What Happens Now to the Future?
Book Facts & Context
Title: What Happens Now to the Future? – 20 Visions of Sweden After the Pandemic
Author: Christian von Essen
Year of publication: 2020
Theme: The book is based on the idea that the pandemic has changed the conditions for the future and that society now stands at a potential point of renewal.
Structure:
Twenty visions of how different parts of society in Sweden might develop after the pandemic, based on interviews and reflections. The visions are intended as prompts for thinking rather than predictions.
Core Ideas and Main Focus
The book approaches the pandemic not only as a crisis to manage, but as a turning point, an opportunity to rethink how we live, organize society, and shape the future together. Through twenty visions, von Essen invites readers to see challenges as openings for change and to view the future as something we actively participate in creating.
Several recurring themes run through the book:
Shifts in how we live and work
Many voices suggest that work, commuting, and living patterns will be reassessed. Remote and hybrid work may become more common, enabling people to live outside major cities and reshape daily life.
Consumption and lifestyle
The pandemic is portrayed as a disruption that could change consumption habits, encouraging less travel, fewer purchases, and more conscious choices about resources and lifestyle.
Social issues and systemic inequalities
The crisis has exposed structural issues such as inequality, health disparities, and social polarization. The book suggests these issues may gain greater visibility and drive demands for long-term structural change.
Sustainability and climate
A recurring idea is that sustainability and climate concerns need to be more deeply integrated into how society is rebuilt. The pandemic is described as a pause or reset, offering a chance to shift toward more resilient and long-term systems.
Optimism grounded in realism
Von Essen emphasizes that hope for the future is not naïve optimism, but an active commitment to seeking solutions. The future is something we shape collectively, not something that simply happens to us.
Visions rather than forecasts
The twenty visions are not intended as precise predictions, but as starting points for reflection. They offer images of possible paths forward, meant to stimulate dialogue, creativity, and shared exploration.
Reflections on Emerging Patterns
Some of the ideas discussed in the book appear to have partially materialized. Remote work has become more accepted across many sectors, and discussions about work–life balance and location have intensified. Interest in reuse, second-hand consumption, and sustainability has grown in several contexts, even if long-term behavioral change remains uneven.
Other visions, especially those involving rapid or radical systemic transformation, have proven more difficult to realize. Large-scale change in infrastructure, power structures, and economic systems tends to unfold slowly, often over decades rather than years. The book acknowledges this tension between aspiration and reality.
Reflection & Application
A key task of leadership is to create images of the future that organizations can navigate toward. What Happens Now to the Future? can serve as a catalyst for discussions about vision, strategy, and adaptive capacity.
In a leadership context, the visions can function as scenarios to explore together: What would it mean for an organization if work patterns, values, or societal priorities shifted significantly? The book encourages dialogue without seeking definitive answers, treating the future not as something to predict, but as something to co-create.
The book also highlights that major change rarely unfolds in a linear way. The pandemic demonstrated how quickly structures can be disrupted and new patterns can emerge. This calls for leadership that is attentive, flexible, and reflective, capable of balancing direction with responsiveness.
The optimism running through the book is practical rather than idealistic. It promotes experimentation, learning, and adjustment without fear of mistakes. Leaders are encouraged to create cultures where ideas can be tested, learning is valued over perfection, and reflection becomes part of everyday work.
Ultimately, What Happens Now to the Future? reminds us that while organizations often talk about the future, they rarely practice thinking about it. Creating space for reflection, scenario thinking, and long-term perspective is not a distraction from effectiveness, but a prerequisite for sustainable leadership.
