Freeing-Up the Imagination of “Operational Thinkers”

“Operational thinkers,” in the context of this method, are action-driven, predictability-seeking personalities. I am one of them — not by nature, but by training. My background in law and ten years of experience in the financial sector taught me to value rigor, accuracy, and predictability. Many of the professionals I interact with have similar profiles: they are lawyers, policymakers, economists, and finance experts demonstrating the same operational thinker mindset.

Due to their professions, operational thinkers play decisive roles in shaping public decisions. Yet, in the context of future-scenario building, they tend to struggle when asked to develop visions that diverge from current dominant systems. Indeed, their emphasis on feasibility and risk prevention can limit openness to transformative ideas, resulting in slower, more pessimistic, or highly constrained scenarios.

Reducing the presence of operational thinkers in transformative scenario-building processes may seem tempting to increase creativity. However, excluding them would strongly undermine the likelihood of institutional uptake of the scenarios developed. Because operational thinkers are often among the key actors who ultimately validate, implement, or block societal transitions, their participation is critical from the outset.

This method aims to support operational thinkers in designing desirable futures for people and nature. The approach combines steps that temporarily bypass analytical barriers with elements that maintain legitimacy and a sense of security for participants. Early steps aim to reduce resistance by providing explanation on all steps, explore personal cognitive barriers to imagination (and revalue it), and deconstruct assumptions of what is “impossible” using examples of economic, legal and societal revolutions. The central steps unlock imagination through meditation or hypnosis in natural settings, creative exercises inspired by the Surrealist artistic movement (breaking the barrier between reality and imagination), and perspective-shifting practices based on acting and embodying natural elements. Once imagination is freed, scenario creation is guided to avoid incremental thinking. Finally, feasibility and pragmatic constraints are gradually reintroduced to ensure bold ideas become credible and actionable proposals.

This method supports both richer scenario content and the evolution of strategic thinking among key societal actors, increasing the probability of uptake for ambitious, biodiversity-positive futures.