Welcome to episode 132! We sit down with Roger Spitz of the Disruptive Futures Institute.

Roger Spitz brings a refreshingly different perspective to the future of business and leadership. As the former global head of Tech M&A who pivoted into professional futures work, Roger's journey represents exactly the kind of transformation he advocates for—bold, purpose-driven, and responsive to a changing world.

What sets Roger apart is his holistic approach to disruption. While most futurists focus narrowly on technological innovation, Roger delves into the systemic changes reshaping our entire landscape. His Triple A framework—Anti-fragile, Anticipatory, and Agility—offers a practical operating system for navigating uncertainty that goes beyond standard playbooks.

The concept of "meta-eruptions" that Roger introduces challenges conventional thinking about trends and forecasting. As he explains, we're living in a world where "unprecedented" has become the norm, requiring fundamentally different approaches to preparation and response. His global perspective, having lived across nine countries by age 18, combined with his unconventional study of disciplines like improv comedy alongside traditional futures methodology, creates a unique lens for understanding adaptation and resilience.

In this fantastic talk, we cover:

• Developing the Triple A framework: Anti-fragile foundations, Anticipatory thinking, and Agility to reconcile long-term vision with immediate action
• Understanding "meta-eruptions" as constant, often surprising systemic changes that require a new approach beyond traditional megatrend analysis
• How global perspective and varied experiences (including studying improv comedy) enhance futures intelligence and adaptability
• Creating the Disruptive Futures Institute to address the gap between specialized fields and build a new operating system for decision-making
• Applying futures thinking to complex challenges like climate action and sustainable market transformation
• Emphasizing relevance as the ultimate test for individuals and organizations in a rapidly changing world
• Recognizing our agency to create virtuous tipping points even amid accelerating disruption

Find Roger Spitz online through LinkedIn, the Disruptive Futures Institute website, or his book "Disrupt with Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World."

Order your copy of SuperShifts: www.bit.ly/supershifts

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🎧 Listen Now On:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

Catherine Roy, a designer turned strategic futurist at Thales, reveals that flying taxis and advanced air mobility face substantial social acceptance challenges beyond mere technological hurdles. Her research identified 62 criteria for social acceptability of air taxis, demonstrating the complexity of successfully introducing this transportation mode.

We touch upon many things in this episode including:

• How she transformed into a strategic futurist leading global design networks
• Research found 62 social acceptability criteria for advanced air mobility versus industry's focus on just 7-8
• Urban planners view flying vehicles as extending traffic problems into the air rather than solving mobility issues
• Capacity limitations make eVTOLs inefficient compared to mass transit (only 0-125 passengers/hour in 2040 projections)
• Entire infrastructure including vertiports and communication systems would need building from scratch
• Flying vehicles could increase social stratification between wealthy "skylanders" and ground-dwelling "flatlanders"
• Future climate priorities may overshadow investments in advanced air mobility infrastructure
• Innovation requires developing unique perspectives and courage to stand your ground against mainstream thinking

Order your copy of SuperShifts: www.bit.ly/supershifts

ORDER SUPERSHIFTS! bit.ly/supershifts

🎧 Listen Now On:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

Jake Dunegan, a visionary operating at the intersection of futures thinking and political systems, shares how experiential futures can help us reimagine governance for the 21st century challenges we face.

Drawing from his fascinating journey from anthropology to futures studies, Dunegan shares the moment he discovered a manuscript on "Quantum Politics" that proposed revolutionary ideas about constitutional design based on uncertainty rather than mechanistic balance. This epiphany eventually led him to establish the Governance Futures Lab at the Institute for the Future, where he pushes for nothing less than a renaissance in political system design thinking.

• Background in anthropology exploring fundamental questions about why people do what they do
• Discovered futures studies through a manuscript on "Quantum Politics" that proposed redesigning the US Constitution
• Co-created the Reconstitutional Convention in 2013 to bring together diverse thinkers to redesign political systems
• Developed experiential futures approaches to make possible tomorrows tangible today
• Led the Hawaii 2050 project creating immersive experiences of alternative futures
• Created pandemic simulations years before COVID-19 that explored prioritization of vaccines
• Founded the Governance Futures Lab at Institute for the Future to support political system design
• Believes our current governance structures aren't equipped for 21st-century challenge
• Emphasizes the importance of emotional connection to future possibilities, not just intellectual understanding
• Advocates for embedding futures thinking throughout our systems rather than treating it as a specialized activity
• And we find out where the best tacos and food trucks are in Austin, Texas

The conversation explores Dunegan's groundbreaking work in experiential futures—creating immersive, tangible experiences that help people feel possible futures rather than just intellectually understand them. From the Hawaii 2050 project that created four radically different versions of Hawaii's future to pandemic simulations developed years before COVID-19, Dunegan demonstrates how making futures visceral can change decision-making in profound ways.

Find Jake at jakedunegan.com or on BlueSky as dunegan23.

Order your copy of SuperShifts: www.bit.ly/supershifts

ORDER SUPERSHIFTS! bit.ly/supershifts

🎧 Listen Now On:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.