Wanted: Power of prophesy 

The Chairperson was due to pass the baton to someone who could see and act on the future ahead of the others. How could he assess his current members for their clairvoyance? He identified ten factors below that may weigh heavily on the future of the company.

Prophesy: What surprises of tomorrow can we foresee today?

Trigger: Do we know the sources of these surprises?

Intensity: Do we understand the severity with which it will strike us?

Significance: How many of these surprises will work in our favourable and how many will be unfavourable to us?

Timing: How soon and how many will combine and gather force?

Responsiveness: How prepared are we to meet them?

Reach: Can we detect the pattern underlying these events and locate the center of the problem?

Striking radius: Are we close enough to the target and yet far away from the zone of risk?

Effectiveness: How confident are we of neutralizing the challenge and consolidating the win?

Presence: How can we stay comfortably on top and benefit from the surprises the future may have in store for us?

He solicited the opinion of the board members with a request to offer their comments ahead of the board meeting.

He came up with his assessment of the board members according to their orientation towards the future and their competencies to surprise the future.

The persons were ranked by their ability to influence the future. The issues were ranked according to their significance to the future. The disciplines were ranked by their impact on future goals and results

Ability was judged by the sagacity with which each member responded to the ten questions.

Some were incisive and insightful while others were vague and superficial.

Qualitative and quantitative substantiation of their assessment of issues lent credibility and significance behind the issues identified.

Impact score was derived from the cogency with which the cause-effect-consequence was brought out with lucidity and clarity to become a management discipline.

The chairperson asked the company secretary, “How fair an assessment is this of the ability of our directors to lead the company into the future?”

Question for the Directors

The company secretary chuckled to himself. The chairperson, as always, was more insightful about the future than all the others combined. It would be a treat to watch the reception of the directors at the meeting . At the very least, it would encourage honest reflection.

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