Strategize

Backcast

When to use it

Use this tool to align your team around a shared vision for the future and what needs to be done to deliver it.

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What’s the purpose

Sometimes it can be easier to visualize what a journey to the future might be like if we imagine we’ve already achieved a successful outcome. The ‘Backcast’ template should be completed at the beginning of a project or process and used to identify what you’re aiming to achieve and how you will go about getting there.

How to do it

Paste your How Might We question in step one of the template to remind yourself of the focus of your challenge.
In step two, craft the future state: Your goals have been achieved, success is here. Use the scenario prompts to describe what that future looks like. This is where you write a Time Magazine interview brief.
Now, working backwards from the future, use the questions in step three as a starting point, adapt them them where relevant, and/or add your own to determine how to get to this desired outcome.
- Think about the key things that enabled success, what got in the way, who played key roles, and how behavior changed. Consider customer relationships, team dynamics, tools and technology, and external forces.
Once you’ve crafted your questions, think through each one and individually capture your answers in their respective area.
Finally in step four, discuss, create and agree your shared vision using the collective answers to finalize one version for each question.

Helpful tips

When sharing your vision for the future as a team, don’t discount differences. They’re important to discuss and find alignment on.

Using this method in your day-to-day work

A ‘Backcast’ is a very effective team activity when trying to align on the desired future state of a project. However, you can equally use it solo on strategic projects or to think about where your career is heading. As you work on strategic future-focused tasks in your day-to-day work, use this template to help you determine what you’re aiming for and what steps you can take to achieve that goal.

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