Planning for the Future

The doctor’s office calls and reminds you of a pending appointment. You check your calendar and confirm that you can keep it. Plans to clear other appointments out of the way are made so you have plenty of time to drive to the doctor’s office, have the appointment, and return home. Maybe a drugstore visit will be needed too?

A quick scan of the calendar notes other appointments coming up over the next four weeks. Best I arrange the calendar to accommodate all of that.

Now that is done, what’s next?

I recall my dad going to a work symposium sponsored by his company for other colleagues. The task was to engage long range planning models. Their immediate goal? Describe a modern community in America 50 years in the future.

Well, that caused a stir. But in the spirit of the time and place, the people got to work to fulfill the assignment. And this is what they came up with.

Sub-teams were formed to examine various alternatives. Others tackled land usage. All agreed that the modern community would be formed as a standalone so all forms of technology and service systems could be laid out in advance of home construction, commercial and industrial districts. Thus they suggested:

·        Use plentiful land resources not now in use; desert west regions were cited

·        Water resources were provided by recycling methods and piping in desalinized ocean water

·        Climate extremes were tamed by building methods that sheltered interiors from hot seasons, and gained solar warmth in cold seasons

·        Centrally planned water and sewer distribution systems were planned in complete units serving specific areas

·        Schools and public institutions were sited near population centers using them

·        Manufacturing and industrial sites were planned near each other to make best use of utilities, distribution, parking and commuting needs. Technology was envisioned to expand communication for remote work groups lessening travel and commuting

·        Electric power relied on nuclear plants and remote from national grids

·        Fuel efficiency and use aimed for zero pollution standards

There was more. The exercise concluded with the need for more research and development of technology that focuses on quality of life and community health.

The company was a giant in many arenas covered by the above. Some teams were formed to pull patented and protected inventions already in the files but not yet used. How prepared would the company be to supply future markets with demanded services and products? That was the goal then.

The net result, however, was a keen awareness on the part of the participants that opportunity beckons constantly. Change is a continual agent that offers fresh thinking and possibility. This was more than 60 years ago!

Surprised? Hopefully not. Brainy inventive people are hard at work to solve current problems as well as imagining what lies beyond that horizon. Well we should. It is how we bridge today with tomorrow. The only variable is the time span between the two.

Getting along with and in the global village requires planning. Military readiness needs planning. Products and services must be planned well in advance. Inventing the future prepares us for that future and helps each of us adapt to the new.

Those who do not plan or adapt, lead very frustrating lives indeed. Perhaps this is a sign of our times?

October 29, 2020