How to Future by Scott Smith with Madeline Ashby Summary
Overview of How to Future
In an era of hyperchange, "How to Future" offers practical tools for strategic foresight. With a 4.04/5 rating, this guidebook by sci-fi writer Madeline Ashby and futurist Scott Smith reveals how industry leaders navigate disruption. Can you afford not to see what's coming?
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Key takeaways
When Tomorrow Becomes a Commodity We Can't Afford to Buy
We've turned "the future" into a product. It's branded on magazine covers, streamed on Netflix, and somehow even printed on rubbish bins. Yet despite this obsession with what comes next, most of us feel utterly powerless to shape it. Here's the uncomfortable truth: we've been sold "flat-pack futures"-pre-assembled visions that someone else designed-when what we desperately need is the ability to build our own. This isn't about predicting tomorrow. It's about learning to navigate a world where the ground shifts beneath our feet before we've finished our morning coffee. Think about how you imagine next year. Do you see a straight line extending from today, or do you picture cycles and spirals? Your answer reveals something profound about how your mind processes possibility itself. Western cultures often treat time like a highway-linear, monochronic, marching steadily forward. But travel to Latin America, the Middle East, or much of Africa, and you'll encounter polychronic time: multiple threads weaving together, events overlapping, the past and future dancing with the present. These aren't just philosophical differences. They fundamentally shape how we frame probability, causality, and what's even possible. The language barrier runs deeper still. Modern life punishes uncertainty with a ferocity that would make medieval inquisitors proud. Data-driven businesses demand metrics for everything. "I don't know" becomes career suicide. Design teams rush to converge on singular solutions rather than productively exploring multiple possibilities. Organizations cling to "official futures"-like Moore's Law in computing-that become prison bars preventing us from seeing alternatives. Meanwhile, tech marketing has hijacked future language entirely, claiming "tomorrow, today" until the actual future becomes just another cultural commodity. Breaking free requires recognizing that futuring isn't about eliminating uncertainty-it's about learning to dance with it. The question isn't whether change is coming. It's whether we'll be swept along by it or learn to ride its currents with intention and skill.
The Practice of Productive Uncertainty and Strategic Framing
Sensing Tomorrow in Today's Noise
From Patterns to Pathways: Making Sense of Complexity
Weaving Futures: The Art of Scenario Craft
Bringing Tomorrow to Life: From Imagination to Experience
Your Compass for an Uncertain World
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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
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"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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