Who's Future Anyway?

A post-keynote conversation with a curious 15-year-old at the LA Design Festival reminded me why I do what I do. It’s about empowering the next generation to actively imagine and shape the future, not just passively accept it. Vikram’s enthusiasm and questions were a testament to the power of youthful curiosity and the importance of giving young voices a platform in futures thinking. That moment was a reminder to me that the most meaningful work isn’t just about profits, but about empowering young minds to dream and create. Futures thinking isn’t merely predicting trends; it’s about expanding our capacity to see possibilities—worlds we can build, not just foretell. When we prioritize nurturing imagination in the young, we cultivate a future where innovation and hope flourish.

One other notable thing from the LA Design Festival

After my keynote, a 15-year-old named Vikram came up to me, eager and earnest, full of questions about how to prepare himself for the world ahead.

We had a great chat — I would’ve stayed as long as he wanted — but instead, he surprised me by asking if he could interview me for his blog.

Of course I said yes, and the yes was not for me, it was for the enthusiasm that effervesced from him. Something rare was happening: a genuine curiosity about the future, a desire to engage with it actively rather than passively accepting whatever comes.

Moments like this remind me why I do what I do, whatever or however you might define it or characterize it.

The most rewarding projects aren’t just the ones that play out in commercial contexts — they’re the ones that help people, especially the young, learn how to create, imagine, and tap into that existentially vital capability we are born with, which is to envision possibilities that may not yet exist.

Prediction is one thing — a forecast, a trend line, a scenario — but bulking up the imagination to develop a capacity to see and sense possibility is something else entirely.

Futures thinking in its best mode is about cultivating the capacity to envision and create more habitable worlds.

I left that conversation inspired, reminding myself again that the young’ns - more nowadays than the c-suite — should have a seat at the center of futures practice — not as passive recipients of someone else’s forecast, but as active participants in imagining what’s possible.

Vikram’s blog is here — I’d encourage you to check it out and send him your encouragement.