Ideation · executive leadership team · 60 min

Dark Matter Future Fictions

This method forces executives to design the world five years from now, assuming their current core product has become entirely obsolete. By designing 'artifacts from the future' (e.g., a press release from 2031, a competitor's teardown of a new technology), the team bypasses incremental thinking and generates radical, exponential strategic possibilities. Use this to break tunnel vision and identify disruptive market shifts.

What participants gain

  • Break linear extrapolation habits to envision exponential market shifts
  • Identify non-obvious existential threats to the current business model
  • Generate radical new value propositions unconstrained by current tech
  • Develop cognitive flexibility in responding to unknown future states

Materials needed

  • Pre-printed 'Future Scenario' prompt cards
  • Blank 'Artifact Templates' (Press Release, App Store Review, News Headline)
  • Thick black sharpies
  • A3 paper pads for sketching
  • A countdown timer with a visible display

How to run Dark Matter Future Fictions, step by step

  1. Divide the executive team into pairs or triads to maximize psychological safety and speed.
  2. Distribute one radical 'Future Scenario' prompt card to each group (e.g., 'AI agents now buy software, not humans').
  3. Instruct groups to accept the prompt as absolute reality (the 'Yes, And' improv rule) without debating its likelihood.
  4. Direct each group to select one Artifact Template to design based on their scenario.
  5. Give groups exactly 20 minutes to draft their artifact, emphasizing bold claims over realistic details.
  6. Bring the groups back together and have each present their artifact in character as a future stakeholder.
  7. Facilitate a rapid feedback round after each presentation, capturing the underlying market shifts on a central whiteboard.
  8. Instruct individuals to silently review the captured shifts and write down one way the current company is completely unprepared.
  9. Cluster these vulnerabilities to identify the 'Dark Matter'—the invisible forces that will shape the next 5 years.

Facilitator tips

  • Aggressively shut down any 'that will never happen' comments; remind them this is an exercise in possibility, not probability.
  • Use theatrical energy when introducing the exercise to signal a break from standard corporate behavior.
  • If a group is playing it safe, walk over and inject a massive constraint (e.g., 'Your budget just went to zero, now what?').
  • Encourage drawing and sketching, even if it's crude, as it engages different cognitive pathways.
  • Keep the presentations moving rapidly to maintain high energy and prevent over-analysis.

Common challenges

  • Participants design incremental improvements instead of radical futures - Reject the artifact and issue a more extreme prompt.
  • Executives feel silly or refuse to engage in 'fiction' - Frame it as advanced 'war-gaming' or 'threat modeling' to appeal to their analytical side.
  • Groups get bogged down in the mechanics of how the future happened - Remind them they are designing the artifact, not the history book.
  • Presentations turn into standard product pitches - Enforce the 'in character' presentation rule.

Running it virtually

Use breakout rooms for the small group work. Replace physical artifacts with digital templates in a collaborative whiteboard. Have groups use AI image generators (like Midjourney or DALL-E) to rapidly visualize their future concepts during the breakout.

Expected results

A gallery of 4-6 distinct 'future artifacts' that represent radically different market realities in 5 years, along with a list of the underlying technological or social shifts required to make them true.

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