FSG is facilitating the U.S. Coast Guard’s scenario-based planning process known as Project Evergreen. This is the second iteration of Evergreen; the first was initiated in the fall of 2003 under the direction of FSG. Evergreen is a four-year strategy and planning cycle, which is envisioned both as a tool for developing long-range enterprise strategies and as a process for instilling strategic intent throughout the Coast Guard. To date, Evergreen core strategies have informed a range of Coast Guard activities, including the National Strategy for Maritime Security and its eight subordinate plans. It has also provided the catalyst for the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Strategy Risk Assessment initiative and the newly published Coast Guard Strategy for Maritime Safety, Security, and Stewardship. An initial set of Evergreen strategy workshops is exploring common or “robust” implementation considerations for the new Coast Guard strategies. For a brochure describing Project Evergreen, please complete the e-mail request form.

FSG to host panel at annual World Future Society Conference in July…

FSG principals Charles Thomas, Tom Buckley and Peter Kennedy will discuss the critical success factors behind implementing long-term plans and strategies at the World Future Society’s 2007 conference in Minneapolis, MN, July 29-31. The FSG session, which is scheduled for Monday, July 30, is called “Beyond Enlightenment: Translating Big Thoughts into Concrete Actions.” It will draw heavily on lessons learned in FSG principals’ 20-year experience in conducting scenario-planning exercises for some of the world’s most successful companies and governmental organizations, including IBM, 3M, Pfizer and the U.S. Coast Guard.  Contact the World Future Society for conference schedule and details.

The Hartford Courant conducted an extended interview with FSG principals Charles Perrottet and Peter Kennedy as part of the paper’s Outlook 2007 special edition. Charles and Peter shared thoughts and futures perspectives on a wide range of high-interest topics, including global markets, Middle East stability, alternative energy, the U.S. economy, new employment structures, the pandemic risk and the next revolution in air transportation. In the spirit of scenario planning, Charles and Peter fought off Courant requests to make forecasts on any one of these subjects (although Peter could not resist predicting a New York Jets victory in next year’s Super Bowl). Click here for the full text of the round table discussion.

In his February 7, 2007 New York Times column Thomas Friedman called for a permanent $3.50 a gallon floor price for gasoline as a means of encouraging development of energy alternatives and reducing U.S. dependence on Middle East oil. In a letter to the editor, FSG partner Peter Kennedy applauded the spirit of the gas price floor, but warned of its unintended consequences given post-industrial sprawl, limited public transportation, and the dependence, especially among workers of modest means, on cheap fuel. The full text of Peter’s letter to the editor published in the February 8, 2007 New York Times can be accessed here.

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