Transformation Design

Future Flex

Lily Higgins
A play-based approach to organizational change in the age of uncertainty.
Practice Social Practices
Project Gamification
Major Transformation Design
Year Fourth Year

Future Flex

Future Flex is a series of playful workshops that propose an alternative to the “Future Proof” mentality. The Future Flex experience is designed to engage organizations in an internal transition from a fear-based to a play-based way of approaching the uncertain future.

Future Flex is an invitation to play through uncertainty

As chaos and complexity become the new standard, organizations and individuals have to let go of the idea that the future can be fully prepared for with a set of protocols. Organizations must go beyond the idea of being “Future-Proof”. Staying flexible in the flux of uncertainty demands new mindsets and new rules; the game has changed and everyone is invited to play along.

 

The Future Flex approach is a series of playful workshops that follows a semi-circular path, inspired by the flow of Theory U by Otto Scharmer, and is made up of three stages; Fixed, Free, and Flex. Each stage uses playful activities as starting points for reflection on why systems are stuck, what happens when we let go of the old models, and how we co-create new ones.

The underlying question guiding this exploration being, “How can play help individuals and collectives cope with uncertainty?” The transformative nature of the series is both a reflection on system-wide change and personal development, with the focus on tapping into a Future Flex Mindset and developing an “able-ness” to change. The Future Flex approach is designed for organizations in socially-minded sectors that aspire to become resilient change-makers by first reflecting on their own internal structures and culture.