Taming the dragon: how to tackle the challenge of future foresight

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the principles that businesses should (and should not!) follow in their foresight activities and to show how foresight serves the development of knowledge capital in business companies. Design/methodology/approach – This paper singles out seven key principles: look to the future; anticipate future needs; make use of incomplete knowledge; expect the unexpected; think long‐term and short‐term; dream productively; and respect knowledge. Findings – This paper highlights the principles that businesses should (and should not!) follow in their foresight activities and to show how foresight serves the development of knowledge capital in business companies. Originality/value – The paper highlights a recent survey in the USA on how employees understand their job tasks and their organization's goals.