Hardin Tibbs is a management consultant and futures researcher with extensive experience of scenario-based planning. He is a skilled strategic analyst, process facilitator and presenter, with a background in product development and visual communications design.

His work is focused on assisting organizations to move forward with confidence in an environment marked by accelerating social and technological change. This means developing the capacity for resilience and self-renewal, integrating it as a key competence in operational performance, and maintaining it over time. This competence is the ability of an organization to withstand shocks and maintain effectiveness, relevance and performance long term. Achieving or enhancing this involves three types of activity. First, developing awareness of change in the external environment and interpreting the future implications. Second, developing understanding in the organization and aligning the organizational culture. And third, turning the future understanding into active renewal by generating options for entrepreneurial action. Some engagements involve all three activities, and some only certain aspects, depending on need.

The cognitive task involves a search for change in the external environment that can either be open-ended or focused more tightly to scan for signals of future discontinuity, search for growth and development opportunities, or to track the ethical evolution of society. Scenarios are used to summarize the findings.

The cultural task includes a variety of participative activities, outreach, and communications. Often this involves facilitating scenario-thinking workshops that combine strategic conversation, neutral facilitation, and visual mapping. The aim is to develop aware and responsive thinking, and enable participants to develop a commitment to future purpose and action.

The creative task emphasizes action orientation. It involves responding to anticipated risks, opportunities, and responsibilities by creatively reframing existing patterns of strategic thinking and by developing and experimenting with innovative strategic initiatives for immediate or future use.

In addition to his consulting work, Hardin frequently gives presentations on future-related topics. Drawing on the findings of many futures research exercises and his extensive awareness of emerging fields of knowledge, he paints a compelling picture of future possibilities. He is an unflinching analyst of the world’s problems, yet he remains optimistic that solutions are available if we learn to think in new ways. His presentations often combine a review of the global situation with specific prospects for a particular industry, sector or issue.

Clients

Hardin has worked with major companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. He also works in collaboration with various management consulting companies.