GROWING FOXES
Effective decision making in the face of uncerainty.
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Embedded in the Life Orientation Curriculum
Growing Foxes and the Western Cape Education Department have joined forces to launch our dynamic new scenario planning programme in the grade 9 and grade 11 Life Orientation curriculum.
Together, we are preparing learners for the future.
Phase 1 sponsors:
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WHAT WE'RE ABOUT
Education and training programmes, delivered through a web-based platform, that develop your strategic thinking capacity and ability to deal with uncertainty through the use of scenarios.
PROGRAMMES
From classroom to boardroom.
HIGH SCHOOL
Si⑤ Programme
(Strategic Intelligence ⑤)
Set direction for your life after school with clarity and purpose, ready for a rapidly changing world of work.
Become more aware of the world around you and how it is changing; imagine various ways how the future may turn out; and, develop resilience to thrive no matter what materialises.
Facilitated by fox stars, Alice and Bob.
THE PLATFORM
Relevant. Engaging. Dynamic.
A key component of the Growing Foxes offering is our web-based platform.
We’ve taken 30 years’ experience in strategic thinking online using beautiful design, innovative technology, sound methodologies, engaging original content, and relevant, real-world subject matter, to build a dynamic learning experience.
ORIGINS
From the best-selling authors of the Fox Trilogy
Growing Foxes is a Mindofafox initiative.
Our education and training programmes are thus inspired and underpinned by the robust methodologies of leading scenario strategists and futurists Chantell Ilbury and Clem Sunter. Their work drives the strategies of some of the largest and most dynamic businesses around the world.
Two characteristics are important to thrive in a competitive environment dominated by the market equivalent of natural selection: adaptability and agility. Foxes possess both qualities because of their sharp eyes in detecting any change in the environment around them; and the swiftness with which they respond should the change pose an opportunity or threat. Growing Foxes is an ideal framework around which young people can develop the capacity to think and act in this way. The programme could not be more timely, given the challenges we face in the world and the uncertainty surrounding its future
Clem Sunter, Scenario Strategist
WHAT THE FOX?
The philosopher Isaiah Berlin distinguished between two types of thinkers: foxes, who incorporate diverse sources of information, balance perspectives, and constantly update their assumptions in the face of new evidence; and hedgehogs, who try to shape everything around one big idea.
We've adapted this distinction to thinking about the future: Foxes constantly connect dots, weigh up a variety of possible futures, and then adjust their beliefs as to which one will play out according to the intelligence they continually gather along the way. In contrast, hedgehogs make a confident bet on a single future, and then stick to it, through thick and thin.
Recent research from America's top futurist, Philip Tetlock, provided evidence for the superiority of foxes. His study of 28 000 geopolitical and economic forecasts showed that non-experts who could think like a fox consistently outperformed expert hedgehogs in accuracy.
In a rapidly changing world packed full of uncertainty, we should be growing foxes.
Our education and training programmes will help you develop the mind of a fox. You’ll learn to manage uncertainty and change, be agile and adaptable in your decision-making, and strategically set direction for your future.
THE TEAM
Who’s Who
A brilliant mix of foxes and humans. The only way to build a remarkable platform that, well, grows foxes.
THE FOXES
Alice and Bob - two lovely, lively, well-experienced foxes who consult on all things foxy...when they’re not off chasing chickens.
On the Si⑤ programme, they facilitate the lessons, provide commentary and analysis, and test human patience.
THE HUMANS
A fluid collective of dynamism and experience featuring leading strategists and scenario planners, intelligence theorists and analysts, philosophers, journalists and writers, educators, graphic designers and animators, and software engineers.
Diverse talents united by a commitment to create the next generation of foxes.
THEIR STORY
Miss Alice Otis and Bob Bojangles
These two special foxes were born from the imagination of the Growing Foxes team.
Their backstory, character and wit reflect what foxiness is all about.
As they were designed to irreverently communicate what it means to think with the mind of a fox, we named them after theoretical characters in cryptology.
When theorists and practitioners in the field of cryptology - the science of coding messages - describe communication thought experiments, they refer to sending a message from A to B, or from Alice to Bob.
Filming them was an intensive process.
Their scripts were creatively imagined to convey each core concept in an engaging way. Every piece of their make-up was designed to be fox-like, but also robust enough to be man-handled by animators over hundreds of hours.
One of the world's best animators meticulously managed their every movement with movie-quality stop-motion technology, at a filming rate of 12 seconds per day.
It's very much a Frankenstein story, but one which we couldn't be more proud of.
Meet Alice and Bob.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Meet the cast behind Growing Foxes
ORGANISATIONS
A selection of clients we have worked with.
SCHOOLS
A selection of schools that are Growing Foxes.
QAFS
Questions asked by foxes
HOW LONG DO THE PROGRAMMES TAKE?
The programmes have been built with flexibility in mind. Both programmes consist of 10 lessons, approximately 1-hour each.
This can be done over a more intense one-week period, or over the course of 10 weeks.
WHO ARE THE PROGRAMMES DESIGNED FOR?
Our Si⑤ Programme is aimed at high school students.
Our Si⑥ Programme is designed for business schools and working professionals.
HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR A PROGRAMME?
Email us at support@growingfoxes.com, or use the submission form below.
DO YOU OFFER FACE-TO-FACE PROGRAMMES?
In non- COVID-19 times, yes.
We can adapt our programmes to suit your needs, but our core face-to-face programme offerings are:
The Foxy Methodology.
Discover, understand and embed the mind of a fox with Chantell Ilbury and Clem Sunter's robust foxy methodology, as used to guide strategic conversations with some of the biggest and most dynamic companies in the world. Set direction for your future.
Scenario-Planning in a Dynamic World.
Here you will gain invaluable insight from leaders in scenario-planning on how to use this way of thinking as an effective tool to make your decision-making more agile and adaptable.
Leadership in Times of Uncertainty
Leaders are decision-makers. It is imperative, therefore, that their style of leadership, and decision-making ability, is in tune with a rapidly changing context. In a nutshell, they need to have a bit of foxiness about them. This programme develops leadership skills for a complex, uncertain world.
Get in touch below to offer these programmes at your organisation.