cecily sommers at stake

1 Cecily Sommers, Speaker ProfileAt Stake: Your Future in a Need‐it‐Now World

CECILY SOMMERS, FUTURIST

Globalization has shaken up the business landscape, flattening and shifting markets near and far in exciting and complex ways. Yet it has also outpaced our tools and models for mediating change, resulting in a world vastly more interconnected than the narrow scope of specialization or industry best practices can possibly accommodate. Though it may feel safe and familiar, using a conventional tool, such as a limited‐focus SWOT analysis, to navigate broad forces of change is a dangerous proposition; remember, what you can’t see can hurt you.

Cecily Sommers has designed future‐directed programs that bring the power of foresight to strategy and innovation. With new tools and models she’s developed for a new world, you’ll discover fresh answers to ageless questions: “Who are you?” “Where are you going?” and “What’s your territory?” Delivered in 3 hours, 3 days or over several months, Cecily’s programs explore intersecting potentials – yours and those in the future – to define a proprietary territory, the key to building a resilient and competitive advantage…over time. In today’s challenging environment, getting the Big Picture is critical to finding not just the Big Idea, but the Right Idea and best moves to keep you in tomorrow’s game. The most important play, however, is connecting current realities to a long‐term strategy and is the ultimate assurance of Cecily’s work.

PROGRAM

Cecily’s fun and inspiring programs take groups on a guided tour of the future where they find fresh answers to the age‐old questions, “Who are you?” “Where are you going?” and “What’s your territory?” Whether an industry forecast, innovation challenge, leadership development, or for future‐proofing a brand, Cecily is able to penetrate core issues and get to the best questions quickly. Her provocative and engaging programs offer a practical approach to connecting near‐term realities with long‐term objectives.

All programs are tailored to the needs and objectives of each group.

Cecily is represented by Tom Neilssen of BrightSight Group Please direct inquiries to [email protected]


AT STAKE: Your Future in a Need-it-Now World

We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to live the rest of our lives there. — Charles F. Kettering, Inventor

What future can you bank on? Futurist Cecily Sommers knows that making predictions is a fool’s game, however understanding and anticipating change is required practice for any organization wanting to play smart.

She also knows that these are challenging times for organizations in all sectors, and that holding onto advantage is a slippery proposition at best. It is indeed tough out there: just as an increasing interconnected global economy requires a broader perspective, competing pressures from near‐term priorities and shortened planning horizons cloud the picture. Issuing a challenge to eliminate shortsightedness, Cecily shows how a winning strategy is one that applies foresight to market forces, champions proprietary opportunities, and invents a future that can be chosen and planned for.

In this provocative and illuminating presentation, Cecily demonstrates the models and processes by which you can become your very own futurist. Participants will leave not only understanding how change shapes markets and society, but how to manage long‐term thinking and innovation in an environment that demands delivery today. The audience will learn

• How the brain, business, and government are wired for short‐term gains, and strategies for getting around it.

• The Four Forces of Change that are constant and predictable

• Three dramatic disruptions on the horizon missing from strategic conversations

• How to put a stake in a proprietary territory that is yours to invent and own.

Finally, Cecily wraps it up with practical instructions for maintaining an innovation portfolio that plans on the far and future, while delivering on the near and now.

Cecily is represented by Tom Neilssen of BrightSight Group Please direct inquiries to [email protected]


A global trends analyst, Cecily Sommers helps organizations understand and prepare for the emerging technologies, markets, and ideas shaping our world. She is the Founder and President of The Push Institute, a non‐profit think tank that tracks significant global trends and their implications for business, government, and non‐profit sectors over the next 5‐10‐25‐50 years. Many companies have benefited from the strategic foresight Cecily offers, Accenture, American Express, Best Buy, General Mills, Motorola, Target, Wrigley, and Yahoo! among them. Whether an executive briefing, scenario planning, or designing an innovation program and training for a multi‐national corporation, clients find Cecily's straight‐forward approach a welcome and practical antidote to the complex challenges they face. A popular speaker at conferences, business schools and retreats across the country, Cecily treats her audience to a guided tour of the future, noting key opportunities and challenges along the way. Many more enjoy her entertaining trend report and analysis in her “Future Conversations” segment, heard regularly on Public Radio's All Things Considered as well as other media outlets. Cecily is a member of the World Future Society, was named by the Business Journal as one of twenty‐five Women to Watch in 2005 and selected as one of Fast Company’s 2007 Fast 50 Reader’s Favorites. Cecily Sommers has been described as "one of those rare people who is destined to make a mark, who has that special blend of heart, foresight, and leadership" (Andrew Zolli, Founder, Z + Partners, New York City). In the words of Merle Minda, President of Merle Minda Plus and former Senior Vice President of Fleishman‐Hillard, "she is catalytic and brilliant." Cecily is represented by Tom Neilssen of BrightSight Group Please direct inquiries to [email protected]

CECILY SOMMERS, FUTURIST BIO