Building a future-ready council

Creating sustainable success in an

uncertain environment

Tom Cheesewright, Applied Futurist@bookofthefuturetomcheesewright.com/kent

Agenda

• Part 1: High Frequency Change• Understanding the critical trends that are transforming the world• Exercise: experience the low friction world

• Part 2: Athletic Organisations• How to respond to the transformative trends• Exercise: Identify your Pressure Points

• Part 3: Skills for the Future• Curate | Create | Communicate• Exercise: What is your skills path?

• Close

Part 1: High Frequency Change(and other trends)

Technology is life’s lubricant

CHANGE | CHOICE | POWER | SPEED | SHAPE

Image: Reuters

The digital revolution lowered friction in innovation, commerce and consumption.

The result is high frequency change

Low friction drivesexpanding choice

Our patience is shrinking

2008 “7 second rule”

2018 AMP pages load in 500ms

YOU ARE ALL CYBORGS ALREADY

Image credit: http://bit.ly/efma1

Exercise

You want to start a business selling fitted kitchens. In your groups divide up these key tasks to get started:

• Find a business bank account you can register for online

• Find where to register your company with Companies House

• Source a supplier of kitchen units

• Find out where you can build a website to promote your business

• Find some online accounting software to manage your business

Part 2: Athletic OrganisationsBuilding the council of the future

BUILD AN ATHLETIC BUSINESS

Collaborate: Collaborate

Sense: Look and listen

Respond: Process and decide

Heighten Senses• Formal near-term horizon-scanning process every 6 months

POWER

• Accelerate flow of information from edge to core

• But more importantly…

• Push power from core to edge

INFORMATION

Accelerate Decisions

Networks not monolithsFLEXIBLE | RECONFIGURABLE | TRANSIENT

Exercise: Pressure Points

• What frustrates you most at work?

• What stops you doing your best work each day?

• What are your colleagues’ biggest concerns?

• What are your citizens’ biggest challenges or complaints?

• What do you think keeps the chief executive up at night?

Part 3: Future skillsYour personal development journey

Everyone is more exposed in a networkResponsibility | Autonomy | Resilience | Communication

•Curate: Discover and qualify information. Listen & learn.

•Create: Synthesise something new; iterate and recombine.

•Communicate: Sell your ideas to others.

The Three Cs

Exercise: Your skills development

Which of the three Cs do you need to focus on?

Create• Are you comfortable with experimentation?• Are you willing to make mistakes to learn?

Curate• How good are you at research?• Are your learning muscles in shape?

Communicate• Can you sell yourself and your services to others?• How good are you at listening?

Close

Technology has stripped friction from our work and lives

CHANGE | CHOICE | POWER | SPEED | SHAPE

Future-proof organisations are reshaping to respond

Be more athletic! SENSE | RESPOND | SHAPE

Your skills must evolve too

CURATE | CREATE | COMMUNICATE

Thanks

Go to tomcheesewright.com/kent• Download this slide deck• Guide ‘Athletic business’• Sample chapter ‘High Frequency Change’• Information on courses & dates• Subscribe to the newsletter• Listen to the Podcast• Connect on LinkedIn• Follow: @bookofthefuture