DESCRIPTION
“Letter from the Future” is a facilitated storytelling/visioning exercise in which individuals or teams imagine a future point in time in which their initiative, business, or goal has succeeded beyond current expectations. They then write (often as a “letter”) from that future back to the present, describing what has been achieved, how obstacles were overcome, what practices/values enabled the success, and what impact resulted. The letter is then shared among participants, common themes are drawn out, and those are converted into actionable goals or strategies to move toward that desired future. The method leverages narrative imagination to build alignment, motivation, clarity, and emotional commitment. It is particularly useful when a team or organization lacks a cohesive vision, or when there’s uncertainty or change and people need both inspiration and concrete direction.
The USP of this method is that it turns future vision into a storytelling experience: it uses narrative from the future to create emotional pull+clarity of paths, rather than just abstract strategy or numbers. It helps bridge the gap between “where we want to go” and “how we will know we are there”, by making people feel and see the future, not just plan it.
ORIGIN
The method is credited to Bill Matthews, as a “Framegame” titled Letter from the Future from 2002.
USED BY
Teams and organizations doing visioning and strategic planning., leadership workshops to create shared vision and change management and organizational development contexts.
Approximately needed time
- Step 1: 1/2 hours
- Step 2: 1/2-3/4 hours
- Step 3: 1/2 hours
- Step 4: 1/2 hours
- Step 5: 1/2 hours
- TOTAL: 2.5-3 hours
METHOD
MATERIAL YOU COULD NEED: Flipcharts or large sheets of paper and markers for each subgroup. Space for breakout groups and optional handouts with some hint questions or guidance.
STAKEHOLDER GOOD TO KNOW: The people whose work/vision is the subject as their buy-in is essential. Leadership team and decision-makers, to realistic define the vision and goals and therefor can be supported (resources, priority) by the management itself. Operations and their planners to ensure that follow-through can be aligned with capacity etc.
Customers if the future includes impact on them, or their voice adds value.
STEPS
IMAGINE: Set the scene & stimulate future imagination
You need to loosen current constraints and let people imagine without being bound by present limitations. This primes creativity, raises ambition, surfaces what possibilities might be overlooked, and primes emotional investment.
Begin with opening remarks: clarify purpose (“we are here to imagine a future where our project has fully succeeded”) and reassure participants that what’s imagined now does not need to be realistic or constrained, at least at first. Use warm-ups asking about macro-trends: What changes might happen in 5 years in the world, market, technology, customer behavior etc. This helps break fixed mental models. E.g. in retail: imagine that AI-based personalization is everywhere, supply chains are local, consumers highly value sustainability. Or in storytelling: audiences expect immersive, participatory formats. Encourage sensory, emotional detail: ask “how does success feel, what is the environment like, who is there, what does a typical workday look like in that future?”
Example: A marketing department imagines 3 years ahead: “It’s 20xx. We have doubled engagement. Our campaigns are celebrated for being highly personalized, locally relevant, emotionally resonant. Our content is shared by customers not just because it sells, but because it reflects their values. We’re working in hybrid teams, using immersive tech, etc.”.
THE LETTER: Write the letter from the future
Writing it down makes the imagined future concrete, forces clarity about what was accomplished, what was needed, what obstacles were overcome. The narrative form (the written letter) makes it personal and compelling. It moves people from “visioning” to “storytelling” and gives clues about capabilities and values.
Participants (in groups or as individuals) write a letter as if from the future (e.g. 3-5 years out) to an audience in the present: could be to themselves, a stakeholder, someone who left, etc.
Use prompt questions: What has been achieved? Who benefited? What challenges did you face? How did you overcome them? What resources, mindsets, decisions mattered? What is the impact on customers, community, business?
Encourage writing in full prose, not bullet points, including emotional, sensory details like what the world looks like, feels like.
Example: A product team writes from the future year 20xx: “Dear current us or team members, We have launched our new sustainable packaging line ahead of time. We overcame supplier shortages by forging partnerships locally. Customers praise the tactile quality and transparency of our process. Our brand is seen not just as a seller but as an advocate. Revenue rose, but more importantly loyalty rose. Behind the scenes we organized internal cross-team rituals to adapt quickly…”
THEMES: Share & extract common themes
By hearing different futures, participants see what they have in common, what surprises, what values surface. Themes solidify shared vision, highlight where viewpoints diverge, and begin to suggest what is broadly desired.
Each group/individual reads their letter aloud. Optionally, others listen for recurring motifs, values, surprise elements.
After each reading, the group lists “themes” (key accomplishments, obstacles, values, mindsets, enablers) on a flipchart.
Ask readers: were there themes you intended that listeners missed? What surprised you in others’ themes?
Example: In sharing, one group’s letter emphasized resilience and agile response; another emphasized sustainability and community connection. Themes of “local partnerships”, “customer trust”, “team empowerment” emerge across letters.
GOALS: Prioritize & translate your themes into goals
Not all themes are equally critical or feasible in the short term. Prioritization focuses attention on those steps and detials needed. Translating into goals turns stories into strategy: what must happen to make the future real.
The full group votes or otherwise prioritizes the themes: which are most aligned with core mission, highest impact, most urgent.
For top themes, discuss what they look like in tangible and realistic goals (e.g. metrics, milestones).
Consider short-term vs long-term; what can be done in next 3/6/12/18/24/36 months vs what is aspirational.
Example: Theme “team empowerment” becomes a goal: “By Q2 20xx, each team will have decision authority over X budget, and monthly feedback loops to leadership.”. Theme “sustainability” becomes goal: “Obtain 3 new local suppliers, reduce carbon footprint of packaging by 40% by year end.”
…AND ACTION: Action planning & alignment
Vision without action tends to remain fantasy. Having concrete action assignments, timelines, resource commitments ensures that the emotional pull and clarity from steps 1-4 translate into results. It also builds accountability and shows leadership support.
For each high-priority goal, define who is responsible, what resources are needed, what actions will be taken, by when. Include intermediate milestones.
Identify possible roadblocks and mitigation strategies.
Establish how progress will be monitored, how people will revisit the vision to stay aligned.
Example: For “reduce packaging carbon footprint by 40%” goal: Supply chain lead to identify 5 potential local suppliers; procurement to negotiate pricing by end Q3; operations to pilot alternate design and test; marketing to communicate changes; measure baseline emissions and track monthly. Also schedule a follow-up review: e.g. every quarter a check-in vs vision, with small “letters from future self” reminders.
The original “Letter from the Future” includes somewhat more than these 5 steps: the setup, letter writing, reports (sharing), follow-up (goals & strategies) etc. Many variants exist: sometimes the future is 5 years, sometimes 1-3 years depending on project horizon. Sometimes individuals write alone then share and sometimes only leadership group does it.
Psychological impact: writing from a future perspective tends to increase motivation because you experience “having done it” rather than only projecting forward. It taps into narrative identity. The method helps with alignment, but warning: over-idealization is a risk, especially if future is too utopian without recognizing realistic constraints, it can backfire.
PROMINENT BRANDS USING IT:
Many companies that engage in future-vision storytelling, sustainability commitments, mission-driven branding use similar narrative techniques: e.g. Patagonia, Unilever, Tesla (as illustrative examples).
ANECDOTES:
In the original training games archive, the listing “Letter from the Future” by Bill Matthews shows the method has been around at least since 2002 in organizational development circles. In leadership development, “Letters from the Future” are used in virtual gatherings to help executives imagine their leadership success one year ahead, then work backward to design how to get there.
