What if the key to understanding tomorrow lies not in boardroom predictions but in the rhythms of a DJ's turntable? Derek Woodgate, with his 30+ years as an experimental futurist, takes us on a fascinating journey through his unique approach to futures thinking that blends underground arts with rigorous analysis.

Derek reveals how his background in music management (working with bands like Swans and Sonic Youth) and his immersion in early digital communities shaped his distinctive methodology. "Think like a DJ," he explains, involves deconstructing concepts completely before rebuilding them into something revolutionary. This process requires skills beyond traditional analysis – demanding intuition, comfort with paradox, and the ability to see connections where others don't.

• Bringing music, art, and cultural experiences into futures work through "think like a DJ" methodology
• Breaking concepts down to their elements and reconstructing them with fresh perspectives
• Finding "colors that are missing" and identifying rhythms between the beats when analyzing trends
• Leveraging intuition and creativity alongside analytical skills for deeper futures insights
• Balancing professional futurism work with real-world immersion in emerging cultural movements
• Developing new educational approaches that break down silos for complex problem-solving
• Working with AI as a collaborative tool while preserving uniquely human foresight abilities
• Understanding "rebel laboratories" and underground innovation that signals future directions
• Living the future rather than just studying it to better anticipate coming challenges

If you'd like to connect with Derek, you can reach him at dwoodgate@futures-lab.com where he welcomes conversations about futures thinking.

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

An Acxiom podcast where we discuss marketing made better, bringing you real...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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.

Welcome to this episode of Think Forward! In this episode, we sit down with Cécile Cremer, founder of Wandering the Future, joins us to challenge conventional wisdom about how we prepare for tomorrow's challenges. With refreshing candor, she explains why she's moving away from traditional trend reports toward a more collaborative approach to future-building. "I truly believe that the future should be co-created with people from all over the world," she shares, questioning how much real influence isolated trend forecasting actually has on shaping our collective tomorrow

• Moving beyond trend reports to co-create futures with diverse perspectives
• The Future Fluent Framework: developing resilience, adaptivity, and consciousness
• Why mindset must precede strategy for meaningful transformation to occur
• Making futures thinking accessible through education and physical trend walls
• Democratizing future literacy by teaching it alongside fundamental subjects in schools
• How even small innovations can create a significant positive impact when guided by futures thinking
• The importance of taking personal responsibility for shaping our collective futures

Connect with Cecile Kramer on LinkedIn or visit wanderingthefuture.com to learn how you can build a more resilient and hopeful future.

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.

What happens when you hold an artifact from a future that doesn't exist yet? A newspaper headline from 2045, a product manual for technology not yet invented, or a social media post from an entirely different world? These aren't just creative exercises—they're powerful tools for making abstract futures tangible.

Julian Bleecker, one of the pioneering architects of design fiction, takes us on a fascinating journey through his approach to imagining possible tomorrows. Julian shares his journey from building computers in eighth grade to pioneering design fiction, creating tangible artifacts from imaginary futures that spark meaningful conversations about tomorrow's possibilities.

• Discovered a love for technology as a child, building a Xerox 820 computer with an 8-inch floppy drive
• Needed two engineering degrees and a PhD to articulate what he'd been chasing—that "whoa cool feeling" of exploring possibilities
• Created TBD Catalog, a breakthrough project that materialized possible futures through a product catalog format
• Founded Super Seminars as experimental gatherings where no one person is the expert
• Describes design fiction as "future archaeology"—retrieving artifacts from possible futures to understand what those worlds might be like
• Emphasizes imagination as an evolutionary advantage and essential skill that needs regular exercise
• Advocates "imagining harder" as vital for navigating our rapidly changing world
• Recommends doing design fiction exercises 2-3 times weekly, 20 minutes each, to build imaginative fitness
• Works across disciplines, recently bringing design fiction approaches to policy discussions around AI

Find Julian at the following places:
His Patreon (SUPPORT HIM!) https://patreon.com/nearfuturelaboratory

*** The Patreon includes access to the coolest Discord on the planet.

His Podcast (LISTEN TO HIM!) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/near-future-laboratory-podcast/id1546452193

His LinkedIn (CONNECT WITH HIM!)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianbleecker

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

An Acxiom podcast where we discuss marketing made better, bringing you real...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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.