Futurist & Social Critic / Writer, Speaker, consultant

What Foresight and Futurism Are

Futurism is a formal academic discipline like biology or mathematics. (At present, there are more academic programs for this discipline in Europe than in the United States.) Futurism studies how forces at work in the present may create a multitude of possible futures. Futurism is not‘fortune-telling’ or prediction; it is discerning possibilities and how to bring some possibilities into reality and forestall others from occurring.

Futurism is also an overall approach to reality, politics, business, and life itself. This approach emphasizes choice and action in creating favorable futures, rather than passively ‘taking what comes.’

Foresight is essentially futurism, typically as applied to specific domains—both ‘big picture’ matters such as individual industries, investment, and geopolitics, or ‘personal focus’ issues such as career planning and personal finances.

What I Do: Foresight Consultant & Applied Futurist

In addition to writing in this area, my activities as a foresight consultant and applied futurist encompass the following:

I consult with corporations, government agencies, and not-for-profits concerning outlooks for their particular organizations. I outline potential futures, help them choose among them, and help them devise action plans to build their preferable futures.

I am a keynote speaker at conferences in the corporate and governmental spheres.

I speak at colleges and universities about future-oriented issues, and the impact of these issues on students’ future lives and careers.

Again, those interested in this aspect of my professional life should see my professional website, MEKRconsulting.com. That website also lists presentations that I am available to give.

Mark Koltko-Rivera, Ph.D.