A Review of Imagining After Capitalism by Andy Hines

Mar 4, 2025 | Upward Mobility Signals

Foresight on our Future Economy

Jim Golembeski, Upward Mobility

Twenty-five years ago, as Director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board, I
experienced, along with my colleagues, the shockwave of local plant closings and
worker dislocation as new technology and economic globalization drove overwhelming
economic changes we hadn’t seen coming. Companies closed and workers lost jobs.
We weren’t looking for the signals back then; we didn’t know how. Continue reading here

Interview with Social Philosopher Roman Krznaric

Mar 4, 2025 | Signals to Watch

Nan Nelson, Economic Transformations

Futurist Andrew Curry is recommending we check out an interview with the social philosopher Roman Krznaric on Five Books about how the lessons of history might help us navigate the present. It’s prompted by Krznaric’s recent book History for Tomorrow.  There’s a long tradition that we can’t learn from history, and there’s another one that says that we tend to draw the wrong conclusions because we use history metaphorically and then choose the wrong metaphors. Krznaric is interested in patterns, which Curry thinks is an underlying principle of futures work: patterns exist.

Krznaric has a chapter in his book on artificial intelligence, which seems essentially modern. “Reading Why History Matters made me think,” Curry says. “Have we ever created large-scale systems which could potentially get out of control, which is one of the potential risks of AI?”

And he answers, “Yes, we have. We invented the instruments of financial capitalism in the Netherlands in the early 17th century: the first stock exchanges, the first public limited companies, marine insurance. It was a human-created system that very quickly got out of control, with the advent of multiple financial crashes.

As the futurist Wendy Schultz says from time to time: to be a good futurist you also need to be a good historian. Deep structures matter.

Tariffs Are Coming

Jan 29, 2025 | Upward Mobility Signals

Jim Golembeski, Upward Mobility Signals Team

Tariffs are coming. The aggressive approach to international trade that began in the first Trump administration will get renewed life in the next four years. What will it mean for Americans struggling to get by month to month?  I wanted to better understand this renewed focus on tariffs and what they will mean for our low income citizens. Read my review and what I learned in two recent books on the subject. Continue Reading Here

Upward Mobility for Economic Growth

Jan 19, 2025 | Upward Mobility Signals

Judy Nagel, Upward Mobility Signals Team

Upward mobility is the desired status for any society that wants to achieve economic growth and sustainability. It supports achievement by merit versus privilege, the prerequisite for a society that seeks continuous improvement.

So where does the US rank internationally in upward mobility? The International Organization of Economic and Community Development measures upward mobility across the world. Five criteria determine the measurement; labor, healthcare, social safety net, education and technology. We refer to upward mobility as the American Dream. According to OECD analysis the US ranks as 27th in the world for social mobility. In the US it is the norm to take five generations to move from lower income to the middle-income class. Some countries achieve this norm in two generations.

Learn more from the linked report which compares Wisconsin to other states and the US to the rest of the world. There are many clues and models that offer learning opportunities for achieving upward mobility. Learn more here

University of Wisconsin – Green Bay Update

Oct 30, 2024 | Envision Success Stories

Nan Nelson, Envision Success Stories

It’s really important for leaders to ‘go where the puck WILL be,’ as Wayne Gretzky famously said,” Alexander noted, “not aim for where the puck is today. It’s always challenging to think about change— what can happen and how to respond—but embracing change is the key to a successful organization. I would send as many as possible of our leaders at all levels to Envision’s training. Read success story.

Our Community’s Future

Oct 30, 2024 | Signals to Watch

Bill Ziemendorf, Leading Edge Economy Signals Team

When the Envision brand went public in 2020, following 30 years’ service as Bay Area Community Council, the plan was to teach Strategic Foresight to the entire community, sharing what the Envision board members had, themselves, learned. But the board knew they’d have to commit to more than sharing what they’d learned; they’d have to live it. Learn about our community of choice.