Posts Tagged ‘Savvy’

“If you care at all about preparing for the future, read this book.” — Online Magazine

“… offers a great deal of common sense that often gets left behind in analytics and forecasting…” — Inland Empire Business Journal

“…Gordon’s book will be a useful primer and refresher on the art of proper forecasting and on detecting the artifice and subtlety of persuasion via anticipatory declaration.” –Research Technology Management

“…a guide for prognosticators and scenario planners, a set of warnings against such common errors as overreliance on numbers, overlooking your own bias, and ignoring the oscillations of history…” — Strategy+Business

“Future Savvy…will help you become a better consumer of forecasts, from economists, governments, think tanks and, yes, even journalists.” The Globe & Mail (Toronto)

“Given recent developments in the US economy and their implications and probable impact insofar as the global economy is concerned, the publication of this book is indeed timely.” — Dallas Business Commentary Examiner

“a book that will make fascinating reading for anyone involved in forecasting” –Foresight Magazine

There’s no shortage of predictions available to organizations looking to anticipate and profit from future trends. Apparently helpful forecasts are ubiquitous in newspapers and business magazines, and in specialized sources such as government and think-tank forecasts, consultant reports, and stock market guides. These forecasts are important for navigating to future success, but they are also of very mixed quality. What information from the endless sea of sources is valid? How does one know which predictions to take seriously, which to be wary of, and which to throw out entirely? Future Savvy shows readers how to discern quality in forecasts and future thinking. It views the predictions as a crucial resource, but sharpens the critical tools in the hands of forecast readers and users.

In a colorful book with many examples, Adam Gordon synthesizes information-assessment skills and future studies tools into a single template that allows managers to apply systematic “forecast filtering” to reveal strengths and weakness in the predictions they face. The better leaders’ view of the future, the better their decisions – and successes – will be. Future Savvy empowers both business and policy/government decision-makers to use forecasts wisely and so improve their judgment in anticipating opportunities, avoiding threats, and managing uncertainty.