Providing its goal is continued existence, every organization has a stake in the future. The very notion of sustainability is rooted in the desire to exist in the future, to endure shifts in values, behaviours, and needs of our society. The human brain is inherently predictive, but there are several human factors that prevent us from considering the future.

Strategic foresight is an organization’s realization of their preferred future, and their capacity to imagine, invent, and align their business goals with this vision. But for many, institutional dynamics stimulate a myopia that makes imaging and realizing a preferred vision of the future a near impossible task.

This work argues that the brain’s temporal wayfinding networks play a significant role in strategic myopia, and that there are several neurological interventions that organizations need to consider to nurture future-facing culture. It explores the relationship between strategic foresight and organizational culture and uses neuroscience to better understand the human factors of futuring. And using foresight maturity principles developed by Terry Grim and René Rohrbeck, it will outline key areas from which organizations can learn to build culture that gazes into the future.

Key words: Organizational Culture, Neuroscience, Strategic Foresight,
Leadership, NeuroLeadership, Organizational Psychology, Team-Building