John L. Petersen
President and Founder,
The Arlington Institute
John Petersen is considered by many to be one of the most informed futurists in the world. He is best-known for writing and thinking about high impact surprises—wild cards—and the process of surprise anticipation and for having conceived of and developed the first national surprise anticipation system in the world for the government of Singapore. His current professional involvements include the development of sophisticated tools for anticipatory analysis and surprise anticipation, long-range strategic planning and helping leadership design new approaches for dealing with the future.
He has led national non-profit organizations, worked in sales, manufacturing, real estate development, and marketing and advertising, mostly for companies he founded. A graduate electrical engineer, he has also promoted rock concerts; produced conventions; and worked as a disc jockey – among other things.
Mr. Petersen's government and political experience include stints at the National War College, the Institute for National Security Studies, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council staff at the White House. He was a naval flight officer in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve and is a decorated veteran of both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. He has served in senior positions for a number of presidential political campaigns and was an elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1984.
In 1989 Petersen founded The Arlington Institute (TAI), a non-profit, future-oriented research institute. TAI operates on the premise that effective thinking about the future is impossible without casting a very wide net. The “think tank” is dedicated facilitating the transition to a new world which appears to be emerging out of the erosion of the current familiar paradigm.
An award-winning writer, Petersen's first book, The Road to 2015: Profiles of the Future was awarded Outstanding Academic Book of 1995 by CHOICE Academic Review, and remained on The World Future Society's best-seller list for more than a year. His second book, Out of the Blue: How to Anticipate Wild Cards and Big Future Surprises, was also a WFS best-seller. His coauthored article, “The Year 2000: Social Chaos or Social Transformation?” was one of the most highly acclaimed writings on Y2K. His 1988 book-length report “T
Petersen is a past board member of the World Future Society, writes on the future of aviation for Professional Pilot magazine and is a member of the board of directors of the Charles E. and Ann Morrow Lindbergh Foundation. He is a network member of the Global Business Network and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science and is a member of the Global Agenda Council of the Geography of Innovation for the World Economic Forum. A provocative public speaker, he addresses a wide array of audiences around the world on a variety of future subjects. When he is not writing or speaking, theorizing about wild cards, or constructing his own airplane, John leads workshops that help groups build new images of possible futures and visions and plans for reaching their goals. He lives in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia with his wife, Diane.
The coming handful of years are lining up the possibility of the most extraordinary change on this planet in recorded history. The old system will be severely threatened and we all will be part of designing and contributing to a new world and becoming new humans. Noted futurist John Petersen will take you step by step through what might happen in the next three years from a systems perspective . . . and give you an early view of what kind of world may emerge after all of the dust settles. These years are going to be the most important in your life. Here's a chance to get a head start on getting ready for what is coming our way.
