How can your customers or clients prepare for an unknown future?

Leading Change
Written By Stacia Aylward

The Challenge

Make a list of three potential scenarios for the direction your company might go in the next year. How would each of these scenarios affect your customers or clients?

Why do this?

Considering potential futures in advance (especially more difficult ones) and how you will respond to them has been shown to significantly increase the degree to which an organization is able to adapt. (By the way, if you noticed that this challenge is similar to another one you've done, you're right. It is! We developed a whole series on external awareness, and this challenge is part of that series.)

The world is in constant flux, and the most successful companies are able to anticipate and respond to changes in their external environment.

What’s next?

Add one more scenario to your list. This time, challenge yourself to "think the unthinkable." How would you respond to these same questions in the absolute worst-case scenario?

Stacia Aylward

Zelos CEO Stacia C. Aylward is an executive leader and lifelong learner with broad professional experience in envisioning and leading programs, projects and teams; facilitating and teaching adults; conducting research; and developing client relationships using proven methodologies in many government and technical fields, including economics, education, healthcare, housing, non-profit governance, IT and law. Stacia holds a master’s degree in Communication and Information, a bachelor’s degree in English, a Six Sigma black belt certification, and a Coach Approach to Leadership credential.

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