Nikolas Badminton on Facing Our Futures: Futurism is Activism

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My podcast guest today is Nikolas Badminton. Nik is the Chief Futurist at futurist.com. He has worked with over 300 organizations in foresight, strategy, and disruption – including NASA, the United Nations, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Rolls Royce, and many others. Nik is a friend of mine, and in addition to our common interest in the future, we share a few other passions, such as cycling and certain types of music and books. Speaking of books, Badminton’s new book, Facing Our Futures, is a hot new release on Amazon, and during our conversation today, we will discuss some of the great tools and lessons Nik has for us there.

During this 90-min conversation with Nikolas Badminton, we cover a variety of exciting topics such as being a futurist and a hope engineer; the benefits of riding a bicycle; the poverty of our imagination; his 50 Life Lessons from a 50-Year-Old Futurist; futurism vs. foresight; Karl Schroeder, the California Ideology and the ‘singular’ future; the greatest challenges humanity is facing today; his book Facing our Futures; the positive-dystopian framework and stretching our horizons; backcasting, futures consciousness and why imagination is a superpower.

My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Nikolas Badminton are:

Futurism is activism.

Hope is nothing without imagination.

Nostalgia is the greatest threat to futurist thinking.

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Who is Nikolas Badminton?

Nikolas Badminton FRSA, Chief Futurist at futurist.com

Nikolas is a global futurist that mentors leaders to create more connected, curious, and creative teams that embrace futures design to imagine desirable futures, anticipate unforeseen risks, and strengthen strategic planning. He’s a Fellow of The RSA and a member of Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs).

He has worked with over 300 leading organizations at the frontline of foresight, strategy, and disruption – including NASA, United Nations, Google, Microsoft, Intel, WM, United Way, Bayer, Bank of Canada, City of Ottawa, Thales Group, Rolls Royce, Procter & Gamble, IDEO, UK Home Office and many more.

Badminton provided the opening chapter for ‘The Future Starts Now’, which was voted one of BookAuthority’s Best New Future of Technology Books To Read In 2022. His new book Facing Our Futures – released internationally on Bloomsbury Business in 2023 and Amazon Hot New Release – showcases foresight methods and thinking that shift organizational mindsets from what is to what if…

Nikolas’ essential research and opinion have been featured by the BBC, VICE, The Atlantic, Fast Company, Business Insider, Forbes, Sunday Telegraph, and many others. He appears on SiriusXM and CTV regularly, starred in ‘Smart Drugs,’ was a key advisor to the “Age of AI” series with Robert Downey Jr, and is in the Franklin Institute’s series “2050.”