The Stakeholder Management Toolkit

Figure 6: Example of Scenario creation in reference to two critical uncertainties

Step 4: Compose the stories

For each of your 4 scenarios (see Figure 6), you must now write a short story. Each story should capture a vision of how the world will be under this scenario. It can be quite beneficial to come up with a catchy name for the scenario. Names stick in the mind and capture the essence of the scenario. You might attempt to describe the state of the world that characterises your scenario. Or you might choose an archetypical person that would characterise your scenario.

Step 5: Scenario application

Given your 4 short stories, it is time to return to the original question. When you first asked the question, you could not come up with a conclusive answer, because you did not know what the future looks like. But now you have 4 visions of the future! As a result, your 4 scenarios may provide you more conclusive answers to questions like:

• I am prepared for the worst-case scenario? • What do I need to do to achieve a best-case scenario? • Is my plan flexible enough to address all scenarios? • What is the most likely scenario?

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