top of page
Search

S6:E11 - How Thinking Like a Futurist Can Benefit Small Towns with Rebecca Ryanutton


Rebecca sits down with futurist Rebecca Ryan for a conversation about why and how small towns need to stop planning for the past and start envisioning multiple possible futures. They discuss the PHOEBE energy assessment, the three futures framework, and why traditional stakeholder-based visioning often fails. It's one of those episodes that both challenges how you think while also encouraging you to work in your strengths, build trust over polish, and remember that the future isn't something that just happens to us—we happen to it too.


About Rebecca:

Rebecca Ryan is a noted top 50 professional futurist, economist, best-selling author and entrepreneur. She is the founder of NEXT Generation Consulting through which she partners with government leaders across the country. Looking a generation ahead, she outlines strategies in urban planning, economic development and workforce development to ensure communities are well equipped for future trends and challenges. Rebecca is a graduate of Drake University with a certificate in Strategic Foresight from University of Houston; she is the Resident Futurist at the Alliance for Innovation and on the Executive Committee of the global Association of Professional Futurists.


In this episode, we cover:

  • How Rebecca Ryan became a professional futurist and why that career path even exists

  • The PHOEBE assessment and its four energy patterns: Visionary, Collaborator, Organizer, and Driver

  • Why most strategic plans are just last year's document with updated dates

  • The three futures framework: expectable, challenging, and visionary

  • Why trust is the invisible force multiplier that makes or breaks community work

Links + Resources Mentioned:

Want to get your business in front of our audience?

Become a podcast sponsor!


Each season, we feature a select group of Small Business Partners—brands that share our mission to celebrate small-town life and big ideas.


With a 4–6% average Facebook engagement rate (well above the industry average), 2,600+ loyal followers, and 45,000 monthly content views, we have an amazing, highly engaged audience of people who can’t wait to learn more about you.


When we feature you, your story, and your product/service, it’s like a friend’s recommendation, because it is. Want to know more? Reach out to us at director@growingsmalltowns.org


We want to hear from you!

We really, really do, and if you’ll let us, we’d love to feature your actual message. Some of the best parts about radio shows and podcasts are listener call-ins, so we’ve decided to make those a part of the Growing Small Towns Podcast. We really, really want to hear from you! We’re have two “participation dance” elements of the show: 

  1. “Small town humblebrags”: Call in and tell us about something amazing you did in your small town so we can celebrate with you. No win is too small—we want to hear it all, and we will be excessively enthusiastic about whatever it is! You can call in for your friends, too, because giving shout-outs is one of our favorite things. 

  2. “Solving Your Small-Town People Challenges”: Have a tough issue in your community? We want to help. Call in and tell us about your problem, and we’ll solve it on an episode of the podcast. Want to remain anonymous? Totally cool, we can be all secretive and stuff. We’re suave like that. 

If you’ve got a humblebrag or a tricky people problem, call 701-203-3337 and leave a message with the deets. We really can’t wait to hear from you! 

Subscribe and Review The Growing Small Towns Show!


Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Growing Small Towns Show! If the information in our conversations and interviews has helped you in your small town, please click on the images below for Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review. Your reviews and feedback will not only help us continue to deliver relevant, helpful content, but it will also help us reach even more small-town trailblazers just like you!




bottom of page