• Review the entire Syllabus, including Review This First, Deliverables, Schedule, Calendar and Course Policies
• Our course will require masks in class. Please be certain to bring a mask to every class meeting since we will be wearing masks during class.
• Set up your Slack profile
• Complete the Introduce Yourself and Learning Contract posts in Slack
• Purchase The Signals Are Talking and Range
• Follow these thought leaders: Kevin Benedict, Erik Brynjolfsson, Susan Cox-Smith, Benedict Evans, Frank Diana, Tessa Finlev, Richard Florida, Cindy Frewen, Tristan Harris, Gerd Leonhardt, Kevin Mulcahy, Mei-Mei Song, Amy Webb, Alexandra Whittington, Amy Zalman

• Explain the role and purpose of a futurist
• Classify probable, plausible and possible trends and futures
• Identify and summarize key 2020 trends

• Familiarize yourself with the following so that you can use these sources throughout the course
  • Future Today Institute:
    • 2022 Tech Trends Report
    • 2022 Signals Inventory & 2022 Look Ahead
    • 2021 Tech Trends Report
    • 2020 Tech Trends Report
    • WEF The Global Risks Report 2022
  • FTI framework & materials
    • Forecasting Model
    • Framework for Strategic Planning
    • Key Stakeholder
    • Assumptions vs Knowledge
• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • Signals Are Talking, Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2
  • How To Use Steep Trend Analysis For Business Strategy
  • Amy Webb
    • How Futurists Cope With Uncertainty
    • The Flare and Focus of Successful Futurists
    • How to Do Strategic Planning Like a Futurist
  • Frank Diana
    • Think Like a Futurist with Frank Diana
    • Our Emerging Future
    • A Framework for the Future

• Gretzky Evaluation due Saturday no later than 11:31p EDT

• Identify and determine the implications of disruption across various domains

• Familiarize yourself with the following so that you can use these sources throughout the course
  • (All-1) Artificial Intelligence; (1-5) News & Information; (2-8) Policy, Government & Security; (3-11) Telecommunications & Computing; (4-12) Synthetic Biology, AgTech & Biotech; (5-13) Climate, Energy & Space
• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • FTI 2022 Tech Trends Key Insights
  • Signals Are Talking, Chapters 3 & 4
  • Twenty Four Crises in 2022, Understanding Exponential Change, Mark Werwath
  • Digital Transformation Are You Ready For Exponential Change, Gerd Leonhard

• Define futures thinking and forecasting
• Explain future timelines, eg, 5, 10, 15+ years
• Identify benefits of future thinking
• Thinking Outside The Box

• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • Signals Are Talking, Chapters 5 & 6
  • FTI Methodology & Frameworks
  • Back To The Future (of 1994), Danny Hillis
  • A 30 Year History Of The Future, Nicholas Negroponte
  • Why We Need To Imagine Different Futures, Anab Jain
  • The World In 2200, Pete Alcorn

• Define signals
• Identify signals
• Interpret signals

• Identify past change as indication of future change
• Explain how past influences future

• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • Signals Are Talking, Chapters 9 & 10
  • Future-Back Thinking, Frank Diana
  • Innovation Needs Future-Minded Leaders, Mark Johnson
  • How To Excel In Future-Back Thinking, Johanna Nalau

• Kevin Mulcahy, Tata Consultancy Services (Wednesday)

Prepare In Anticipation Of Discussion

Week 8, Classes 13 & 14 | Jobs To Be Done & DT&L Project Updates

• Interpret JTBD
• Distinguish functional, social, and emotional jobs to be done
• Explain status of DT&L Projects

• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • What Is Jobs-to-be-Done?
  • Jobs-To-Be-Done Theory and Methodology
  • Jobs-To-Be-Done Framework
  • Jobs-To-Be-Done Examples and Rules
• Prepare In Anticipation Of Discussion
  • Range, Chapters 4, 5 & 6

• Review all P2.1 Interim Reports; Each team will lead a DT&L Project status discussion (9 mins each)

Week 9, Classes 15 & 16 | Digital Transformation (Dx) & The Future |  Aggregation Theory & Antitrust

• Explain digital transformation
• Distinguish between disruptive innovation and Dx
• Explain the stages of Dx

• Range, Chapters 7, 8 & 9

• Familiarize yourself with the following so that you can use these sources throughout the course
  • Digital Transformation, Wikipedia
  • History of the Internet,  Wikipedia
• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • Introducing the Digital Transformation Initiative, World Economic Forum
  • The Six Stages of Digital Transformation Maturity, Brian Solis
  • What Will a Future Without Secrets Look Like?, Alessandro Acquisti
  • A Roadmap for a Digital Transformation, McKinsey
  • Five Moves To Make During A Digital Transformation, McKinsey
  • The Seven Decisions That Matter In A Digital Transformation: A CEO’s Guide To Reinvention, McKinsey
  • Anatomy of Failure: Mobile Flops from RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia, Galen Gruman

• Explain Aggregation Theory
• Summarize the implications of aggregation in a knowledge economy
• Explain the difference between an economy of scarcity and one of abundance
• Evaluate whether antitrust law is appropriate for the challenges presented by a knowledge economy

• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • An Introduction to Aggregation Theory, Anuj Abrol
  • Platforms, Aggregation & Antitrust, Ben Thompson
  • Aggregation Theory, Ben Thompson
  • How ‘Aggregation Theory’ is Fueling a Multi-Trillion Dollar Technology Revolution, Tikue Anazodo
  • Aggregation Theory: The Most Powerful Economics Theory You Didn’t Learn at University, David Lifely
  • Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox, 126 Yale Law Journal 3 (2017)

Week 10, Classes 17 & 18 | The Future of Work

• Describe the implications presented by FoW
• Explain the impact of accelerators on FoW
• Analyze the work force implications of FoW

• Read/Watch the following in sufficient depth that you can participate in informed discussion
  • The Future Of The Office And Changing Work For The Better, Frank Diana
  • Robots And The Future Of Work, Frank Diana
  • Maybe the Gig Economy Never Was What It Used to Be
  • Machine Learning Will Redesign, Not Replace, Work
  • Workforce Of The Future – 2030, PWC
  • 3 Myths About the Future of Work, Daniel Susskind
  • How We’ll Earn Money In A Future Without Jobs, Martin Ford
  • The Future of Work — 3 Mega-Trends, Graham Brown-Martin
  • Harnessing Automation For A Future That Works, McKinsey & Company
  • Humanity Is More Important Than Money — It’s Time For Capitalism To Get An Upgrade, Andrew Yang
  • Why We Should Value ‘Invisible Labor, Yonatan Zunger
  • Technological Unemployment and UBI, Michael K. Spencer
  • Capitalism Has a Problem. Is Free Money the Answer?, Peter S. Goodman
  • Is Your Job Safe?, The Economist
  • Amazon
    • Is Amazon Unstoppable?
    • Jeff Bezos’s Master Plan

• Range, Chapters 10, 11, 12 & Conclusion

• P2.2: Interim Report Due Thursday No Later Than 6:48p EDT

Week 11, Classes 19 & 20 | Perspective

• Explain the role of the generalist
• Explain the importance of strategic forecasting

• Prepare for Range Discussions

Week 12, Classes 21 & 22 | DT&L Project Discussions | Visit With A Futurist

• Review DT&L Projects in preparation for discussion of summaries

• DT&L Project Summary discussions

• Prepare for Perspective Discussions

• Frank Diana, Tata Consultancy Services (Wednesday)
  • Reimagining The Future

• DT&L Final Project Posted No Later Than Sunday Monday at 3:47p ET

Week 13, Class 23 | DT&L Project Discussions

• Review DT&L Projects in preparation for discussion of summaries

• DT&L Project Summary discussions
  • Policy, Government & Security Project

Week 14, Classes 24 & 25 | DT&L Project Discussions

• Review DT&L Projects in preparation for discussion of summaries

• DT&L Project Summary discussions
  • Telecom & Computing Project (Monday, 330-410p)
  • Policy, Government & Security Project (Monday, 415-445p | Wednesday, 330-400p)
  • News & Information Project (Wednesday, 405-445p)

• Gretzky Plan Posted No Later Than Sunday at 6:14p ET

Week 15, Classes 26 & 27 | DT&L Project Discussions

• Review DT&L Projects in preparation for discussion of summaries

• DT&L Project Summary discussions
  • Climate, Energy & Space Project (Monday)
  • SynBio, AgTech & BioTech Project (Wednesday)

Week 16, Class 28 | Gretzky Plan Discussions | Course Wrap

• Assess progress since pre-course Gretzky Evaluation
• Evaluate future preparedness for personal and professional success

• Review Gretzky Plans in preparation for discussions

• Discuss Gretzky Plans
• Course Wrap