In the film World WarZ . When the virus turned into a pandemic overwhelming whole countries in a matter of days. Only Isreal appeared to have been prepared. What did they know the rest of the world didn’t.

The answer was they didn’t know any more than any one else but due to their recent history where a surprise attack almost destroyed their country their leadership had decided they must never be caught out again. As a result every government thank tank would have on it one person tasked with thinking the unthinkable and preparing the country just in case.

Increasingly we will see job adverts for Chief Executives seeking ,” horizon scanners” people who can see further than the rest of us, spot what’s coming down the road by systematic analysis of trends , giving the organisation the advantage of being a head of the game. This is not about being risk adverse this is the opposite, it’s about seizing opportunities and being prepared for what others view as  the unexpected.

To help them leaders will increasingly be seeking a diversity of thinking. Rather than recruiting people who all think the same way leaders will recruit people from different backgrounds with different ways of looking at things. They will open up debate rather than close it down. They will empower their managers in order to encourage creativity and innovation. Because traditional approaches based on what worked in the past will not be good enough or quick enough.

Recognition of the value of horizon scanning changes an organisations style of leadership. Listening becomes far more important than  “preaching” or “ converting”. The vision is less sharp, less fixed, instead the key words are flexibility, responsiveness, adaptability and because things increasingly don’t go to plan “bounce back ability”.