ABOUT SIMON waller
THERE'S SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
The first half
of my story
My first exposure to the idea of futurism came while on a camper van trip in 2005. During a three month stint travelling through the West Australian outback I read Bernard Salt’s The Big Picture which sought to predict what a future Australia might look like through the lens of demographics.
I was immediately captivated, by both the content of the book and by the processes used in its research and analysis. I immediately wanted to learn more about how to create stories about the future that weren’t just science fiction but were, in a way, science fact.
On return to Perth, I started researching futurism and enrolled in a post graduate Futures Thinking program at Curtin University. Then, in 2008, I then joined Rio Tinto where I became one of the founding members of the company’s internal scenario planning team.
My time at Rio Tinto was a pivotal moment for me. Not only did I have the unique opportunity to apply strategic foresight in a very real and practical way, I also came to understand how powerful we are in organisations and subsequently, how important it is for that power to be used thoughtfully.
When I say to people that in organisations we are powerful enough to move mountains I mean it quite literally. If you go to the Pilbara region in the north of Western Australia you will find half of Mount Tom Price is missing. The reason it’s missing is because people at Rio Tinto decided to move it.
Want to know more? Check out Simon’s personal website.
The second half
of my story
After leaving Rio Tinto in 2010 I moved to Melbourne to establish a futures agency called Tomorrow[at]Work. This was the first step in a now 15 year journey that has required continuous evolution.
As well as anywhere, that evolution can be seen in the books I’ve written. Analogosaurus (2014) was focused on getting leaders to understand the value of what were then emerging technologies such as mobile, cloud and social. The Digital Champion (2016) looked at how we could take an agile or LEAN approach to digital projects rather than relying on painful and disappointing ‘transformations’. The Scenario Planning Guide signalled a return to the work at Rio Tinto and serves as a practical guide for clients wanting to develop future scenarios.
Since starting the second half of my professional story in 2010 I’ve had the privilege to support dozens of organisations, speak at hundreds of events, and engage with thousands of CEOs and business leaders on topics such as digital driven change, future thinking skills, strategy and leadership. Underpinning every one of those conversations is the lesson I learnt at Rio Tinto.
If we’re going to move a mountain, let’s be sure it’s the right one.
