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The collapse of the dot‐com business sector has shown that, in reality, there is only one economy, with a new technology trying to find its way in it. Success in business will always depend on two areas of attention: building the business; and protecting the business. The Business Idea provides a method to consider the future viability of a business proposition in all basic aspects that make for longer‐term success. The author discusses seven factors that are incorporated in a business idea. Business leaders that want their companies to survive must develop a positive feedback loop that encompasses all of these factors. This virtuous cycle ensures continued success and growth and the ongoing awareness of the evolving scarcities in the marketplace, leading to new inventions to keep the business’s offerings in line with the customer needs.

Looks at Shell′s organization and at mechanistic and networking cultures. Discusses individual and organizational learning and gives pointers to the best methods, as practised by Shell′s planning specialists. Concludes that if a company is not a learning organization then it may find it difficult to become one. Its first priority needs to be to develop the quality of its organizational conversation.

This paper reports the progress of, and results from, a major foresight and scenario planning exercise concerned with the future of real estate. The project first explored the general climate of change within which real estate decisions will have to be made. It then identified specific real estate opportunities and tested alternative strategies which might emerge as a result of that change. A further objective was to verify the use of foresight through scenario planning as a credible method of fostering a learning culture within the property professions and helping in the future proofing of current decision making.

Scenarios are cognitive aids for thinking about the future in a sustained and disciplined manner. Because scenarios must be facilitated, scenarios must be considered in the context of their practice. In the strategic management literature, there has been a considerable conversation on the practical difference between “hot” and “cold” cognition. Thinking in this conventional literature demonstrates how the facilitators of scenario planning workshops establish and channel the productive cognition of their clients away from hot cognition and toward cold cognition. But how? As a thought experiment, we examine whether the sociological concept of “emotional labor” helps explain the cognition management of clients by facilitators during scenario planning. We end by considering how a deeper practical understanding of emotional labor might help facilitators identify mechanisms and adapt their tools to better manage the cognitive-affective dimensions of scenario planning in practice.

This paper attempts to provide a number of strategic reference points for individuals and organizations seeking a clearer view of the future. These reference points plot a course that starts with the surfacing of underlying philosophies and ends with the melding of foresight with strategy. Underpinning these reference points is the belief in achieving balance between our understanding of “the inner self” and external drivers of change. This paper draws together a number of well‐developed theories and concepts as a way of linking both insight and practice.

To reflect, first, that the global changes now washing over the people are probably far more profound than is commonly understood, demanding a new mindset on the part of corporate organisations. Second, that this cultural transformation engenders a fresh set of challenges facing the corporate world in tackling the inherent complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity which need a futures‐oriented approach to comprehend and capitalize upon societal change. And third, that this organisational metamorphosis will best be understood, planned and managed through a process of foresight or prospective.

The particular methodology proposed is that of “prospective through scenarios” which has been developed by The Futures Academy at DIT, and the five formative fields, together with their respective key action areas, have been identified from a review of the relevant recent literature and an evaluation of a number of case studies in which the author has been involved.

Apart from the more detailed findings recounted throughout the text, the main conclusion drawn is that new kinds of corporatism will require the “proactivity” of prospective founded on the “imagineering” of scenarios to shape their future in a changing world.

In identifying some of the “grand challenges facing corporations in the modern world, the article conceives a mind‐set that accepts” that one can shape the future if one first imagines it.

The scenario method has been widely used by decision makers in business, industry and government for over 30 years as an unrivalled technique to learn about the future before it happens. This paper examines the principles, practice and pitfalls of scenario building with the prime aim of presenting the technique as one singularly relevant to the study of future property investment, development and management decisions and land use policy formulation. The origins of the approach from its military‐based beginnings, through the popularised global environmental applications to the current widescale use by industry and commerce are traced. Some definitions are advanced to demonstrate the multi‐various nature of the method, and different types of scenario identified to show their adaptability and agility. The general purpose of the technique as a learning mechanism for organizations is explored, and the step‐by‐step process of scenario building specifically analysed. Conclusions are drawn which record the success of scenario building in many fields other than property and predict the adoption of the scenario approach as the principal behavioural technique for determining corporate real estate strategy in the future.

Planning for future real estate and facility needs in a highly uncertain competitive environment can benefit from a four‐stage process of demand forecasting. Based upon research conducted within the Corporate Real Estate Portfolio Alliance and a review of general business forecasting techniques, each successive stage relies on more abstract data and increased dialogue about business strategy with the lines of business as uncertainty about the future increases. Each stage requires increasing flexibility in the supply of real estate as the range of probabilities around the forecast widens.

Scenarios are being used by corporate strategists as tools that adjust managers' mental models to reflect looming changes in their competitive environment. The rules for competing in the market are changing so rapidly that a past‐oriented mental model will lead to wrong decisions. A critical success factor is how fast the whole company—not simply individuals—can learn.