Summary
Prior to embarking on his career in academia, Jörn held senior leadership positions in a range of commercial enterprises. In these positions, he spearheaded major initiatives such as the formation of entrepreneurial and intrepreneurial business efforts, expansions of enterprise into new markets, and launches of innovative startup companies. His experience includes work with a range of global business icons, including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Toyota, BMW, and Bang & Olufsen A/S. Working across multiple geographies and cultures has given Jörn a truly international perspective, which informs his thinking about research, process, and execution.
Jörn’s commercial background ensures that his efforts are rooted in human-centered, consumer-focused values and innovations. He has a specific interest in factors that drive new markets, focus on experiential memory constructs and consumption, and leverage co-creation concepts that include various stakeholders.
Dr. Bühring’s current research explores Design Foresight, Strategic Innovation, Vision, and Fiction, within the context of Strategic Design, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Management. Since 2010, he has conducted several major studies in the sectors of luxury hospitality, omnichannel retailing, and financial services; this includes a series of futures studies in wealth management and private banking to the year 2030.
Source: Website
OnAir Post: Jörn Bühring
About
Foresight
Hello.
My journey with foresight began decades ago, and has introduced me to a wonderful range of colleagues, companies, countries, continents, and cultures. Experiences across technology solutions and hospitality to higher education and c-suite consulting have shaped the way I view the world—and the way that I perceive and value relationships. Ultimately, it is relationships—between people, organizations, governments—that form the foundation of the global human experience.
Foresight is my passion and field of expertise. It combines broad and complex frameworks such as design thinking and scenario planning to provide forward-looking perspectives of possible future states. Foresight illuminates and defines the activities and thinking an organization can put into place that give it the best chance of successfully adapting to multiple future possibilities. In other words, foresight is the thoughtful path forward.
My focus is working with international organizations that are preparing for a variable set of eventualities; leadership and design teams who understand that while the future might not be predictable, it can be plannable and sustainable. My services include masterclass programs, lectures and presentations, and custom consulting services.
While over the past decade, much of my time was devoted to my academic role in Hong Kong, I work and travel frequently in Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and the United States. After a one-year visiting professorship in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and a scholarly assignment in Europe (Berlin), I am currently in a visiting faculty position at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), in the United Arab Emirates.
Source: Website
Web Links
Current
Engaging C-Suite leaders about future possibilities. Working with graduate students to help shape their strategic design and futures thinking skills. Collaborating with colleagues to author new frameworks. Whatever is most interesting will be found on this page, in-process and unfinished.
One of the more significant trends currently being explored in my research, with PhD-level and post-graduate students, is the advancement of human-centred design—specifically, studying how its principles can be leveraged as the basis for a more broad-reaching, inclusive, societally scaled, and sustainable practice of life-centred thinking. Taking a multi-pronged approach, we explore the topic with a triple/quadruple helix model perspective in mind that suggests a learning approach is needed to engage in cross-sector partnerships. This new approach is captured in a Letter from Academia, entitled “New Approaches for Sustainable Growth…“.
Expanding on the broader topic of catalysing sustainability and the need for transdisciplinary pathways toward sustainable transitions, a whole Volume Special Journal issue has been dedicated to stimulating conversations around ‘shared value creation’, corporate-social responsibilities, strategic design and innovation considerations. This is in response to concerns that intersect with energy, raw materials, material durability, logistics, supply chains, workforce, consumer behaviour, regulation, finance, and ESG financial reporting requirements. This journal issue on Earth Systems Governance exposes how the evidence and analysis suggest that prevailing innovation paradigms are insufficient to address the urgent challenges associated with climate breakdown and environmental degradation.
From a learner perspective and in my role as higher education subject leader, I can provide a link to the extensive library of Master of Design (MDes) Capstone Theses here.
From the perspectives of design management leaders, this Journal’s Special Issue—editorial—takes a closer look at bridging strategy from business economics and design science. The journal volume issue includes papers from academia and professionals we received through our Call and the results of a complementary survey conducted by myself with Chief Design Officers. Our editorial foreword uses a framework for a synthesis, linking strategy in design science and strategy in business science.
This Book chapter takes the position that Design is in a unique position to advance change across multiple levels of society, business, and education.
The brief that follows it provided inspiration for thoughtful student projects, summarised in three video examples below.
