I devised this list for a presentation in 2009, and then turned it into a resource for a client who was putting together a scanning team.
The basic organising principle for a scanning team is that any staff member can think strategically if they are given the opportunity and are supported to un-learn conventional approaches to gathering strategic information.
This means that the most appropriate people to join a scanning team may be scattered throughout your organisation, beyond the senior management/executive group.
The following statements describe some of the characteristics of effective environmental scanners. It’s unlikely that one person will have all these characteristics, so a scanning team should ideally include people who together can create a group that displays these attributes.
 |
I am open to new ideas, including what others might call weird and whacky. I'm not afraid to explore the periphery.
|
I am a systems thinker - I look for internal and external connections between what I do on a daily basis, and where I fit in the 'big picture'. |  |
 |
I am curious - I want to know why it is so. |
I accept diversity - I understand that there are no right or wrong perspectives, just perspectives that 'are. |  |
 |
I think outside the box. I understand my industry, but I'm interested in global trends as well. I look for opportunities to push the boundaries. |
I think outrageously at times. I try not to be limited by what I know. |  |
 |
I challenge assumptions about the future and how it might emerge - mine and others. |
I am aware of my own worldview, filters and blinkers - I know how I see and make sense of the world. |  |
 |
I enjoy making sense of disparate information and digging deep to find out more, synthesising it into useful documents and/or artefacts. |
I am comfortable with technology, and enjoy exploring how I can use it to enhance my life and my work. |  |
 |
I am resilient. I understand that the value of scanning to better understand the future may sometimes be difficult to communicate. |
I know how to present the weird and the whacky ideas in ways that make sense to my organisation. |  |
 |
I trust and value my expertise and knowledge to be able to identify observations relevant and important to my organisation’s future. |
|
|
