Mike Milley has been teaching a course at Stanford’s Continuing Education program called Future Vision for Strategic Professionals (Bus 132). The course is designed to help professionals develop the skills and mindset needed to anticipate and navigate future challenges and opportunities in their industries.

So it was a privilege to share some of my own thoughts and perspectives on the topic..Imagination and Design Fiction.

This was a bit of an experiment into a new approach to sstock “101” talk, so that was fun to try it on.

The students clearly enjoyed it, as did I. Mostly because of their reactions and general enthusiasm. Students can be awesome, particularly when they’re into their careers and eager to explore new ideas.

My focus was to explore how visualizing possibilities can help us make sense of the abstract and ground it into something tangible and actionable.

What’s that all about? How does Imagination tie into what is typically considered a methodological and analytical activity?

Well, Imagination is a core element in our lives. I like to say that it is “an evolutionary gift”, and I don’t think that’s hyperbole.

It’s the thing that allows us to make sense of what could be and then actually get out there and create it. This ability to envision a future and work towards it is not just amazing considering that it emanates from this vascularized piece of meat in our heads — but it is existentially vital. It is crucial for us to remember and utilize this ability constantly to transform ideas into reality.

Yeah but..

There’s always a “yeah but..”

Are we living in someone else’s future?

A common challenge we face today is the tendency to let others envision the future for us. Many assume that imagination is reserved for a select few, often deemed geniuses or future billionaires. This mindset limits us, whereas the truth is that we all possess the potential to tap into this transformative power.

I spent a bit of time illustrating how bringing the abstract into a visual form helps in conveying ideas effectively. There was my OMATA story about how I cdreated an annual report for the company but from the company’s future. The point there has and will forever be that, while I was decanting my vision for the future as a way to memorialize my ambitions should the company wind up (it didn’t..I succesfully sold it!), others who didn’t see what I saw as its future potential read that 96 page annual report as a roadmap illustrating potential growth and collaboration, allowing others to see and feel the future I imagined.

Another memorable story I shared was about the introduction of the Fosbury Flop in the 1968 Olympics. Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high jump by going over the bar backwards, an approach nobody had envisioned before. This innovation changed the sport forever, showing how unconventional thinking can lead to significant breakthroughs.

So the overall idea here is to emphasize the importance of building a world around ideas in order to help people engage with new concepts. This is where Design Fiction comes in — consider it as a kind of fusing of design as a material practice with storytelling as a narrative form. It’s all about translating a feeling or a vision into a physical or visual representation that communicates beyond words.

Often — or maybe even always — Design Fiction does not sit on its own: it is an augmentation or illustration of existing ideas and concepts often presented in prose or with charts and graphs and such.

I emphasized how historical innovations, like putting wheels on luggage, reinforce that evolutions are not only possible but often necessary. Our imagination should not be constrained by the current status quo but encouraged to explore new solutions and possibilities.

My hope is that we can foster environments that encourage creativity and critical thinking. These might be spaces where courses on subjects like imagination are not only accepted but celebrated. Like..I squint and I see a world in whcih Imagination is a job — or a degree one gets or some other way in which there is a world that celebrates and validates the value created by Imagination. Cultivating imagination as a core skill will arm the next generation with tools to envision and build futures that go beyond conventional expectations.

Engaging with Mike’s students was an invigorating experience, I have to say. Super enjoyable way to spend an evening.

Thanks Mike!