The Story

Unfortunately, due to Joel Barker’s passing, changes have been made to the Finding the Future Faster project that Joel and Jim Schreier worked on until just a few months before Joel passed. Fortunately, at the time the four books planned for the project were 95% complete. The major decision that has been made is that, at this time, no printed copies are being planned. Each of the four books is going to be released as a PDF. Books will be distributed to the “Benefactors” who made this project possible; they will then be announced to Joel’s email list. “Paradigm Parables,” “An Entrepreneur’s Journey,” and The ChatGPT Experiments” are available now. “The Guidebook” will be released on October 1st!

In the early 2000’s, futurist Joel Barker embarked on a project to create a “Field Guide” based on all of his work.  This included his classic work on paradigms and vision, plus the Strategic Exploration Tools, the Implications Wheel, Strategy Matrix, Innovation at the Verge, and…  The fundamental concept was to describe the concepts and tools, with resources enabling the reader to understand and apply the material. This was intended to be focused on actions that could be taken without training or certification.

In 2018, Joel met with Jim Schreier in St. Paul and told him that he would be co-authoring the book, with the concept “Finding the Future Faster.”  Initial planning identified chapters and primary responsibilities, splitting the content approximately 50-50.

In 2020, Joel and Jim spent three days together in St. Paul, carefully organizing and reviewing volumes of material from Joel’s work.  Most of the materials were transferred to Jim – and Jim was directed to take primary responsibility for working on all chapters of the project.

In 2023, based in part on Joel’s health, responsibility and rights to complete and publish the Field Guide were granted to Jim Schreier.

Finding the Future Faster includes information about the origins of the tools, step-by-step instructions for use, and resources (forms, worksheets, exercises) supporting the application.

The 2023 ChatGPT Bonus:  For most of the tools, the chapter includes an example of how ChatGPT can be used to supplement their use.  ChatGPT experiments include the Implications Wheel, T.I.P.S. Tracking, Interrogation, Innovation at the Verge, and the Vision/Vision Album.

A companion eBook, containing complete details of the ChatGPT experiments, has been created.

Jim Schreier has served as Joel Barker’s Director of Training since 2015.  He was certified as part of the original Implications Wheel Certification class in 1999.  He’s been a Master Trainer for the Strategic Exploration Tools, including the design and delivery of the online certifications. In the last few years, he’s also been the primary presenter for Paradigms and Innovation at the Verge.