Nov 5, 2022 | From our Leadership
Phil Hauck, Board President Envision Greater Green Bay
We often fail to recognize many of our options. Sometimes simply looking at a subject from a different perspective can shape a better future because more options become evident. Innovations usually don’t come from within the “system,” but from people frustrated with it. Healthcare and health insurance provide a good example. The cost of the “sick care system” has been a problem for decades, always increasing at rates well beyond average. So, development of a sick care system that actually decreases in cost will probably come from an outside perspective.
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Nov 5, 2022 | Upward Mobility Signals
Heidi Selberg, Board Member Envision Greater Green Bay
Research on upward mobility shows that other western countries have greater rates of upward mobility than the United States. This is often attributed to those countries’ policies of offering more plentiful social supports. Further, it’s often asserted that the culture of personal responsibility and self-reliance in the United States is a significant barrier to providing the kinds of social supports present in other countries.
A front-page article in the Sunday, October 9, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel outlines this argument through a healthcare lens. It’s surprising to see this position outlined in a major daily newspaper–one that is the largest and considered to be the most influential newspaper in Wisconsin. Healthcare reporter Guy Bolton and reporting intern Alexa Jurado discuss the impact of constrained resources on health. They note the difference in public support for high-tech treatments versus the cost of providing safe and stable housing, and the growing view of healthcare leaders that more needs to be done to provide social supports. Read the full article here.
Nov 5, 2022 | From our Leadership
Phil Hauck, Envision Greater Green Bay Board President
Green Bay’s new police chief, Chris Davis, reported for duty just one year ago, and he’s already enrolled in our program at Envision to learn the tools, skills and mindset of Strategic Foresight. So we invited him to speak to our Envision board in October. Here are some of the main points of his presentation I thought you’d find interesting.
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Oct 20, 2022 | Other Publications
Women leaders are switching jobs at the highest rates we’ve ever seen, and ambitious young women are prepared to do the same. To make meaningful and sustainable progress toward gender equality, companies need to go beyond table stakes. That’s according to the latest Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey, in partnership with LeanIn.Org. Click here for the complete report.
Oct 13, 2022 | Upward Mobility Signals
When Hurricane Ian decimated the west coast of the Florida peninsula in late September 2022, virtually wiping out Ft. Meyers, the community called Babcock Ranch, to its immediate north, came through with hardly a scratch. How could that be? Apparently the community was designed for success – by former Green Bay Packer lineman, Syd Kitson of Kitson and Partners! It was meant to accommodate Florida’s climate and ecosystem, offering some forward-thinking features:
- indigenous plants and natural waterways for drainage
- built 25 to 30 feet above sea level to help mitigate flooding from storm surges
- sustainable water and sewage systems
- all electric and phone lines buried
Interviewed on 60 Minutes, Kitson said, “We are the first solar-powered town in America. We have a solar field that’s 150 megawatts.” The solar field “features a massive solar array of 700,000 panels, built by Florida Power and Light. Those panels withstood Ian’s brutal beating.
“There’s a lot of water, but you don’t see a single panel that’s been dislodged. And there was quite a bit of wind that came through here over the last few days,” Kitson reported. “Gusts of over 150, and it did not take a single panel out of here, which is really just remarkable.”
Babcock Ranch community was planned to be the first solar-powered city in the country, expecting to have the world’s largest solar power array when completed. Commercial buildings and homes were designed to be energy efficient and constructed to the standards of the Florida Green Building Coalition. A tech center with an emphasis on research and development for clean energy was a key feature at Babcock Ranch from the outset.
The message is clear: Instead of climate denial, Syd Kitson has capitalized on climate change in his development. Now, through proof of his success, he has the opportunity to maximize his growth on real estate development – a huge win for him and his home owners, whose equity increased nearly overnight due to his foresight in development. This is a prime example of a foresight strategy – out of the box early.
Learn more here: Babcock Branch Real Estate and “Babcock Ranch: Solar-powered “hurricane-proof” town takes direct hit from Hurricane Ian, never loses electricity”
Sep 25, 2022 | Strategic Foresight
by Steve McCarthy, Executive Director
If you’re seeking a real-life, practical application of strategic foresight to a meaningful situation with which we can all relate, look no further than the war in Ukraine!
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Sep 25, 2022 | Strategic Foresight
Meet the sixth Envision Strategic Foresight cohort, including representatives from local businesses (Schneider, KI, Packer Fastener, and Lindquist Machine Corp.), government (Oneida Nation), education (University of Wisconsin Green Bay, GRACE Schools, and Notre Dame Academy), and nonprofits (Aging and Disabilities Resource Center, The Richard Mauthe Center, and Casa ALBA Melanie). They met for the first time on September 9, 2022, at the Automobile Gallery.
Sep 19, 2022 | Signals to Watch
Phil Hauck, Envision Board member
Remember World Futures Day, March 1, 2022? Vicki Loomes of TrendWatching spent a good bit of time helping us understand the most unfamiliar “metaverse.” Well, guess what: It’s here! It’s now at Horizon 1.5 and imminent.
Want proof? Check out this link from America’s Got Talent (September 13, 2022) for a demo by a group called “MetaPhysics.” Here’s how it works: Place a camera driven by physical-look AI software in front of a somewhat-look-alike person, and you will project Elvis Presley live on screen, singing “You Ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog” – or even a song he never did sing. You can include Simon Cowell singing along with Elvis and Heidi and Sofia as backup singers!
Want a better explanation? The MetaPhysics team explained it here. Amazing!
Now, might it come to Green Bay soon? Probably not too soon, but it’s clearly in the sights of PMI Entertainment, which brings groups to the Resch Center and the Meyer Theater. PMI CEO Brendan Bruss wrote in a recent Horizons article that, as PMI seeks ideas from the marketplace, the industry or even PMI could create small concerts pairing a deceased singer with Abba, for example! Stay tuned; the metaverse is on its way.
Sep 1, 2022 | Horizons Newsletter by Envision
Click here for the September 2022 Horizons Newsletter by Envision. Discover how Resurrection Catholic Church is benefiting as a result of its leaders being trained in Strategic Foresight, transitioning from “Not in My Back Yard” to “Build in My Back Yard,” and suggested readings by Envision Board members.
Aug 26, 2022 | Housing and Safety Signals
Tom Schumacher, Envision Board
The supply of affordable housing has not kept pace with the needs of homeowners and renters. Zoning and permitting are factors that limit and delay new construction. Two recent signals point to future improvements in the supply of affordable housing.
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