Constraint Futures: A Strategic Foresight Toolkit

The futures executives imagine are the ones they're already prepared for. The valuable futures, the ones worth exploring, are the ones they can't easily see. Constraint Futures makes the invisible visible.

Inspired by the Oulipo literary movement, which used arbitrary constraints to unlock creativity, Constraint Futures applies the same principle to strategic foresight. Draw a signal. Accept a constraint. Build a future you couldn't have imagined without them. The constraints eliminate default thinking, forcing participants past their first instincts and into territory they'd otherwise avoid.

What's In The Box

Constraint Futures is a complete professional facilitation system for strategic foresight workshops. Everything you need to run sessions from two hours to a full day, for groups of 12 to 50 participants.

90 Cards Across Three Decks

Each deck is poker-sized (2.5" × 3.5"), printed on 350gsm black-core cardstock with matte finish and rounded corners. Color-coded backs make sorting instant.

Signal Cards (30, blue backs): Structural shifts already emerging at the edges of your industry. Each card presents a future development on the front. On the back, two Localization Prompts help participants ground abstract signals in their specific context: an Industry Lens question for sector-wide implications and an Organization Lens question for internal impact.

Constraint Cards (30, orange backs): Rules that make the obvious impossible. These force participants past their first instincts by eliminating default assumptions. "Your flagship product doesn't exist." "Describe this future without using growth, innovation, digital, transform, leverage, or scale." "Energy costs are 10x today."

Inversion Cards (30, purple backs): Counterintuitive situations that surface hidden assumptions. Split into Tier 1 (accessible) and Tier 2 (disorienting), each with three scaffolding formats. Groups choose their own difficulty. "Your newest hires consistently outperform your most experienced employees." "Your customers would pay you to stop selling to them."

Worksheets and Working Materials

Scenario Summary Cards (25): 5" × 7" cardstock. Groups capture the three defining characteristics of each scenario, what drove it to emerge, and what success requires in that world.

Futures Wheel Worksheets (25): 11" × 14" paper. Four versions included: STEEP Wheel (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political), Stakeholder Wheel (Customers, Employees, Partners, Regulators, Competitors), Value Chain Wheel (Inbound, Operations, Outbound, Market, Support), and Custom Wheel (blank for facilitator labeling). Each includes space for first, second, and third-order implications plus notation for reinforcing loops.

Competitive Scenario Slips (20): 4" × 6" cardstock with fill-in blanks. The facilitator customizes these during the session to stress-test scenarios against competitive threats specific to the organization.

Participant Takeaway Cards (50): 3" × 5" cards participants fill out themselves at session close. Captures scenarios explored, key assumptions surfaced, top strategic options, next check-in date, and Maintenance Owner. Includes printed confidentiality reminder.

Sticky Notes (2 pads) and Dot Voting Stickers (3 sheets): For synthesis activities and prioritization.

Facilitation Tools

Facilitator Guide (48 pages): Saddle-stitched 6" × 9" booklet that lays flat when open. Covers session architecture for 2-hour, half-day, and full-day configurations. Detailed scripts for each of the three modes. Guidance on Localization Prompt facilitation, worksheet selection, tier selection (participant-driven), Hard Truth Moment psychological safety, sensitive disclosure handling, and competitive scenario customization. Includes 10 Competitive Scenario Slip templates with worked examples for four industries (Healthcare, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Technology). Post-session section covers the quarterly Maintenance Protocol, document retention, and confidentiality best practices.

Quick Reference Card: 8.5" × 11" laminated, two-sided. Timing at a glance for all session lengths, key facilitation moves, and troubleshooting prompts.

Impact/Uncertainty Matrix Poster: 18" × 24" laminated. 2×2 matrix for placing implications by impact and uncertainty. Quadrant labels guide prioritization: Prioritize (act now), Monitor (develop contingencies), Deprioritize (standard operations), Peripheral (scan, don't invest).

Robust Strategy Prompt Card: 8.5" × 11" laminated. The central question for convergence: "Which of our current or proposed strategies would perform acceptably across most of these futures?"

The Box

8" × 5" × 2.5" rigid two-piece box. Matte black exterior with debossed logo. Magnetic closure. Interior tray with three compartments for the card decks plus foam insert to prevent shifting. The laminated poster slides into a pocket on the box lid.

How Sessions Work

Every session moves through three modes, completing a full arc from divergence to analysis to convergence.

Mode 1: Constrained Scenarios. Groups draw Signal Cards and Constraint Cards, then build future scenarios they couldn't have imagined without the constraints. They complete Scenario Summary Cards and present to the room.

Mode 2: Futures Wheel Implications. Groups rotate scenarios and map second and third-order implications using the Futures Wheel method. They identify reinforcing loops and place key implications on the Impact/Uncertainty Matrix.

Mode 3: Assumption Inversion and Competitive Stress Test. Groups choose their Inversion Card tier and work through the scaffolding to surface hidden assumptions. The Hard Truth Moment invites voluntary sharing of assumptions already partially true. The facilitator introduces customized Competitive Scenario Slips to stress-test against competitive threats. The session closes with the Robust Strategy conversation.

Synthesis. Participants assemble the Strategic Implications Document collaboratively, assign owners and next steps through dot voting, and designate a Maintenance Owner for quarterly check-ins.