Why are people inside the same organization planning for completely different futures?

In this episode of How We Future, Lisa talks with foresight expert Sabrina Sullivan about what futures work looks like beyond buzzwords and trend decks. Drawing on her experience working with global organizations, like Ford Motor Company and Deloitte, Sabrina explains how shared future scenarios help teams surface assumptions, align decisions, and move forward even in uncertain times.

The conversation explores the Foresight Spectrum—a framework that names the many roles foresight practitioners actually play, from explorers and translators to facilitators and connectors. Sabrina emphasizes outcomes: building future literacy, enabling better conversations, and helping turn insight into action.

Lisa and Sabrina also dive into the human side of futures work: trust, emotional readiness, and why this work can feel uncomfortable by design. They discuss tools like scenario rehearsal, playful facilitation, and the Leaders for Humanity card deck, all designed to help people practice navigating uncertainty before they’re forced to react to it.

The episode closes with Sabrina’s work bringing futures thinking to younger learners and a powerful reminder that asking “What problems do I care about?” may be more important than asking “What job do I want?”

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• The different roles futurists actually play day to day
• Why uncertainty can be a source of agency rather than anxiety
• How practicing the future through play and reflection changes how we lead

This episode is a thoughtful look at how we can rehearse what’s ahead, build common language for complexity, and create futures that are more intentional, inclusive, and human.

Links from the episode:

• Sabrina’s Website (by+by)
• The Foresight Spectrum
• Leaders for Humanity card game
• Uncertain by Maggie Jackson

Follow How We Future:

• Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn
• @lisakaysolomon on Instagram
• @howwefuture on TikTok
• howwefuture.substack.com

Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com

Is your time being wasted? Or are you wasting others’ time? So often, it seems that calendars fill up, processes multiply, and simple tasks become unnecessarily hard.

In this episode, Bob Sutton joins Lisa Kay Solomon to examine how friction shows up at work: the meetings that shouldn’t exist, the processes that are way too complicated, and the small design choices that quietly shape whether people feel respected or drained.

Drawing from years of research behind The Friction Project, Bob breaks down why leaders often add instead of subtract, and why that instinct creates hidden costs across teams and organizations. Bob shares why some forms of friction are worth protecting, how savoring plays a role in good design, and why clarity (not certainty) has become a leadership advantage.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why to treat time as something you’re accountable for, not entitled to spend
• How “sham participation” quietly erodes trust
• How leaders unintentionally magnify friction through weak signals
• When slowing down actually improves performance and experience

This episode is for anyone who wants to make work feel more humane without adding another framework, meeting, or tool.

Links from the episode:

• Bob’s website
• The Friction Project by Bob Sutton & Huggy Rao
• Bob’s other books
• Subtract by Leidy Klotz

Follow How We Future:

• Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn
• @lisakaysolomon on Instagram
• @howwefuture on TikTok
• howwefuture.substack.com

Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com

What happens when you stop accepting the rules you’ve been handed and start redesigning the game itself?

Cassidy Lichtman is a former U.S. National Team volleyball player, gender equity advocate, and the leader of professional volleyball at Athletes Unlimited. In this episode, Cassidy and Lisa explore what it takes to build futures that don’t yet exist, even when the system seems rigid.

Cassidy shares the story of reimagining professional women’s sports in the U.S. What if athletes were centered as partners, not commodities? She breaks down how Athletes Unlimited is building leagues differently and why those choices matter far beyond sports.

The conversation also dives into moments of decision-making in complicated moments, including how Athletes Unlimited responded when its values were tested, and how constraints, frustration, and “this doesn’t make sense” moments can become catalysts for systemic change. Cassidy models what it looks like to question “used futures” and create something better.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How to spot systems that feel “off” and start redesigning them
• How values can show up in business models
• Why women’s sports offer a powerful blueprint for future-facing leadership

This episode is a masterclass in agency, imagination, and long-term thinking—and a reminder that if a future doesn’t exist yet, maybe it’s yours to build.

Links from the episode:

• Athletes Unlimited
• Lisa interviews Cassidy about Athletes Unlimited
• VIdeo Recap: Look at this Thing We’ve Built
• The P/ ath
• Cassidy Lichtman’s TED Talk, “The Power of My Voice”

Follow How We Future:

• Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn
• @lisakaysolomon on Instagram
• @howwefuture on TikTok
• howwefuture.substack.com

Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com

How can you use your opportunities to benefit everyone?

In this episode of How We Future, Lisa talks with Chase Griffin, former quarterback at UCLA, 2x NIL Male Athlete of the Year, and a leading voice in the evolution of college athletics.

Chase shares how he learned to navigate moments of change—from NIL to civic engagement—by centering and designing for collective value. Together, they explore how leadership can happen from inside systems you didn’t create, and how athletes (and non-athletes alike) can turn personal opportunity into shared impact.

This conversation is a course on turning influence into impact, and “me” into “we.”

In this episode, we explore:

• Lessons from being early in the NIL era—and why preparation mattered more than luck
• How to structure partnerships that create real community benefit
• Why athlete voices are often missing from conversations about college sports and Chase is changing that

This week, maybe reflect on where in your own life you can redesign success so it benefits more than just you.

If this episode resonated with you, leave a comment or review and share it with someone who’s navigating change—or creating it—from the inside.

Links from the Episode:

• The Athletes Bureau (TAB) — Chase's newsletter by athletes, for athletes
• The Team — the civic engagement organization Chase partnered with during the 2020 election
• Find Chase on LinkedIn and Instagram
• Learn about NIL (Name, Image, Likeness)

Follow How We Future:

• Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn
• @lisakaysolomon on Instagram
• @howwefuture on TikTok
• howwefuture.substack.com

Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com

Communication anxiety is real. It’s time to start practicing.

This episode of How We Future, features Matt Abrahams, Stanford lecturer and host of the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast. Lisa and Matt explore how effective communication is a learnable skill and why we’re rarely taught how to practice it.

Matt shares the frameworks he teaches to every incoming Stanford MBA to help them speak more confidently in spontaneous, high-stakes moments. From managing anxiety to the importance of clarifying your intentions, the episode focuses on practical tools for showing up with clarity, presence, and purpose when the pressure is on.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• The mindsets and methods of effective communications
• Simple ways to practice spontaneous speaking before the stakes are high
• How to structure answers so people actually remember what you say
• Why listening and pausing are powerful leadership tools

Communication is about connection. It will never be perfect, but like all skills, it gets better with practice.

Please rate and leave a comment, we’d really love to hear from you!

Links from the episode:

• Matt’s website

• Matt’s Podcast: Think Fast, Talk Smart
• Matt’s Book: Think Faster, Talk Smarter

Follow How We Future:

• Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn
• @lisakaysolomon on Instagram
• @howwefuture on TikTok
• howwefuture.substack.com

Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com

What if you can learn to be lucky?

In our first episode of season 3, Lisa Kay Solomon is joined by author, educator, and neuroscientist Tina Seelig to explore how curiosity, generosity, and small daily choices can dramatically expand what’s possible over time.

Drawing from decades of teaching at Stanford and her forthcoming book What I Wish I Knew About Luck, Tina reframes luck as a skill that can be cultivated rather than an accident we stumble into.

Tina shares how taking risks, showing appreciation, and staying open to unexpected opportunities can create compounding advantages. She also reflects on what she’s learned from teaching thousands of students, leading the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, and watching ideas evolve when people are given permission to experiment.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why luck often shows up at the intersection of preparation and openness
• The role generosity and curiosity play in long-term success
• How to design environments that make luck more likely

The future is something we shape through the questions we ask, the risks we take, and the people we choose to learn alongside. If you’ve ever wondered how to tilt the odds in your favor, Tina offers practical wisdom and hopeful perspectives on how to get started.

Please rate and leave a comment letting us know what classes you wish you had taken!

Links from the Episode:

• Preorder What I Wish I Knew About Luck: A Crash Course on Turning Aspirations into Achievements by Tina Seelig
• What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course in Making Your Place in the World by Tina Seelig
• inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity by Tina Seelig
• Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World by Tina Seelig
• Tina’s Ted Talk: The Little Risks You Can Take to Increase Your Luck
• Tina’s Website

Follow How We Future:

• Lisa Kay Solomon on LinkedIn
• @lisakaysolomon on Instagram
• @howwefuture on TikTok
• howwefuture.substack.com

Want to contact us? Email hello@howwefuture.com

Build the bridge to connect your community’s gaps.

Lisa is closing out season 2 with Olatunde Sobomehin (Tunde), co-founder and CEO of StreetCode Academy and co-author of Creative Hustle. Tunde believes that underrepresented communities should be participating in the upside of technology instead of being excluded from it. StreetCode's mission is to hack, hustle, and design the future to bridge that gap, starting in East Palo Alto and expanding outward.

Tunde started out experimenting how to uplift those underrepresented communities. He designed business computer camps in Portland, basketball programs mixed with tech education, and community organizing around music and technology. In 2014, StreetCode Academy took form.

StreetCode Academy has evolved over the years from a program that includes younger students, parents, and other disciplines like entrepreneurship and design. The tagline "Hack, Hustle, Design the Future" captures the mindset, skills, and access are the three outcomes they're building toward.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• Why tech education works better when whole families learn together
• What college basketball and tech education have in common
• How to map your gifts to your goals through principles, people, and practice.

Tunde is taking both StreetCode and Creative Hustle on the road to places like Hong Kong, Finland, Botswana, and cities across the U.S. If you're inspired, visit streetcode.org or creativehustle.org. Or reach out! As Tunde says, building community is how the work gets done.

Links from the episode:

• Creative Hustle
• Get the Creative Hustle Book
• StreetCode Academy
• Hack Hustle Design The Future, article by Lisa Kay Solomon
• StreetCode Tech Journey @ Stanford Men’s Basketball

People Mentioned:

• Reverend Jesse Jackson
• Coach Eric Reveno - General manager and associate head coach of Stanford men's basketball
• Coach Kyle Smith - Stanford basketball coach known for using statistics and data
• Ebuka Okorie - Stanford freshman basketball player mentioned as generational talent
• sam seidel - Co-author of Creative Hustle
• Hope Meng - Designed custom lettering for Creative Hustle
• Jori Tytus - Designed custom art for Creative Hustle
• Khristopher "Squint" Sandifer - Featured in Chapter 1 of Creative Hustle, film director
• Bryant Terry - Award-Winning Chef featured in Creative Hustle
• Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca - Community organizer featured in Creative Hustle, Forbes 30 Under 30
• Jennifer Brandel - Previous How We Future guest, civic entrepreneur
• Hakeem Olajuwon - NBA legend

Are sci-fi stories the key to a better future?

This week’s episode of How We Future features Ruth Wylie and Ed Finn, co-directors of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. For nearly 15 years, they've been running what might be the most unusual university center in the country, one that brings together science fiction writers, scientists, artists, and engineers to imagine hopeful, yet practical, futures.

Ruth and Ed describe how they turn imagination into practice: Kids building Scribble Bots and debating who deserves credit when a robot makes art. Commissioning writers worldwide to explore what human flourishing looks like in a warming world. Pairing speculative fiction with expert essays and original artwork, creating story packages that explore what might actually be possible down the line.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• How collaborative worldbuilding helps experts ask each other new questions
• What happens when you pair exciting stories with science-backed facts
• Why reflecting on the futures you consume in media matters more than you think

Links from the Episode:

• Center for Science and Imagination
• Smithsonian Futures Exhibit

Book and Articles:

• Frankenstein at 200, Ed Finn, New York Times
• Step Into the Free and Infinite Laboratory of the Mind, Ed Finn, Issues in Science and Technology
• Collaborative Imagination: A Methodical Approach, Ruth Wylie and Ed Finn, Science Direct
• Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures, edited by Joey Escrich and Ed Finn
• A Rewilded Mind, Corey Pressman, CSI Imagination Fellow
• When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis by Anna Lee Newitz

Exercises and Resources:

• Frankenstein Kit, Resources created by CSI
• Futures by Choice, Futures by Chance, CSI
• CSI Resources for Teachers
• Solar Tomorrow Resources, CSI (Great for Educators!)
• Postcards from the Future, Futures Exercise from CSI