\u201cWe are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives,\u201d declared US celebrity psychic The Amazing Criswell, famous in the 1950s and 1960s for his wildly improbable predictions. In books, newspaper columns and TV appearances he informed the US that a craze for devouring human flesh would sweep the nation, the laws of gravity would cease functioning and the first humans on the Moon would be three pregnant female Soviet cosmonauts. In 1969 he also predicted television personalities would no longer be seen smoking, which doesn\u2019t seem so outrageous today.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard not to think about Criswell while contemplating what the future might hold after the disruptive events of 2020. Making predictions has always been risky, so why should we still do it? One reason might be because the future has become an important part of the business narrative over the past century. No matter what a company is selling, its best product is often a vision of the future. The customer\u2019s world would soon be one of ease and leisure, speed and convenience. The future gives meaning and direction to all those quarterly projections, strategy documents and planning sessions.<\/p>\n
A look back at how this message developed over the decades suggests we need it now more than ever. Take, for example, the General Motors \u2018Futurama\u2019 experience at 1939 New York World\u2019s Fair<\/a>.<\/p>\n