A complex world and a culture of ease
In a recent Helsingin Sanomat Vision article (2.3.2026), five thinkers were asked what the world might look like five years from now.
Ellen Haaslahti, Executive Director of Operaatio Arktis, captured something very central about this moment in time. According to her, the world is becoming increasingly multidimensional, while at the same time artificial intelligence is building a culture that emphasizes ease and simplicity. Instead of effortless solutions, we would need deeper understanding and leaders who are able to act proactively in a changing society.
The thought resonates. We live in a time when information is constantly available and tools make many things faster and easier than ever before. At the same time, the world around us has not become simpler. Quite the opposite. Economy, technology, politics, the environment and culture are increasingly intertwined in ways that make change more difficult to interpret and anticipate.
Ease can quietly shape our thinking as well. When answers are readily available, it is tempting to accept the first explanation or settle for a simplified interpretation. The risk is that a complex world becomes reduced to narratives that are far more straightforward than reality itself.
This is where the importance of foresight becomes visible.
Bringing foresight into everyday business
In discussions with companies, one of the most interesting themes recently has been the role of foresight in business. In many organizations, looking ahead still happens in cycles. During strategy processes, companies analyze their operating environment, perhaps build a few scenarios and discuss the changes that may affect their business.
Afterwards, attention quickly shifts back to the present.
In a world where the pace of change is accelerating and phenomena are increasingly interconnected, this rhythm begins to feel insufficient. Foresight is no longer just a phase within the strategy process. It is a capability that needs to be present continuously. It means having the ability to observe the surrounding world systematically, to identify emerging developments and to assess their possible implications for one’s own operations.
This does not mean that the future could be predicted. It never has been, and it never will be. The value of foresight lies in broadening perspective. It helps organizations see alternative pathways of development and recognize signals that might otherwise remain unnoticed.
When this is done regularly and from multiple viewpoints, an organization’s ability to respond to change improves. At the same time, it creates the confidence needed to make decisions even when certainty is not available.
Looking ahead is also a leadership question
Foresight capability does not emerge from tools or individual analyses alone. At its core, it is a way of thinking. In organizations where the future is examined actively, conversations do not stop at what happened last quarter or what competitors are doing right now. There is also space to reflect on the kinds of developments that might reshape an industry over the next five or ten years.
In many ways, this is also a leadership question. Leaders play a central role in shaping what kinds of discussions take place within an organization and where attention is directed. If leadership focuses primarily on short-term performance, thinking about the future easily moves to the margins.
This is why it would be valuable to see foresight capabilities valued more explicitly in leadership recruitment as well. How does a candidate interpret changes in the operating environment? How do they make sense of uncertainty? What kinds of questions do they ask about the future?
The future cannot be predicted, but we can prepare for it
The days when opening a news app in the morning rarely brought surprises feel distant. Increasingly, headlines point to developments whose implications stretch far into the future. Technological breakthroughs, geopolitical tensions, the impacts of climate change and shifts in the global economy form a landscape that challenges companies and societies alike.
For this reason, looking ahead cannot be occasional.
It is continuous work that aims to understand the world a little more deeply than what the daily flow of news first reveals. At its heart lies curiosity and a willingness to look at issues from multiple perspectives.
The future still cannot be predicted, but it is possible to prepare for it.
And perhaps the most important question for organizations is not what exactly will happen next, but how actively they observe the world around them and assess how emerging changes might shape their own business.
