How do we keep the lights on and design a more viable future at the same time?
Reanna is an academically trained and practicing futurist and globally recognised voice on futures thinking and strategic foresight. She is an award-winning futurist and has been acknowledged as one of the World's Top Female Futurists by peers in the field.
As the founder of Work Futures, a global strategic foresight consultancy, Reanna helps organisations to regain their future(s) through a process of unlearning and rethinking action in the present.
She has a global client base and has worked across a range of sectors including the futures of; work and workers, tech, sport, engineering, HR, banking, defence, retail, health, water, law, insurance, policing, unions, energy, farming and government.
Reanna distinguishes herself with a unique blend of expertise: over a decade’s experience and education in futures work, complemented by a background in business and workforce strategy, organisational design and development, and a former career as an elite athlete and high-performance coach.
This diverse skill set ensures her approach goes beyond theory, generalisations and speculation. She specialises in helping organisations to 'unlearn the future', rethink action, and regain agency and clarity over their futures.
Her focus is on translating foresight into meaningful change and action 'come Monday' - ensuring that futures work is not just interesting, but also considered important.
Reanna holds an MA in Strategic Foresight from Swinburne University, a post-graduate qualification in Futures from the University of the Sunshine Coast, a BA in Business (HRM) and is a graduate of the Finland Futures Academy and the Shillington School of Graphic Design.
Talking Points
Unlearning the Future
The futures thinking primer that helps to ‘unlearn’ how we think about the future and unlock new opportunities for action todayUnlearning the Future
UNLEARNING ‘THE FUTURE’ is more than a keynote or workshop—it's a challenge to radically transform our view of the future (and thereafter how we act in the present).
Expertly designed to catalyse shifts in thinking, ‘unlearning the future’ helps participants to get practical about the future - beyond trends and speculation. This one-of-a-kind introduction to futures thinking delivers immediate impact and is ideal for team off-sites, leadership development, strategy and planning, innovation programs, change initiatives, talent and graduate development programs (to name a few).
Participants will explore how to:
Develop futures and foresight skills, essential for shaping the future today
Challenge and expand current ideas of ‘the future’, exploring how it unfolds and influences the present Use insights about ‘the future’ to identify opportunities for change and innovation today Harness and leverage change dynamics to address current challenges.
Master new strategic language and frameworks that help build agency and pathways from the present
Implement practical futures methods, turning insights and learning into immediate action ‘come Monday’.
Strategise Like a Futurist
Bringing futures thinking and foresight into strategy, planning and innovationStrategise Like a Futurist
FUTURES UNLOCKED confronts the strategic dilemmas: How do we ‘keep the lights on’ and design more viable and resilient strategies in the present? How can we go from foresight, to insight, to action today?
Dive into foundational futures thinking, explore emerging trends and issues, and engage in hands-on activities to devise practical strategy insights and actions ‘come Monday’.
This workshop is designed to equip leaders with the tools and thinking necessary to lead with foresight, turning strategic planning into a dynamic process that anticipates and shapes the future, rather than reacting to it.
In Futures Unlocked, participants will:
• Use futures thinking to challenge and expand perspectives on action today
• Apply ‘Strategic Landscape Mapping’ for insights into emerging challenges and opportunities
• Learn and identify adaptive strategies that are context-aware, drawing from complexity approaches, ready to apply come Monday
• Improve strategic resilience by weaving foresight with adaptive, context-specific strategies tailored for evolving challenges.
The Future of Work Now
Getting practical about the future of work using the ‘workforce futures’ approach.The Future of Work Now
THE FUTURE OF WORK NOW helps organisations to get practical around the future(s) of work - going from abstract + interesting ideas to actionable + important people and workforce decisions come Monday.
This workshop challenges the traditional concept of 'the future of work' by recognising that the future never truly arrives—we are always in the present.
Through interactive discussions and activities, participants will explore how to ‘get practical’ and integrate a forward-looking perspective into workforce + people practices, moving beyond business as usual.
Participants will engage with:
• New, practical perspectives on ‘the future of work’ and its relevance to their work today
• Frameworks and concepts for workforce and people planning across different time horizons
• Insights and case studies on how organisations have integrated a practical ‘workforce futures’ approach.
So what? Now what? Actionable insights and ideas for applying these frameworks to current activities and decisions.
The Future of X - A Deep Dive
From insights to action; cutting through the noise of change to identify the opportunities today.The Future of X - A Deep Dive
THE FUTURE OF X addresses critical questions for navigating change: What's happening with X? Which trends/changes matter and why? How do we filter out the noise? And crucially, how can we harness these changes today?
Tailored for leaders navigating today’s dynamic landscapes with informed decisiveness, the future of X sessions provides an expert-guided journey through specific trends and changes + the implications on your organisation. These sessions culminate in an exploration of practical strategies intended for immediate application ‘come Monday’.
Covering a variety of off-the-shelf and custom topics, recent sessions have delved into; AI for small businesses, the Future of Workers, algorithmic management and the Future of Women’s Sport.
Future of X participants will:
• Access and engage with expert-curated trend insights and data
• Delve into the 'so what' implications of each topic and how it might impact the organisation now and into the future
• Craft 'now what' strategies to enhance resilience, spark innovation, and review leverage change.
Futures of U
Using futures and foresight to help individuals design anti-fragile careers and shape preferred work futures today.Futures of U
FUTURES U taps into the transformative potential of futures and foresight, equipping individuals with the tools they need to effectively navigate the evolving work landscape.
This workshop offers a paradigm-shifting perspective on career and professional development, tailored for professionals across levels, from graduates to senior executives.
It equips participants with tools for building ‘anti- fragile’ careers, advocating 'small bet' strategies that help move towards preferred futures of work in the present.
In "Futures U," participants will:
• Learn the key foundations of futures thinking
• Explore how to shape ‘anti-fragile’ careers and professional trajectories that they want to inhabit
• Navigate the changing future of work dynamics, identifying emerging trends and potential disruptions that could impact individual careers
• Craft personal strategies that help simultaneously keep the lights today’s career, and undertake ‘small bet’ actions that help individuals move towards their preferred futures.
Audio
A lot of people use the phrase 'the future of work'. But very few are actually trained futurists like Reanna. In conversations with her, she surprises me more often and creates more 'ah-ha' ... keep reading Google
Reanna’s session was easily the highlight of the conference – I immediately started to rethink a lot of what we do.
I just wanted to reach out to say you presentation this afternoon was inspiring. You managed to diffuse the fear of the future whilst acknowledging the challenges. You have opened my mind to focus on the small bets and doing the next right thing as a practical solution to bringing about the future I want to work in.
Reanna is by far one of the most engaging and interesting keynote speakers and panel members I have ever heard on stage!
Like everyone who comes across Reanna, I have learnt so much from these provocations and it's absolutely changed things for me. One simple, easy switch I have made is to start by asking "how are things around us changing, or how could they change?" before diving into design / solutions mode
