, “Joseph opened the storehouses” and provided enough food to take the nation through the famine. His wise strategy and effective implementation of the plan even allowed Egypt to supply grain to the rest of the world during the famine (Gen. 41:57). We have to prepare and plan for the future and not allowing the future to hit us unexpectedly. We must be able to identify multiple potential future scenarios and prepare for them in advance.

Scenario planning is a process through which business leaders strategise for unknown variables. It gives us a systematic approach for dealing with uncertainty. Scenario Planning helps you to awaken your consciousness to know what to do next immediately after an unknown variable occurs.

It is thinking about the future, so that, we can make better decisions in the present and more importantly to be able to manage different outcomes.

Scenarios give us lenses that could help us see future prospects more clearly, make better judgment and be more sensitive to uncertainties. Scenarios are grounded in an understanding that choices shape alternative future pathways just as much as the uncertainties in economic, political and social systems drive changes.

There are two types of scenario plannings: Optimistic Scenario and Pessimistic Scenario.

Optimistic scenario planning helps you to prepare for the positive outcomes or scenarios that may play out, while pessimistic scenario helps you to explore potential negative things that may happen and prepare for them.

Pessimistic scenario planning tends to run contrary to the principle of faith, but wisdom figures things out before you get there.

Problems and opportunities are the same thing. What people run away from, can bring about your promotion. You make money when you are better prepared for it. Jesus said in Luke 21:11, there will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places and fearful events. We need not allow any of these negative scenarios take us unaware. We can be better equipped for these scenarios and make something good out of them.

Shell Company has thrived well because they mastered strategic foresight and became in control of their future. Shell managed crisis of the early 70s by anticipating the possibilities of a sharp rise in oil prices ahead of the 1973 oil crisis.

• Today’s nugget: Wisdom figures things out before you get there. Phone Contact: 07032361509. Joel Ejiofor, Business Coach and Strategist.
E-mail: [email protected]