Chapter 12
Managing the Present from the Future
Chapter Summary: This chapter gives a distilled summary of what has gone before in this book as well as providing a basis for moving beyond it. The chapter discusses the overall approach to technology forecasting. Reflections on selecting methods and techniques are provided. The need for multiple alternative perspectives is considered. Forecasters can learn from previous forecasts and assessments. The need for strategic vision is considered.
The title of this final chapter (Smits, Rossini, et al. 1987) says it all. This book has presented a process and tools to do just that—manage the present from the future. Forecasts provide glimpses of the future and then become vehicles for making management decisions in the present. The narrowed range of probable futures presented by a forecast augmented by continued updates gives a sound basis for moving forward to implementation.
