By: Alireza Hejazi

The futurists are required to develop necessary skills to accomplish their missions successfully in research and work. A full range of these skills may not be accessible for everyone, but a top 7 list of them can be enough reasonable to achieve and motivating every student of Futures Studies to develop such skills.

1. Systems thinking: The ability to understand, explain, forecast and influence the behavior of a system using the knowledge of its structural relations (as opposed to blaming the behavior on individuals or events inside or outside the system). Systems thinking is the cornerstone of futurist profession. Without this important skill we can never make a true basis for our thoughts.

2. Critical thinking: The ability to understand the evidence and assumptions supporting a particular forecast or recommendation and suggest alternatives when the situation warrants. Critical thinking is a prerequisite of the futurist’s self-assessment. It leads our thought toward correct direction.

3. Creative thinking: The ability to create plausible future images or novel strategies outside generally accepted expectations or assumptions. A futurist is a creator. We create the future and creative thinking is the most needed skill that we should develop.

4. Leadership: The ability to envision a better future and enroll/encourage others to work together to achieve that future. The art and science of leadership can be attained and developed as the most remarkable skill that a futurist should be mastered with.

5. Future thinking: is perhaps the most basic quality of a practicing lay futurist. We need to prioritize or plan aspects of our personal or global future. Future-envisioning is a powerful way of thinking. As futurists, we should engage in the habit of seeing ourselves and our environment one hour into the future from the present moment, one day, one week, or one year.

6. Openness: The futurists should demonstrate an openness to change, growth and development of their life, spanning moral, emotional, spiritual, intellectually and ego growth; across the post-conventional spectrum of adult development. This provides unique opportunities and enhances the flexibility of a futurist’s mind.

7. Communication: Sharing ideas so that they are understood and accepted by others in oral, written and graphical forms. A successful futurist is a good communicator. We should be able to demonstrate our thought in best ways and attract our audience to our thoughts, words and actions.