Strategic Foresight

“Strategic foresight and futuring provide tools to help future-focused leaders make plans; however, innovation only happens when leaders implement ideas.”
Meet Dr. Connie, RFI Chief Futurist
Dr. Connie serves as Interim Executive Director & Chief Futurist at the Rural Futures Institute at the University of Nebraska. She is a certified futurist, national speaker, strategy consultant and leadership coach, whose research, experiences and education in both the hard and human sciences allow her to see how our exponentially high-tech world must balance with a high-touch, strengths-based approach to leadership and life—we must explore the intersections of science fiction and what it means to be human.
Dr. Connie’s Latest Work
Journal Article
May 2018
Strategic foresight, leadership, and the future of healthcare staffing in the United States
Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants
Invited Presentation at Tufts University
April 2018
Discussion of the importance of mindset with methodology.
Keynote: Nebraska Press Association
April 2018
The Future of the Rural-Urban Opportunity
Omaha World-Herald Annual Awards Banquet
Podcast Interview
January 2, 2018
Episode 75: A Conversation With Dr. Connie Reimers-Hild
Rural Healthcare Leadership Radio
Keynote: Rural Hospital Conference of the Carolina’s
November 8, 2017
Strengths-Based Futuring: Competing with a Purpose
The Duke Endowment
What is Strategic Foresight?
Strategic foresight, also referred to as “futuring,” is a relatively new core leadership competency sought after by many top executives and organizational leaders. It does not predict the future; rather it helps leaders better understand current and potential situations while creating a roadmap for innovation that guides and inspires action.
Futuring is different than forecasting in that it relies on two key assumptions:
- The future consists of many possible outcomes rather than one predetermined future
- People have some capacity to influence outcomes through their beliefs, mindsets, and behaviors
There are many plausible futures. With a mix of methodologies and a positive mindset, leaders can create strategic paths to their desired futures.
Publications
Dr. Connie has published 50 articles and 8 workbooks on entrepreneurship and innovation, many of which use strategic foresight tools such as megatrends to create future-focused strategies.
- Become a Future-Focused Leader: Use Three Megatrends to Grow Your Rural Business
- Future-Focused Entrepreneurship: Three Mega-Trends Influencing Business in Rural Areas
- How to Grow Your Rural Business with Purpose and Meaning
Key Questions
- What problem are we trying to solve?
- What future do we want to create?
- How do we more purposefully align technology and humanity?
- How do we achieve our goals and purpose in both high-tech and high-touch ways?
Available Opportunities
Technology
- Artificial intelligence
- Sensors and robots
- 3D printers
- Driverless vehicles
- Holograms
- Lab-on-a-chip
Humanity
- People’s capacity to shape their own futures
- Leaders, entrepreneurs, achievers, doers willing to implement ideas
- Diverse and inclusive leadership