Wednesday, February 27, 2013

#hubfutures explorers INPUT SESSION 26/2/13

This session started with Adam doing a brief presentation on the input part of strategic foresight work. Please see the SlideShare presentation here:



We then did a brief activity around the first "homework" - to bring three "things" which may impact the future of Hub. These were discussed in pairs with three questions by futurist Zia Sardar in mind:

  1. Does it make sense?
  2. Who benefits? 
  3. Where is this going?


All "things" were put on post-it notes, which were then mapped on a V STEEP framework on the whiteboard. Similar to a PESTEL analysis, this framework can be used to see how macro-environmental issues are related. Futurist Marcus Barber's V STEEP includes values, social, technological, economic, environmental and political factors.


The "scan hits" on the post-its were:








Tom and Neil reflected on Hub in its larger ecosystem and possible scenarios to shift from "old" to "new" Hub.

 
 
Neil suggested to use a V STEEP matrix where scan hits can be located in more than one of these sections to show relationships and overlaps.

This was followed by a discussion around our second "homework" task - to look at the Hub Ethos and see what came to mind for us. Julien provided a document about "Hub values – and non-values", and Neil some graphical representations of how the Hub Ethos and might develop.


Helen facilitated a discussion around the ethos and its potential development:



Some reflections from this discussion around our ethos and values:
  • "Hub makes it easier than it's ever been to put your values out in the world" (Tony)
  • A first-tier bias?
  • What is game changing?
  • Look at Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's article The creative personality – 10 antithetical traits in relation to Julien's sometimes seemingly contradictory "Hub values – and non-values".
  • Completion of projects might need more focus. Do we need Hub forums for bragging? HUBris?
  • What are the possible paths and doorways Hub can take?


A brief overview of the Integral Four Quadrant model followed. This will be used later to frame our scanning hits.


 


And finally we started to plan the scanning work until next session. There are three framing decisions we each should reflect on:
1. Scale: What time frame are we looking at? We agreed that when we scan the environment of Hub we will keep three time frames in mind; 5 years, 10 years and 25 years ahead. Where are things going and how might things play out over those times?
 
2. Scope: How broadly are we scanning? Are we looking at Hub Melbourne, Hub Australia, Hub in Asia or Hub in a global perspective? This is another dimension each futures explorer should consider. We do not need to decide on this immediately, but it might emerge in a couple of weeks of scanning. 



3. Types of futures: What type of futures are we scanning?

From Maree Conway's Thinking Futures
Some scanning objectives:
  1. Arranged a Delphi in the community on Yammer with #hubfutures
  2. Made physically  visible the #hubfutures exploration for other Hubbers to contribute to on the physical Futures Wall
  3. Involved and sourced wisdom from the Hub Wisdom Council in person or via email
  4. Gained a broader perspective from the world (open foresight) via Twitter #hubfutures
  5. Engaged and involved global Hubbers through National Field.
Within a couple of weeks, please let the group know on Yammer what area you'd like to help scan.

And don't forget to tag everything with #hubfutures.


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

#hubfutures explorers induction

Copyright: Pete Holliday - @thesecondtier

This session started with a short introduction of what strategic foresight and futures studies are.

The overall Hub Foresight process will be based on a couple of theoretical frameworks from the futures and strategic foresight field, but also from organisational transformation and change. The following resources are good to have a look at, if you missed the session and are interested in some of the models we'll use:
An physical exercise to illustrate Scharmer's Theory U was followed by an individual exercise around creativity researcher Edward De Bono's Flowscape.

Some participants found that the Flowscape works in pairs as well...

 Both Theory U and Flowscape will be used later in the process....

Finally, we decided the dates for the remaining #hubfutures sessions. They are all posted as Yammer events, so please go here to sign up and add links to your private calendars.

PREPARATION FOR NEXT SESSION - INPUT 26 February.

1. Look at The Hub Ethos below compiled and presented by Julian Waters-Lynch last year, which is  important to understand as background for the Future of Hub process.



2. Bring three things that might influence the future of Hub. This might be anything that you think or feel is relevant - an article, a twitter post, a song, a quote, a thought, a dream, an intuition, a scene in a film etc.

And remember to tag all relevant things on twitter and yammer with #hubfutures !



Thursday, February 7, 2013

Preparation for Induction Workshop 12 Feb 2013


So the Doodle vote decided that the induction session will run on Tuesday 12 February between 4 and 5 PM.

Please prepare these things for the session:
  1. Make a wish list to share about what I want to get out of the process. How would I like the process to be and feel?
     
  2. Bring my calendar/diary so I can lock in some dates for future sessions.
     
  3. Think about what I can offer/bring to the group regarding my talents, etc. Is there a role I can play or would like to play? Is there something I'd like to try out this year in a safe "sandbox" environment?
Some examples could be:
  • Design a "futures wall", which is a physical collection of ideas, thoughts, intutions, articles etc. about the future of Hub.
  • Create an artwork or film 
  • Give a brief update to the Hub community every second mixed bag lunch.
  • Post updates on Yammer
  • Interview members of the Hub community or wisdom council about their view of the future of Hub.
  • Document / blog our journey
  • Keep us energized
  • Bake a cake
  • Gamify the involvement of other hubbers in the process
Please add more in comments if you have any cool suggestions...

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Hub Futures Explorers Information Meeting

Yesterday, Mon 4 Feb, we held an information meeting for interested hubbers. The aim was to discuss a few things:
  • The activities of Hub Melbourne foresight group in 2013
  • The foresight process we will run from Feb to May in the Hub community
  • Why we are here in this group
  • The different options for participants; committed vs curious
Some people arrived late, so instead of doing a powerpoint presentation we had an informal discussion about these topics.

If you didn't attend you might get an idea of what we talked about by checking out the slideshare presentation here.

Next meeting - the induction - will be held next week. Please sign up on this list to be part of the voting on when.