When we shared early manuscript versions of this book with friends and colleagues, many of them cautioned us against overreaching. “If you want to fix the government or the military,” one said, “you would have to write a completely different book.” Others warned us that our approaches to climate change, healthcare, military procurement, and even the challenges of religious institutions could be received as grandiose or naïve (or both). “Stick to business,” they said, “and leave those other issues to the experts.”

But anyone who picks up a newspaper can see the experts are struggling. We don’t presume we know more than they do, we don’t. But we do believe there are better ways to frame our societal problems than the ones too many of those experts are using. Just as in business, sometimes it’s not what you think but how you think that can make the critical difference.

Sustainability, relevance, and the quest for meaning are challenges leaders of organizations of every kind must grapple with in today’s rapidly changing world. Future-back thinking can help.