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1. To create a better understanding and importance of ‘Peripheral Vision” and develop an attitude of “Alertness” to weak signals in the
immediate business environment
2. Identify and evaluate relevant “Weak Signals” in the environment that could impact business environment in the immediate future and
long run (Figure 10)
3. Visualize scenarios where two or more weak signals could come to pass and what consequences – positive or negative – it could have
for the organization
4. Develop a model for revisiting the scenarios identified during the workshop at regular intervals for a specified period of time

Executing the workshop – challenging the obvious

Two alternative prototypes were designed as an approach to conduct the learning workshop.
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The first prototype approached the workshop had an “Outside” approach. That is from an overall assessment and benchmarking point of view –
defining where the organization currently stood and where it would want to go in the next two years. Identify Emerging Issues and create Scenarios
from with various permutations and combinations of emerging issues

The second prototype approached the workshop from the “Inside”, helping individuals identify their thinking biases through case studies. Observe
and analyze historical data to segregate information into predetermined categories of importance and analyze possible scenarios when events with
varying level of importance are brought together

The first approach, “Thinking the Unthinkable” was selected for conducting the three-day learning workshop.

Key Outcomes from the workshop

1. More than twenty weak signals were identified
which could become key drivers for RMX industry in the
future
2. Each of these weak signals were then plotted on
the EIA S Curve (Figure 10) to assess its current importance
in the business scenario and potential importance in future
business scenario. They were categorized into 3 sets –
Emerging Issues, Academic Exploration, and Established
21
Issue or Trend
3. Possible Scenarios were generated from various
combinations of the identified Drivers. Each scenario was
given a “Name” so that it is easily identifiable and distinct
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from other scenarios (Figure 13)
4. Windtunelling helped the teams to identify
Figure 10: S Curve Emerging Issues Analysis strategies that would be optimized for meeting exigencies of
all scenarios.
Key changes initiated in the organization as a consequence of the workshop

Figure 11

Figure 12

20 Content displayed in Table “Alternative Prototypes” is internal to L&D processes at ACC Concrete.
21 4 steps to the future – A Quick and clean guide to the creating foresight by Richard A K Lum

22 Ibid