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