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| What are Scenarios?
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Scenarios are stories that take into account key “drivers of change,” or trends that are likely to influence the future, and how those drivers might interact with one another to create alternative futures. These stories are not predictions of the future but, rather, plausible future realities that can guide organizational strategic decision-making in the present.
For many years now, business leaders the world over have benefited from engaging in the process of writing scenarios. They use them to develop responses to potential future conditions in order to gain a competitive edge in an uncertain market. Education leaders, we believe, can also benefit from this process as they seek to maintain their organizations' relevance and sustained contribution to helping all students succeed in a changing world.
The Global Business Network, which has codified the scenario planning method and teaches it to organizational leaders around the world, recommends using the method only to address a challenging problem surrounded by a high degree of uncertainty, and then only if your organization is open to dialogue, to change, and to considering futures other than the "official future" that has guided the organization in the past. In addition, the organization's leaders must support and actively participate in the initiative and adequate resources must be allocated to the effort over the long term. For organizations prepared to begin this process, McREL is available to help.
To contact us:
303-337-0990 • 800-781-0156 • future@mcrel.org
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| About McREL's Scenario Planning Services
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