Background

The world we live in is no longer materially constraint. Where ‘materially constraint’ is a euphemism for poverty, misery and often downright gloom. Thus, it is good that we are getting richer, materially speaking. But the downside is that we can no longer take the context of our lives for granted.

 

Poverty, as painful as it is, does have the side effect that it simplifies life. A life worth living under poverty is one where you, your family and your children are at the end less poor. Everything – work, morals, behavior, love – is subjected to that goal.

 

As poverty recedes, the organizing principle that simplified your life also recedes. The context of your life is no longer geographic, nor given, it has become a variable. You don’t get it with your mother’s milk anymore, you must create it yourself.

 

One of the better ways to do this, we found, is to create differing stories – narratives in the jargon of today – about the reality you live in now, as well as the future into which you will move. Not, we wish to emphasize, to tell tall tales, but to anchor yourself with integrity in the here and now, and in the future. By creating these stories, you re-perceive reality in a new way, you create opportunities and you widen your horizon. We no longer simply endure the future but begin to shape and form it. This is especially powerful when done with others.

 

These stories – scenarios – take you away from the draining question ‘Will this or that happen?’ to the more confident question ‘What can we do, should this or that happen?’ Away from bearing the burden towards doing something about it. And because your options are embedded in stories – context – they are easy to communicate and to act upon.

 

The reason homo sapiens dominates the earth is that we are the only species that can talk about things that do not exist.

What we do and how we work

Learning how to create scenarios is a bit like learning how to swim. You can read about it, watch others swim, but in the end, you need to get into the water. We help you stay afloat, enjoy the experience and become a master swimmer.

 

We do this by teaching short courses, giving presentations and speeches, and especially by running projects large and small.

 

We can both work for you and with you, but prefer to work with you and your team.

 

We work privately as well as for the public.

We are skilled in all aspects of scenario work, like project design, interviews and interview analysis, workshop management and facilitation, scenario writing and roll out.