We Cannot Flee the Future: Preparing for the 2030s Today [Part I]
AUTHOR’S ATTESTATION: This article was written entirely by Jeff De Cagna AIMP DAIG FRSA FASAE FNI.Dir, a human author, without using generative AI.
As of this article’s publication date (2/26/26), there are 1405 days until Tuesday 1/1/30, the first day of the next decade.
Very Glad to Be Back
After more than a year’s absence from this space, I am very glad to restart to my Association Adviser column in 2026 with a multi-part series that will provide both staff and voluntary association contributors with important guidance they can use to prepare their organizations and stakeholders for the 2030s today.
The foundational motivation for this series is the extraordinary wisdom of trailblazing advocate Barbara Jordan, who made clear, “For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future.” This July, we will mark fifty years since Jordan, a former United States Representative from Texas, spoke these powerful words that continue to inspire and challenge us to prioritize our shared responsibility for creating better futures for ourselves and others. I hope the words I share throughout this series will further amplify Rep. Jordan’s prescience and solidarity with the future.
Preparing for the 2030s Today
Even before 2026 began, both 2016 and 2030 were on my mind. A decade ago, when the 2020s were fast approaching, our community would have benefited from an inclusive dialogue grounded in tough questions about the powerful forces that were reshaping our world at that time. While we might not have recognized the faint indicators of a global health emergency lurking on the horizon, it was entirely possible for us to imagine how the formidable impact of social, technological, economic, environment, and political (STEEP) factors could produce the increased upheaval and risks we face today.
We are in a similar situation as we look ahead to 2030, but with a crucial difference: we have endured 6+ years of arguably the most turbulent decade of our lifetimes and the consequences of inadequate foresight are both visible and tangible. The high-intensity distress that has been building since the earliest months of 2020 serves as a painful reminder that while we cannot know with absolute precision the disruptive threats and intriguing prospects the 2030s will deliver, it is vital that we anticipate and prepare for a full range of plausible futures. To move in this direction, we must first act to reclaim our agency.
Reclaiming Our Agency
The rapid global adoption of AI is raising many troubling questions about the present and future of human agency. Reclaiming our agency—the ability to make and act on our individual and collective choices—is the first step we must take to prepare for the 2030s. Below are three human-first practices for restoring our agency.
- Thinking and acting beyond orthodoxy—Instead of surrendering our agency to orthodox beliefs, i.e., the deep-seated assumptions we make about how the world works, we must surface and scrutinize those beliefs, and reckon with their detrimental impact. As this decade’s relentless turbulence forces the reconsideration of countless long-standing assumptions, it would be foolhardy to build our futures on outmoded beliefs that have been a source of both past and present damage.
- Pursuing intentional learning—To overcome growing technological dependence and reclaim human agency, we must shift our learning from an incidental to an intentional process. Intentional learning, which includes critical thinking, is a disciplined and repeated cycle of sense-making (building a supportable understanding), meaning-making (adopting a holistic perspective on implications), and decision-making (using the synthesis of sense-making and meaning-making to bring wisdom to our choices).
- Building a robust practice of foresight—The time for association decision-makers and contributors to “experiment” with the work of foresight is over. The impending arrival of the 2030s demands that associations build foresight as a deep organizational capability through meaningful financial investments that create capacity for foresight over time. To be clear, for every association committed to maximizing its potential in the next decade, a consistent practice of foresight is no longer optional.
Associations should seek to tie these three practices together to deepen their beneficial impact and help move their decision-makers and contributors beyond coping with current turbulence and future uncertainty. Thinking and acting beyond orthodoxy removes barriers to intentional learning and unleashes curiosity and intrinsic motivation. Intentional learning increases comfort with complexity and creates a richer understanding of the myriad risks and problems that associations must confront. The practice of foresight situates critical issues and questions in alternative time horizons that can introduce unexpected future options and reframe short-term and long-term decision-making. Orchestrating these practices in an integrated and sustained manner is a significant positive step toward centering human agency in our community’s organizations.
Look for Part II in April
In Part II of this series, which will be posted in April, I will discuss the need for association decision-makers and contributors to derive maximum benefit from available attention resources as they address current problems and prepare for the future. Thank you for reading and please stay safe.
Jeff can be reached at [email protected] and LinkedIn at jeffonlinkedin.com.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this column belong solely to the author.
