Update – Summer 2017

July 2017. While over the last few months I’ve neglected posting my ideas, thoughts, news and commentary here at mshanks.com, I’ve had a fascinating series of encounters with some wonderful people, organizations and businesses. And I am preparing some posts – I greatly value the process of logging this learning journey I am so lucky…

Solon and Croesus – a myth about future time and foresight

  Solon the Athenian was renowned for his wisdom. Having set his city to rights with revolutionary new legislation, he set out on a ten year journey, that his constitution might take effect, and that he might find out about the world. In his travels Solon came to the court of Croesus, the most wealthy…

strategic foresight|design thinking – online course

Today we launched our new online class with Stanford Continuing Studies – [Link]. Strategic Foresight and Design Thinking Here’s how Tamara (Carleton) and I describe what we have to offer: “We live in an interconnected world where the old answers don’t seem to apply, where even successful businesses need to embrace radical change, where global…

update – summer 2016

The book on Greece and Rome with Gary (Devore) [Link] is close to being done. We’ve chosen to offer a quite different kind of account of antiquity and we’re delighted with the scope of its underlying model and perspective (archaeological and focused on the topic of membership of body politic). It’s the success of our…

foresight and innovation – the automobile

Foresight and Innovation returns to Stanford With Stanford colleagues Bill Cockayne and Tamara Carleton, I have started to revive our research interest in Foresight and Innovation, anticipating, plotting future scenarios, as a part of the Center for Design Research. Bill pioneered this effort when we worked together in Stanford Humanities Lab with Jeffrey Schnapp and…