Futuresstorm: A New Way to Make Sense of Tomorrow

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When I first started working in futures studies, I found that the frameworks we used to guide our thinking often ended up overshadowing the actual conversation about the world to come. Don’t get me wrong — the Futures Triangle developed by Sohail Inayatullah is a brilliant and powerful tool and I have used it countless times. It asks us to consider three forces: the weight of the past, the push of the present, and the pull of the futures.

Yet, as I used it in workshops and training sessions, I noticed something. My participants, both seasoned strategists and enthusiastic newcomers, sometimes spent more time debating exactly which item belonged where. They would ask, “Is this a legacy or a trend?” or “Is that more of a driver or a signal?” — rather than actually exploring the futures ahead of them. Maybe I needed to facilitate differently, or perhaps a different approach was necessary.

This realization nudged me to experiment.

Back when I was teaching the Applied Strategic Foresight course at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS), I remember introducing a slightly different approach to my trainings. I had been grappling with the challenge of providing a more intuitive, less rigid brainstorming exercise — one that could adapt to the natural ebb and flow of conversation about past, present, and future influences.

Rather than expecting everyone to fully “get” a complex analytical framework from the start, I wanted something that felt more organic, more like a creative spark session. That’s how the Futuresstorm was born.

WHAT IS A FUTURESSTORM?

At its core, the Futuresstorm is a structured but flexible brainstorming technique that helps us explore and map the interplay of different forces shaping the futures ahead. If you think of the Futures Triangle as a clear-cut geometric figure, the Futuresstorm is more like a swirling cluster of clouds moving around a shared center.

Instead of sharply dividing factors into the past, present, and future, the Futuresstorm uses “clouds” that are less concerned with exact positioning and more about provoking thoughtful discussion. We still pay attention to the influences of history, the realities of today, and the signals just emerging on the (third) horizon — but we acknowledge that these influences blend together. The boundaries aren’t as important as the interplay.

In practice, the Futuresstorm often looks like a big, messy mind-map. It’s a simple template: a central “cloud” for the legacies we carry forward from the past, surrounding clouds for current and near- future drivers, and outer clouds for more distant signals or imagined futures.

We visualize phenomena without agonizing over whether something is precisely a “legacy” or a “trend”. Instead, we ask: How is this factor shaped by history, how is it playing out now, and where might it lead us?

HOW IT CAME TO BE

Originally, the Futuresstorm began as something that I also used internally at CIFS to launch new projects and gather quick insights from colleagues. But since my students were grappling with the conceptual leap from identifying interesting signals to making sense of them, I began rolling out some of the ideas in that context. Traditional frameworks sometimes felt too rigid for a first introduction. By contrast, I noticed that when I gave them a blank canvas and some gentle guidance — just three “clouds” and the notion of looking from the past into the future(s) — they felt freer to contribute ideas without fear of miscategorizing them.

Over time, with ANTICIPATE, I have honed this approach with clients in workshops of various lengths and intensities. Sometimes we would do a quick 10-minute Futuresstorm, rapidly tossing out the biggest, boldest developments we see around us — macrotrends like climate change, digitalization, demographic shifts — and slotting them into a loose map. In other instances, I’d dedicate several hours to the exercise, diving deeper and deeper into the nuances, following the chain reactions, and uncovering connections of futures and change.

As I refined the process, I realized that the very messiness I had once worried about was actually its superpower.

The Futuresstorm encourages people to not just generate content, but also to reflect on how their own perspectives influence where they think a phenomenon “belongs.” By discussing these different viewpoints, it became an invaluable “brain dump” session, helping groups surface hidden assumptions, challenge conventional wisdom, and identify avenues for deeper research.

WHY A FUTURESSTORM WORKS

Unlike more rigid models, this approach doesn’t force participants into immediate consensus or precise categorization. Instead, it invites them to comfortably sit in the ambiguity of change. After all, our futures aren’t neat and tidy — why should our mapping process be? Based on seeing numerous Futuresstorm sessions play out, here’s are the key benefits of using this approach:

Dynamic discussions over static placement. While classic frameworks risk becoming a debate over definitions, the Futuresstorm keeps the conversation in motion. Is AI a legacy of past techno-optimism, a present-day driver shaping industries, or an early signal of a post- human future? The answer could be “all of the above,” and that multiplicity of viewpoints deepens our understanding.

Intuitive and accessible. The cloud metaphor is easy to grasp. Participants don’t need prior foresight training to jump in. It feels natural to think of some ideas as “closer” to the present and others as “further out.”

Spotting blind spots. by asking participants to collectively map out what they notice —past influences, current drivers, and emerging signals — we often discover gaps. Maybe everyone is focused on technology and nobody mentions sociopolitical shifts. Or perhaps an obvious environmental signal is missing. Noticing these blind spots early on can guide further research and be used to build a more holistic view of possible futures.

A launchpad for change. Think of a Futuresstorm as a starting point, a warm-up exercise that will inform more structured analyses later. Once the storm “settles,” we can cluster the phenomena into key themes, identify which issues need immediate attention, and refine our strategy or research plan from there.

HOW TO RUN YOUR OWN FUTURESSTORM

If you’d like to try a Futuresstorm session, follow these five steps:

1 Define the focus

Start by clarifying what you’re exploring. Maybe it’s the future of insurance, the evolution of healthcare in a digital age, or the changing nature of work. A well-defined topic and scope provide direction and helps participants understand what to look out for.

2 Individual reflection

I often begin by giving people a few minutes of quiet to ground themselves and focus. Ask them

3 Group mapping

Bring all those ideas together. I like to have a large, visible surface —a big whiteboard or a shared digital workspace — where we can place these notes. We’ll gather the “legacy” notes closer to the center, “drivers” around them, and “signals” further out. But remember, there’s no need to debate the exact placement, except for the building shared understanding. Let the conversation flow.

4 Explore interconnections

As the map grows, start drawing lines and connections. Does a particular historical policy legacy influence a current technological driver? How might an emerging environmental signal transform that driver in the long run? This will help reveal the complex web of influences with which we’re dealing.

5 Cluster and prioritize

After some productive chaos, step back and look for patterns. Which clusters of ideas stand out as key issues? Which signals might be worth monitoring closely? The point here is to translate the brainstorm into a manageable set of priorities or research angles. Narrow down the most important issues. A quick poll or vote among participants can help identify which topics feel most urgent or promising. These key issues become a roadmap for further exploration of uncertainty, deeper analysis, or strategic responses.

PUTTING IT TO WORK

Working with an energy-sector client, we spent a morning Futuresstorming factors such as old infrastructure, regulatory legacies, technological breakthroughs, shifting consumer values, and early signals of emerging storage solutions. By the end, we had a dynamic map that helped us pinpoint key issues for further study, such as the tension between legacy systems and renewable innovations or the emerging signals of decentralized energy production.

What began as a classroom experiment has since grown into the bread and butter of our engagements with organizations. It’s a tool that bridges theory and practice, encouraging meaningful participation, sharp dialogue, and inclusive thinking. Ultimately, the Futuresstorm helps people make sense of the tangled forces shaping tomorrow, without getting lost in trying to perfectly define them today.

FROM EXPLORATION TO TRANSFORMATION

This exercise also becomes part of a bigger journey. At ANTICIPATE, we often embed the Futuresstorm into a broader process of exploring, creating, and transforming. What we call the ACT Foresight Framework. First, we use it to anticipate the range of possible futures. Then we move into creation mode, turning insights into strategies or visions or whatever change initiatives are needed. Finally, we help organizations transform, embedding these initiatives into their operations and culture.

No two foresight projects are ever the same, but the Futuresstorm consistently proves itself a valuable first step. With a more fluid and dynamic approach, we free ourselves from the constraints of rigid frameworks. We can better handle the complexity of change and leverage it as a creative force.

The article was originally published in Association of Professional Futurists’ Compass Magazine The How-To issue in June 2025.