The most important thing that a company can do in the midst of this economic turmoil is to not lose sight of the long-term perspective. Don't confuse the short-term crises with the long-term trends. Amidst all of these short-term change are some fundamental structural transformations happening in the economy, and the best way to stay in business is to not allow the short-term distractions to cause you to ignore what is happening in the long term.
Paul SaffoThe goal of forecasting is not to predict the future but to tell you what you need to know to take meaningful action in the present
Paul SaffoResponding to climate change will become the obsession of the next decade in much the same way terrorism was this decade's obsession.
Paul SaffoWe tend to use a new technology to do an old task more efficiently. We pave the cow paths.
Paul SaffoI think of futurists as people who have a particular attitude about the future. They're advocates for a certain kind of outcome. As a forecaster I am something very different. I am a professional bystander. I have opinions about the future, of course. But my whole posture is to be detached and to identify what I think will happen and not allow my judgments of what should happen to get involved.
Paul Saffo