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Helping people and organizations look smart in the future
Have you ever wondered why some people always seem to know what’s coming next? As a futurist and strategic advisor, I help people and organizations get the right insights about the future—before others have even understood what is going on.
This is not about crystal balls and wild predictions but about really understanding what is happening and asking the right questions.
I am Johannes Kleske
As a critical futurist and strategic advisor, I help people and organizations find direction and develop creative power in an increasingly complex world. For nearly 20 years, I have combined scientific analysis with strategic consulting to challenge dominant narratives about the future and open up new perspectives. I aim not to make superficial trend forecasts but to provide a more profound understanding of the forces and interests that shape our vision of the future. My goal is to transform my clients from passive recipients of supposedly inevitable developments into active shapers of their future.
Service: Keynotes
As one of Germany’s leading critical futurists, I bring new perspectives to your stage. In my keynotes, I combine sound analysis with surprising insights and transform fear of the future into the courage to take concrete action.
Service: Foresight Consulting
As a seasoned futures expert, I provide support to agencies and consultancies in critical areas such as pitch preparation, complex client projects, and strategic transformation processes. With a rare combination of 15 years of practical project experience and deep expertise in (critical) futures studies, I can help your team develop compelling future strategies.
Follow the Rabbit Podcast
Together with Igor Schwarzmann, I host the ‘Follow the Rabbit’ podcast, where we explore emerging trends and cultural phenomena to help our listeners update their mental models of how the world is changing. We delve into the interconnections between technology, society, and culture—from the transformation of health into a luxury good to the return of “third places” after the pandemic.
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My perspective as a critical futurist
Articles, interviews, podcasts, etc.
Critical Futures
WB-40 Podcast
English
To shape the future, we must first understand the present: a conversation with Johannes Kleske
Foresight Folk
English
How can a look into the future(s) save the climate today?
young, wild & green
English
Latest posts from my blog
Highlights and provocations from the Future Days 2025 conference
Switch to DeutschI just came back from Lisbon, where last week the second edition of the Future Days Conference took place. It’s a gathering that brings together the more progressive thinkers and activists in the wide field of futures and intersecting disciplines. This event took place in one of the most impressive conference venues I’ve…
Questions instead of answers: morning check-in with AI
Switch to Deutsch“How are you feeling this morning?” This simple question, asked by an AI language model called Claude, forms the starting point of a daily ritual that has fundamentally changed my working day. While the discussion about language models usually revolves around their ability to generate texts and answer questions, I have discovered another…
Hands-on instead of hype cycle: The practical way out of the AI discourse dilemma
Switch to DeutschHow concrete experience creates the basis for productive debates The AI balancing act: between philosophy and practice “How do we protect ourselves from the existential threat posed by AI?” asks an expert at a specialist conference. Meanwhile, millions of people talk to ChatGPT and Claude every day about their mental health (therapy is…
My Critical Futures Research
In addition to my practical foresight work with clients, I am also involved in the further development of trend and futures research. Since completing my master‘s in futures studies (2020), I have focused in particular on critical futures research, which deals with the deconstruction and reconstruction of existing images of the future. I am interested in the role the future plays in society and how it influences decisions and developments.
As a co-founder of the German Network for Critical Futures, I am actively involved in the development of the discipline. In addition, Jonas Drechsel and I regularly discuss critical futures in our podcast.
Visit my Digital Garden to find out more about what I’m working on as a critical futurist.
