If you’re orthodox, you’ll take stock of your present situation, analyse it and develop plans to achieve a future scenario. But if you want to try something new, try back casting room.
In this method, a desirable future scenario is envisioned first; then the strategist works back from there to the present scenario. On his way back, he identifies key strategies that must be applied to take the present scenario to the desired future.
Where the desired future is envisioned, brainstorming is done and strategic plannings are made utilising the back casting technique is called a back casting room.
In this article, you’ll find a lucid discussion of key features of this exciting strategic planning technique and its practical usage in real life.
What Happens in The Back Casting Room?
The first that arises regarding this future planning technique is what is the difference between traditional forecasting method and this back casting? Let’s clarify this point first
Why Back Casting is Different from Forecasting?
In the traditional forecasting method, the strategist analyses the present scenario and predicts an achievable future development.
Here the future is limited by the present situation. This technique doesn’t allow much room for creative imagination. You must get what you put in, this is the proverb that more or less controls this orthodox method of planning.
But in the back casting room, the strategist first thinks of a desired future and working back from that future to the present scenario identifies necessary planning that must be applied to bridge the gap between the present situation and the desired future.
Process Of Back Casting Room Technique
A Clear Vision of the Future State
The strategist first visualises a future state with clear features. This is the first step and this desired future scenario guides the entire back casting method.
Setting of Goals to Achieve the Future State
Next, the strategist identifies clear goals or milestones that must be achieved to take the present situation to the envisioned future state.
The gap between the present and the desired future is identified in this process. Here a strategic analysis of the present situation is done and achievable and measurable goals are set to bridge the gap between the past and the future in the back casting room.
Development of Practical Strategies
Having fixed the desired future and goals to achieve it, the strategist now develops plans to transform the present state into the dream future through the step-by-step achievement of the necessary goals.
Putting the Strategies into Practice
The final step in this back casting method is to implement the strategies. Close monitoring of the strategy implementation is done to identify any deviations from the desired pathway and take necessary steps to get the entire process back to the desired course.
Application of Back Casting Room Technique
Urban Planning
Back casting room method is extensively used in urban planning. A desired urban scenario is envisioned and then working backward, the strategist develops a course of action to achieve that future state.
Sustainability Challenges
This developmental technique is also widely used in environmental management. Envisioning a healthy environment, the strategist then develops policies, investment and strategies to achieve that desired environment and sustainable use of natural resources.
Application in Business
In the business world, strategists are extensively using this back casting room technique for future business development.
He envisions a desired future and then analyses the present scenario.
From this analysis, he identifies strategies to meet the challenges of possible future market trends, customer needs and competition. This helps organisations to thrive in a competitive market scenario and successfully meet its various challenges.
Benefits of Back Casting Room
Thinking Out of the Box
Back casting room technique allows for exercising imagination and creativity, two key factors that differentiate between the ordinary and the extraordinary.
Envisioning a desired future based on creativity, imagination and logic pays off while fixing a future course of action to root out the undesirable and achieve the desirable results.
Robust Strategic Planning
Back casting process helps organisations to identify loopholes in the present scenario and develop clear strategies to plug those loopholes for desired future growth.
Enhanced Decision Making
Utilising the technique of back casting room, organisations can take informed and timely decisions based on a structured course of action identified by necessary strategies.
Drawbacks of Back Casting Room Method
Unexpected Future Scenarios
The most important drawback of the back casting method is future uncertainty. Strategists in the back casting room use assumptions and imagination to envision a desired future.
But unexpected future scenarios may crop up and play the killjoy.
It is a challenge to the strategists to immediately develop a necessary plan of action to tackle those surprising future developments.
Resistance to Change
Back casting technique requires the leadership to take decisions that can drastically change the existing business processes and policies. This can draw severe resistance from the stakeholders.
It is a challenge to the leader to negate that resistance and implement strategies developed in the back casting room.
Conclusion
Back casting method is extensively used in government and organisational plannings and their implementation with outstanding results.
Encouraging creative imagination and logical development of strategy, this process allows the leaders to explore new grounds for the future benefits of their organisations. No organisation can achieve remarkable goals and growth without the use of creative development of fresh business policies and ideas.
However, the use of creative imagination in fixing future business strategies carries a risk: Unexpected future development may interfere with the application of strategies developed in the back casting room.
The point is, we must not discard a technique because it carries a risk. Besides, a careful analysis will reveal the pros of the back casting method far outweigh the cons of it.
FAQs:
Q. What Is The Back Casting Method?
A. Back casting method involves envisioning a desirable future and then working back from that future scenario to the present scenario to identify strategies to transform the present state into that desired future one.
Q. Where Is The Back Casting Technique Used?
A. Back casting room technique is widely used in urban development, environmental management and business development.
Q. What Are The Disadvantages Of Back Casting?
A. Back casting depends heavily on the strategist’s creative and imaginative power as he visualises a desired future first before developing strategies to achieve it. A sudden and unexpected future development can easily throw the entire process out of kilter.
Q. What Is The Difference Between Forecasting And Back Casting?
A. While forecasting analyses the present state to predict a plausible future course of action, back casting method takes up a desired future as the starting point and works backward to the present state to identify the future course of action.