Becoming
Future
Fluent

Better decisions in turbulent times.

Strategic foresight is a discipline. We can't predict the future, but we can practice for it.

A full-day, in-person workshop for leaders who make high-stakes decisions about an uncertain future. Six frameworks, hands-on practice, and a toolset ready to implement right away.

Format Full-day intensive
Hours 9:00am – 4:30pm
Price $750 / person
Cohort size 15 max
Register See the curriculum Meet your guides
Custom Engagements

Or bring the practice in-house.

Beyond the open workshop, we design private engagements for a single organization — shaped around your context, challenges, and goals. Let us build a custom futures, trends, and scenarios program, run just for your team. We can even handle the futures and trends scanning for you.

Scope a custom engagement →
Why this matters

Organizations are making big decisions based on a future nobody can predict.

Organizations that outperform over time rarely got there by guessing right. They built a steady practice of thinking about what was coming, and they stayed ready for more than one version of it.

Foresight is not only for strategy consultants and think tanks. It is a set of learnable frameworks, and the leaders who practice them are harder to surprise.

87%
of S&P 500 earnings calls now cite uncertainty as a primary strategic concernSource: WGSN
33%
more profitable over 5 years for organizations with structured foresight practicesSource: WGSN
200%
market cap premium for companies that invest consistently in strategic foresightSource: WGSN
2×
more likely to hit growth targets when leadership teams use scenario planningSource: WGSN
The program

One day. Six frameworks. A working method for looking ahead.

Becoming Future Fluent is a full-day, in-person workshop. It teaches six strategic foresight frameworks through hands-on practice. Instead of sitting through lectures, you build real scenarios, scan for actual signals, and stress-test your own assumptions.

Designed for directors, VPs, and senior leaders. Capped at 15 participants per cohort.

Strategic Foresight Scenario Planning Signals Scanning STEEP+W Backcasting Executive Development
The curriculum

Six frameworks. Each one introduced and practiced.

01

The Futures Cone

Possible, probable, and preferable. Map the full range of what could happen, and stop treating today's trajectory as the only option.

02

Trend Scanning + STEEP

Structured environmental scanning across six domains. Spot weak signals before they turn into disruptions your competitors already saw.

03

2×2 Scenario Planning

Build four plausible futures from two key uncertainties. Make decisions that hold up across all four, not only the one you are betting on today.

04

Backcasting

Start at the future you want. Work backward to find what has to happen, and when, to get there. You build the strategy from the outcome.

05

Trip Wires

Pre-committed, observable triggers that tell you a scenario is materializing before it is too late to respond. Specific, measurable, and tied to action.

06

Futures Habits + Org Readiness

The daily practices and conditions that turn one day of work into an ongoing habit. Read wide, track your hits and misses, know your biases.

What you leave with

Practice, tools, and 30 days of follow-through.

Six practiced frameworks

Every framework is built with your own context during the day. You leave having actually used each tool.

Printed workbook

All exercises, frameworks, and scenario work, yours to keep. Includes a glossary and space for notes after the workshop.

Starter trend deck

A curated card deck with trends across the STEEP+W categories, plus the scanning sources to keep finding more: newsletters, data feeds, and podcasts.

30-day follow-up Zoom

One group call, 30 days out. You check in on what stuck and what you actually tried, with the same cohort that built scenarios alongside you.

Upcoming Cohorts

Closed

Lakeshore

Colonial Clock Building, Zeeland, MI
July 30, 2026
Now Enrolling

Grand Rapids, MI

Bamboo
September 24, 2026
Register Now
Investment
$750
per person
What's included
Register
Cohort size: 15 max. Registration via Eventbrite. Considering bringing a group from your organization? Let us know. Bulk registration discounts might be available.
Your facilitators

Practitioners, not professors.

Laura and Jason met at the NewNorth Center for Design in Business in Holland, Michigan, where both earned the Innovation Methods certification and then joined the team, Laura as a facilitator and Jason as managing director. They went on to help guide the Newell Brands Design Institute, teaching cohort programs like Design Thinking for Executives, Innovation Methods, and Leading Creative Teams. Fifteen years later, they still facilitate workshops, sprints, and leadership programs together, bringing deep experience, easy camaraderie, a bit of fun, and a real commitment to making the day applicable and effective long after it ends.

Laura Leenhouts
Laura Leenhouts
Creative Career Studio

Laura is a multidisciplinary practitioner working at the intersection of foresight, innovation, and creative practice. At Newell Brands, she spent over a decade leading hundreds of innovation workshops as well as leading the trends and intelligence work for the $7B consumer goods company. She founded Creative Career Studio, a coaching practice for creative professionals at career inflection points, helping people work with uncertainty and design what comes next. She's also held innovation roles at Johnson Controls, Social Technologies, and Herman Miller. An architect by training and a longtime graphic recorder, she brings a designer's eye to facilitation, making complex ideas visual, tangible, and actionable. She lectures on strategic foresight, design thinking, and innovation at the University of Michigan.

creativecareerstud.io LinkedIn
Jason Kehrer
Jason Kehrer
First Domino

Jason is a strategist, facilitator, and innovation leader who helps teams think differently and turn that thinking into growth. At Newell Brands he led an enterprise innovation function across three leadership teams and facilitated hundreds of workshops; his teams' work contributed to over $1B in new-product revenue. Through First Domino, he now works with mid-market companies, PE-backed businesses, startups, and nonprofits at growth inflection points. He has taught strategic foresight, design thinking, and innovation as an adjunct instructor at Grand Valley State University.

firstdomino.co LinkedIn
FAQ

Common questions.

Who is the workshop for?

Leaders guiding their teams and organizations through challenging times, from family-owned businesses and startups to nonprofits and large companies. It fits any leader looking for tools to be more prepared and more agile. Each cohort is capped at 15 so the work stays hands-on.

Do I need a background in foresight?

No. Strategic foresight is a discipline you can learn, and the day is built around practicing it. You leave having used each framework on your own context, not just heard about it.

Why is the workshop in person?

Foresight is better practiced together. The day is built on doing the work side by side: testing ideas out loud, building scenarios as a group, and synthesizing in real time. The people you meet and the community you build are part of the value. Plus, it's just more fun. We believe cohort-based, in-person learning is the best way to think, apply, and change your business.

What will I leave with?

Six practiced frameworks, a printed workbook, a starter trend deck, framework reference guides, and a 30-day follow-up group Zoom with your cohort.

Where and when is it?

Join us on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in Grand Rapids, at Bamboo Coworking.

Is what I share confidential?

Yes. You work with your own real context during the day, so every cohort runs on a clear ground rule: what is shared in the room stays in the room. We do not use or share your material outside the cohort. If you want a fully private setting, a custom session for your team keeps everything internal.

How much does it cost, and are group rates available?

$750 per person. If you are considering bringing a group from your organization, email futurefluent@firstdomino.co. Bulk registration discounts might be available.

Can you run this just for my team?

Yes. We regularly design private versions for a single organization, shaped around your context, challenges, and goals. Email futurefluent@firstdomino.co to scope a custom session.

How do I register?

Registration is through Eventbrite. Use any Register button on this page to claim a seat.