Do you have a shared futureview with your organization? Your family? Your community?

The “futureview” concept is from the Anticipatory Organization learning system created by global futurist and author Daniel Burrus. According to Daniel, your futureview is the picture you hold, for better or for worse, of what you expect and believe about your future.

Last week, I facilitated a conversation with our MACPA / BLI team around this concept and asked the question, “What is your futureview for our organization?”

Two things stuck out for me from the responses to this question. The first is that the outlook is bright for MACPA / BLI. The picture our team is holding about the future of MACPA / BLI is positive and aligned with the trends that are impacting both our organization and our customers.

This is good news, but it was another observation that has stayed with me since that conversation. One of our team members pointed out that our futureview ideas did not include all aspects and areas of our business. There were pieces missing. The picture we created that day was positive and also incomplete because some of our team members were not available to offer their futureview perspectives. This really got me thinking about the power of not just a futureview, but a shared futureview in which all voices and viewpoints are heard and included — a futureview that includes all perspectives and serves as a mirror that reflects the contributions of ALL members.

When people connect to something larger than themselves, it creates a sense of purpose. It is this sense of purpose that drives our deepest motivations, according to Dan Pink’s book Drive. This is the power of a shared futureview.

What is your futureview for your organization? Is it shared by some or all of your team members? What would become possible if your organization had a shared vision for the future?