Planning, they say, is invaluable, but plans are useless. The value therefore lies in the exercise of looking at the trends, analysing them, and coming up with a story of how the future might unfold.

Of course, because we cannot know for certain, it makes sense to ask “What if?” This can help us to come up with multiple scenarios, i.e., a range of possibilities. While it is important to realise that there is a strong likelihood that none of the future scenarios we developed will play out, the mere act of thinking and analysing the scenarios places us in a better position to understand the changes, and adapt to them to improve our chances of success.