It is not so very difficult to predict the future. It is only pointless. They do a good job of foretelling some things. But always far more important are the fundamental changes that happened though no one predicted them or could possibly have predicted them. But equally important, one cannot make decision for the future.
Decisions are commitments to action.
And actions are always in the present, and in the present only. But actions in the present are also the one and only way to make the future. That makes persuasion more important than ever as a managerial tool. But contrary to popular belief, the author asserts, persuasion is not the same as selling an idea or convincing opponents to see things your way. It is instead a process of learning from others and negotiating a shared solution .