Sohail Inayatullah Reveals Ten Lessons Learned Through a Lifetime of Futures

Over the course of his long and distinguished career, futurist Sohail Inayatullah has worked with hundreds of organizations around the world, from the United Nations and national governments to leading corporations and community groups Through his cutting-edge thinking and the wealth of experience that he has built over the years, he has helped organizations, and more importantly, people throughout the world, create real, lasting transformation.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Inayatullah with the goal of understanding what lessons he has learned throughout his career that current and future generations of futurists could benefit.

Inayatullah’s journey into foresight began at a young age, sparked by a love of science fiction that opened his mind to imagining different possibilities for our world.

But it may have been Sohail’s father, who worked for the United Nations, who set the course for Inayatullah’s future. When Inayatullah was still in high school, his father commented on an article in the Malay Mail (they were living in Malaysia at the time) about the future, Malaysia 2000. The conference featured Herman Kahn and James Dator. His father hoped that in the future, the UN could transform, moving away from its Western bias and toward a world focused on development for all.

Having lived in a number of different cities/nation states, such as Peshawar, Bloomington, Indiana, New York, Geneva, Switzerland, Malaysia, and Thailand, it became clear to Inayatullah “that we needed to create a world that’s outside our present contours.” Inayatullah’s journey would lead him to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he would study futures studies under legendary futurist Jim Dator. It’s there that Inayatullah came to appreciate Dator’s approach to searching for both long-term and short-term patterns, as well as the concept of alternative futures.

Today, Sohail Inayatullah is the UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies at the Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Humanity, IIUM. He has also served as Professor of Futures Studies since 2000 at Tamkang University. He is a researcher at the think-tank Metafuture.org and an instructor at the Metafuture School. Along with his partner, Ivana Milojević, and colleague Adam Sharpe, they offer three online courses: Become a Futurist, Personal Futures, and Conflict Transformation Futures.

As Inayatullah forged his own path as a professional futurist, he learned from many others, and he has taught many as well. Here are ten lessons that he would like to share with those forging their own careers as futurists.

LESSON 1: It’s Not Solely About the Data — You Need to Tell a Story

Sohail recalls an important moment in the early years of his career as a futurist that left a lasting impression. After completing a futures project for the Judiciary Courts for the State of Hawaii and presenting the findings at a Hawaii judiciary conference, the deputy administrative director, Tom Okuda, visited Sohail and other members of the team and confided that while the team’s quantitative work was good, what really mattered in obtaining more funding for the court system were the stories — the stories that would move legislators to fund the court system, which in turn would make Hawaii a better place to live.

It’s about the storytelling.

“I could see the data was important, but the decisions were made by a story, language, and unconscious metaphor,” said Sohail. “It was always the metaphor that, in fact, led to change.” As one person commented: “Stories are data with heart.” “It became clear to me that it’s not just about novelty and futures, with the grand patterns of futures, emerging issues or scenarios; it’s about the ability to make those real in a way that decisions makers can say, ‘Aha, that makes sense to me. That resonates with me,’” Sohail said. In another meeting at a city council meeting, legislators made it clear: we don’t care about the future per se, we care about getting re-elected. Can your visioning process help me get re-elected so I can deliver the future desired? He understood that he had to ensure that the long-, medium-, and short-term were linked at collective and personal levels.

LESSON 2 : Who’s in the Room?

Another lesson learned early on while living and working in Hawaii was to consider whose voices are being included in thinking about alternative futures. When doing a project for the judicial system, should those who have committed crimes be included? How do we bring felons into the process so the future can be experienced from a variety of perspectives, not just the view of those inside the system but the lived realities of those outside the system?

“When working on a project for the Queensland Government, the Minister was seriously ill. This vulnerability led him to ensure that others with pain — with the experience of a different present and possible future — were in the room. Thus, those with a disability, service providers, and others were all in the room. “It’s about moving from foresight being a nice idea that we can all rally around to something that changes organizational behavior and strategy,” said Sohail.

LESSON 3: What’s Your Metaphor? Who Are You in This Story?

In conducting futures projects for an organization, Sohail says it’s critical to understand not just the purpose of the project and what it means to the organization, but the identities of those involved.

“It’s about the deeper metaphors and narratives that you use to make a difference,” he said. “We need to be aware if foresight is being used to accelerate the current paradigm. Many groups use foresight not to change who they are, but to ensure they have more weapons or more profits, or that the power structure is reinforced. Their strategy is to use foresight so others cannot.”

Instead, Sohail says, we need to consider foresight as a solution. From that viewpoint, he says, “I always start every project asking, ‘What’s my metaphor? Who am I? What character am I in your story?’”

“In one project involving a law enforcement agency,” he said, “we went from studying endless briefing papers to a narrative that ensured the project design was robust. Their overall story was about saving citizens and police from a tsunami of emerging crime. They wished to move the police station to safer grounds, higher up the hills.”

“When I asked what their individual roles were,” he continued, “the first detective said she was the machete wielder, clearing the land so others could go to safety. Her colleague said she was the white witch, whispering suggestions to command to reform the police. However, as we developed the story line, it became clear many did not see the upcoming dangers, thus we needed to create a horizon two space for the resisters, just halfway up the hill. Here, they would be convinced once they saw the tsunami on the way. We then took the story line and used it to design the conference/workshop proceedings.”

The CLA process not only clarifies strategy but can upend it as well. In one project, the client wished for information on indigenous nurse demand in 2042. “During the CLA game – we had nurses, doctors, and social workers all sharing their perspectives on the futures of health,” Sohail said. “One workshop participant jumped to the center of the room and said, ‘I am the first indigenous prime minister.’ Suddenly, the issue became not about forecasting or strategic foresight but about the politics of power. He and others suggested that no real changes were possible until there was an indigenous leader running the nation.”

“When we shifted to the administration of health, the conversation moved to safety in creating a safe space for indigeneous persons in a hospital. Time and community, too, were challenged with participants challenging the option of visiting hours and how many people could visit. They suggested that the hospital needed to shift to indigenous time (not strict visiting hours) and community visits (not just the individualism of the one person visit).”

LESSON 4 : Plant Seeds.

Sohail points back to a project he worked on in 1992, where his futures team proposed the growth of vegan burgers to a fast food restaurant company in the wake of changing demographics. “There was an uncomfortable laughter in the room,” said Sohail.

Sohail believes that futurists need to embrace the Johnny Appleseed metaphor and think of themselves as planting hundreds of seeds that will bear fruit over time. At the same time, he invites the futurists of today and tomorrow to acknowledge the seeds planted by those who came before them—those who helped shape the theory, methods, practices, and values of foresight. Sohail encourages futurists to go deeper into their own story—to explore their inner narrative and identify their core metaphor. “Ask yourself what your current metaphor is and then, what’s a better metaphor for yourself,” Sohail said.

Sohail cautions futurists who concentrate on building their online image or relying on trend reports. “You may impress everyone the first time with your PowerPoint presentation, but large corporations are run by really smart people. They’re not going to fall for it the second time,” said Sohail.

To this point, Sohail encourages a lifetime of continuous learning and exploration. For example, developing one’s ideas and submitting them to academic journals where they are properly refereed. Futures studies are regulated by multiple worldviews—the academy (rigor), the market (relevance), and community (purpose). All are required.

LESSON 5 : Help Organizations Understand That the World Is Changing.

Some organizations, including their leaders, are not ready or may try to avoid the process of transformation. When this happens, Sohail emphasizes that futurists need to help these organizations understand the meaning of their story in the context of a changing world.

“I’ve done a lot of work with law enforcement,” said Sohail. “If you have the wrong metaphor, it will actually lead to missed crimes. There’s a very clear correlation that has been documented with study after study.”

For example, in working with one police department, Sohail highlighted the idea of transcending the blue line. “What would it look like if we had citizens (non-police) trained in crime forensics? It not only represents a change, but it challenges the core metaphor for a police department’s inspectors and invites them to rethink their story. At one recent workshop, detectives suggested the need for citizen forensics, real-time data, and evidence gathering.”

Likewise, Sohail poses the question, “What would farmers trained as futurists look like?” What if, instead of thinking only about next year’s crop season, farmers thought seven years out? What if farmers started using AI to help them manage their land? Often, farming federations create a dichotomy between localized knowledge and scientists with expert knowledge. Both perspectives are required. A recent workshop in Roma, Queensland, led to suggestions for creating the farmer-scientist, adept in both worldviews. AI can certainly help in this regard, noted Sohail.

LESSON 6 : Invite Others to Think About the Future.

If there’s a next edge to futures thinking, Sohail believes it will hinge on two key elements: inviting everyone to think like a futurist and ensuring that futures thinking feels safe within one’s own traditions, particularly faith traditions.

“We need to invite those who are not in futures to bring their expertise to the conversation,” Sohail said. “We (futurists) have methods, tools, and theories they don’t have. But their localized knowledge is critical to the success of the project.”

LESSON 7 : Embrace Authenticity

Over time, Sohail has learned that futurists must be true to what they do and what they offer. The process we offer must, at its core, be authentic, and that speaks to the two-way relationship that futurists have with the organizations for whom they are producing futures work.

“We want people involved in the futures process to come at it from an authentic perspective,” he said. “It’s there where we can help. If your organization is faking it, or using futures in its corporate games, that’s not what we’re about.” “Some people will say,” Sohail added, “’I just want to plan for the next year.’ Well, that’s great, but we can’t help you. I’m very clear on that and let them know.”

LESSON 8: Move from Anticipation to Emancipation

Sohail admits that his bias is focused on transformational futures. It begins with knowing one’s story as we enter the space that we’re going to explore. “We’re active, we’re cognizant, and we’re open to the ever-present,” he said.

However, he emphasizes the need to continually shift our thinking to free the future for those to come. As futurists, we must ensure that we are not merely continuing to “colonize the future,” but rather moving towards a new position of “co-creating the future.”

“Capitalism has to go towards cooperation,” he added. “Patriarchy towards gender equity, five veto powers at the UNSG to a democratic world system, fossil fuels to renewables — these are grand shifts that futures can play a role in.”

LESSON 9: Honoring those on whose shoulders we stand

As futurists, we need to acknowledge failed futures, says Sohail. “We need to say here are the mistakes we’ve made.” Sohail goes further, “We shouldn’t pretend that we know all the answers. We shouldn’t be unconscious of our own story. Of taking a side. Of assuming everyone wants to do futures. Or our idea is the latest and greatest. Those are some of the kinds of failed hypothesis.”

From this, Sohail says we need to acknowledge that we’re part of a long lineage of futurists and we are continuing to learn from the icons of the past as well as the community of the present. And part of this means “owning up to what hasn’t worked. That’s where the power of our profession lies. Unfortunately, instead of acknowledging the founders of the futures field, we have many claiming daily they have invented the
future.

LESSON 10 : Learning to Listen

While Sohail may have many more lessons to offer up-and-coming futurists, he leaves the most important for last.
“One of the greatest traps of this field is that we get all excited about talking about all of these possible futures – the disruptive trends,” said Sohail, “but do not address the meanings we give to the changing trends.
“One of the greatest skills we need as futurists is the ability to learn how to listen and to empathize with the people we’re trying to help. That is step one. It begins and ends with understanding their story, how each person makes sense, gives meaning to the changing world and uses that story to shape their futures

Interview By:

Stephen Dupont, APR, Fellow PRSA, is the editor of Compass magazine and serves on the board of directors for the Association of Professional Futurists (APF).