Newsletters & Blogs

I was delighted to have an article in the October 2020 edition of iScot magazine entitled 'A vision for Scotland'. You can read the entire article here: A vision for Scotland 

Here is a short section from it:

"The future is uncertain.

Even before the global pandemic, geo-political shifts, rapid developments in technology, the climate change emergency, labour market shifts and closer to home, Brexit were all threats that conspire to make leaders look for comfort in short term horizons.  Our political system actively encourages short term thinking.

The question asked by J. Peter Scoblic in his paper ‘Learning from the future’ is, “how can we formulate strategy in the face of uncertainty?” He makes particular reference to what he calls “the tyranny of the present” where leadership must focus on survival in the face of threats yet may neglect strategic foresight particularly where the future lacks antecedents.

The Independence referendum of 2014 saw many discussions of what kind of Scotland people would like to see; the ‘what’. However, it also saw much debate about the ‘how’ in terms of economic resources and financial systems such as banking and currency.  The debate since that point has remained mired in the ‘how’, or to put it another way, has been focused more on inputs (such as finance) and processes (such as government policies) than on outcomes (vision).  As a result, in my view we have given insufficient focus to untapping our collective imagination.

People are too often passive observers and commentators rather than actors in creating a future that will serve their children and their grandchildren. Too often there is a failure to tap into the insights and imagination of our fellow citizens as we seek to change society for the better – and I believe every citizen of Scotland should have the opportunity to help shape our future in the development of a shared vision on the future of Scotland.

This is why I, and my business partner Roger Mullin of Momentous Change, are now developing a project to develop a shared vision of Scotland.  

It will not be our vision – it will be the vision of many Scots whom we hope will be willing and able to participate.

The potential scope of the project is vast - yet the threats we face in society contain some repeating themes. I list just a few below:

• What are our shared values?
• How shall we live in, give to and shape our society? How can we make our voices heard in that society?
• How shall we nurture our young, support our elderly and build an equal society?
• What is the role of business?

Thank you to iScot for giving me permission to reproduce it.