Photo by Heather Plett
The future enters into us, in order to transform itself in us, long before it happens.
Rainer Maria Rilke
I am a futurist.
I can see the future. No, I really can. I take ideas from concept and dream and move them along a path to see these ideas being implemented. I am futurist with a strong bias for action!
I have taken a dozen personality assessments over the years. They all pretty much tell me the same thing that I come alive when envisaging possibility.
They tell me that I paint the most incredible pictures of whats possible- inspiring people and organizations to pursue their best ideas. I am excited to discover new things, to experience new things, to experiment, to fail, to grow,to discover.
The nonprofit sector is at a crossroad that will fundamentally reshape it long after the economic recession is over. Nonprofits today find themselves in a new reality — not just economically, but demographically, technologically and socially. The most radical changes are likely not even on our radar yet.
Our sector has to understand the value of futurist if we want to be relevant.
We need more futurist because they will help us see and expand opportunities.
What are the opportunities facing us?:
- Connecting the right people and communities to achieve greater possibilities but also more importantly the opportunity to connect the right ideas to the right communities
- Introducing people from disparate backgrounds, showing them how their combined talents and products could produce game-changing solutions
- The chance to truly value innovation and invest in research and development and create something original
- Create structures where boundaries of what people are allowed to do are fluid so that we always have the right mix of skill and experience on projects
- To be better, quicker and more effective in times of crisis
- To focus on creating significance and not just success
- We get to rebuild, restart, rethink and recover if we so choose.
How will we as a sector get there?
When barriers block our progress, we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone to take a risk to win. Our willingness to experiment will lead us to offer more creative solutions that others may miss. We have to believe in the value of risk taking and the power of being uncomfortable.
Creativity and innovation require the courage to let go of certainties.
We need the courage to hold that uncertainty close and believe in our ability to be successful and find solutions despite it. We either Occupy Philanthropy and paint a new vision for our sector or it will become a shell of its former self.