Could Should Might Don't - by Nick Foster (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An invaluable guide for how to think--and not to think--about the future, from one of the leading futurists of our time.

You might not know the name Nick Foster, but after just a moment of googling you'll realize he's been guiding the missions of companies that have been shaping the world you live in. From Sony, Nokia, and Dyson to Google itself, where he was the head of design at Google X, Foster has been at the forefront of innovation for over twenty-five years, but his name might be unfamiliar because until this point, he's been hidden behind countless NDAs.

Could Should Might Don't is Foster's public debut, the first time this much-sought-after designer is free to share his perspectives, explore how other people approach the future, and suggest how we can all improve our thinking about what might lie ahead. But this isn't a book filled with predictions and prophecies, and it makes no assertions about what the future will hold. It's a book that unpacks how we think about the future.

Foster has identified Could, Should, Might, and Don't as the four primary mindsets we all adopt when thinking about what's over the horizon, but he doesn't advocate for any one of them. Instead, he explores how humanity has grappled with the concept of the future throughout history, tracing the emergence of distinct schools of thought and exploring the virtues, blind spots, and inevitable shortcomings of each. The book is, in some ways, about the history of the future and the history of the different futures that we have imagined, designed, or projected for ourselves.

But most of all, Could Should Might Don't is a no-nonsense appeal to every one of us--whether we're busy creating future ideas or trying to understand them--to radically improve how we think about the future, so we can improve what we leave behind for those who will follow.

Review Quotes

"This is the book on the future we'd been waiting for--an impassioned argument for replacing lazy certainties and fearful fantasies with a rigorous, rationally optimistic, and ultimately empowering stance toward what might be coming next."
--Oliver Burkeman, author of Meditations for Mortals and Four Thousand Weeks

"Where are we going? Who will we be when we get there? These are the big questions, and we need to know that we don't know enough to answer them. Nick Foster's book is a light bulb over your head that never goes off, a song about the future that strikes not just technological but conceptual notes. This book is innervisionary, a travel guide for our mind's eye."
--Questlove, author of Hip-Hop Is History

"Nick Foster started out tracing Garfield cartoons at his kitchen table. I started out tracing Garfield cartoons at my kitchen table! Nick Foster is a genius who helps companies like Dyson and Google envision the future. I'm still hoping for flying DeLoreans. That's why I listen to Nick tell me how to imagine and create what's next for ourselves. Remember, you don't have to outrun somebody if you can outsmart them."
--Bobby Hundreds, author of NFTs Are a Scam/NFTs Are the Future

"It's a wondrous thing to read someone who can bring potential futures to life without being stuck in retreads of yet more takes on AI and robotics. Nick Foster's Could Should Might Don't blows a draft of fresh and thrilling air through a genre that has lately become stale, repetitive, and unproductive. It's the kind of book you keep dropping down to your lap as you look up and wonder."
--Stephen Fry

"A book about futures work written so thoughtfully, by someone who's practiced it at such a high level and yet can ground it beautifully in stories of everyday life and the possible futures they hold. This is both Nick Foster's method and his particular skill, and this warm, insightful, and ultimately generative book balances critique, care, love, and hope for this kind of work."
--Dan Hill, author of Dark Matter

"I couldn't put down this brilliant, eye-opening work--it's just the kind we need at the moment. Foster has spent a lifetime exploring tomorrows, and his message is clear: serious thinking about the future is essential if we hope to shape it rather than be blindsided by it."
--David Eagleman, author of Incognito

"I'm thrilled about Nick's book. Rather than more forecasts and projections, Nick brings us the importance of thinking about the future today, in the most accessible and engaging way possible."
--Anab Jain, designer, filmmaker, and futurist

About the Author

Nick Foster is a designer and writer based in Oakland, California. He has spent his career exploring the future for technology companies including Apple, Google, Nokia, Sony, and Dyson, and has established himself as a leading figure in the field of Futures Design. In 2021 he was awarded the title Royal Designer for Industry--the highest accolade for a British designer--in recognition of his significant contributions to the discipline. Foster is also an accomplished writer and public speaker, delivering essays, books, talks, and lectures to share his thinking with audiences around the globe. He earned his master's degree from London's Royal College of Art in 2001, and in 2018 he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He has lived in the United States since 2012, with his wife, Jayne.