This article was first published in World Economic Forum and is available via subscription.
Organizations’ mental models help employees navigate everyday work and collaborate efficiently. But a company’s culture, routines, and the dynamics of groupthink can hinder discovering new opportunities, offerings, and processes that drive growth and competitive advantage. How can a company break out if its mental molds and unleash its imagination?
BCG’s Martin Reeves and Adam Job discuss six steps that use science fiction to help companies spark their imaginations: specify the issue that needs rethinking, articulate unspoken assumptions, identify science fiction works that may provide a spark, focus on discussing just a few questions, seek diverse views, and embrace the fun. Rather than trying to predict the future, science fiction can inspire companies to create and shape it.