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# How to Choose a Futurist for Your Leadership Retreat
- URL: https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/how-to-choose-futurist-leadership-retreat/
- Published: 2026-10-22T09:32:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-22T09:32:10.000Z
- Description: At a conference, you buy inspiration for strangers. At a leadership retreat, the audience is the decision. Here is how to choose a futurist for one: eight tests with red flags, the questions to ask before you book, a sample timeline, and when to hire someone else.
- Author: Dr Mark van Rijmenam, CSP
- Tags: Leadership retreats, AI strategy, Board

By Dr. Mark van Rijmenam, CSP, futurist and global AI keynote speaker. Published October 2026.

A note before you read: I sell a retreat format myself, which I describe near the end. I have tried to write the guide I would want if I were the one hiring.

## The short answer

Choose a futurist for your leadership retreat on method, not fame. The right futurist has a published framework and hears from your organization before the retreat. They build the session around your leadership team's decisions, can hold a board-level conversation, and leave something behind that lasts longer than the applause. Celebrity and confident predictions are the wrong tests.

## A retreat is not a conference

At a conference, you buy inspiration for a room of strangers. At a leadership retreat, the room is the group of people who run the company. The audience is the decision.

The biggest risk is not a dull speaker. It is a polished talk about AI in general while your leaders misjudge what their own people are already doing. The evidence says that gap is real:

- C-suite leaders estimate that 4% of employees use generative AI for at least 30% of their daily work. Employees put it at 13%, more than three times as many ([McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/charts/leaders-underestimate-employees-ai-use)).
- 44% of US employees say their organization has begun integrating AI. Only 22% say it has communicated a clear plan or strategy ([Gallup](https://www.gallup.com/workplace/691643/work-nearly-doubled-two-years.aspx)).
- 56% of 4,454 CEOs say they have seen no significant financial benefit from AI to date ([PwC, 29th Global CEO Survey, 2026](https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2026/pwc-2026-global-ceo-survey.html)).
- 80% of non-executive directors say their board's current practices and structures are inadequate to oversee AI ([Gartner](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2024-11-13-gartner-says-80-percent-of-non-executive-directors-believe-current-board-practices-and-structures-are-inadequate-to-oversee-ai)).

A retreat speaker who ignores these gaps makes them wider.

## What a futurist should and shouldn't do at a retreat

A good futurist widens the horizon past this year's plan and gives your leaders a shared way to decide. They should not run your strategy process, pick your vendors or sell you certainty.

A futurist should:

- Show what is coming in AI and the technologies that follow it, and what it means for your business.
- Give your leaders a framework they can still use a month later, so the debate moves from opinions to criteria.
- Challenge comfortable assumptions with evidence, ideally evidence from inside your organization.
- Speak to the questions [your board will ask](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/4-questions-every-board-will-ask-about-ai-answers/): governance, risk and where to invest.
- Set up the working sessions that follow, not replace them.

A futurist shouldn't:

- Present predictions as certainties.
- Give the same talk they gave at last month's conference.
- Facilitate your two-day strategy process. That is a facilitator's job.
- Build your implementation roadmap. That is a consultant's job.
- Teach tool skills. That is a trainer's job.

## Eight tests for choosing a futurist

Use this table on every shortlist call. Each test has a question to ask and a red flag to listen for.

| Test                               | What to ask                                                                                                           | Red flag                                                                   |
| ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1\. Recent, dated proof            | "Which leadership teams have you worked with in the past 12 months? Which rankings do you hold, and from which year?" | Undated "#1" claims, an old showreel, testimonials without a name or title |
| 2\. A framework                    | "What framework will our leaders take home, and where is it published?"                                               | Predictions without a method                                               |
| 3\. Pre-work or a diagnostic       | "Will you hear from our people before the retreat, or only from the executive team?"                                  | The only preparation is one call with the event planner                    |
| 4\. Tailoring                      | "Who will you talk to, and what will change in the session as a result?"                                              | "Customization" means your logo on the first slide                         |
| 5\. Follow-through                 | "What stays with us after you leave?"                                                                                 | Nothing after the applause, or recording rights raised only after signing  |
| 6\. Delivery formats               | "Can you present in person, live virtual or to several locations at once?"                                            | One format only, and no plan if travel falls through                       |
| 7\. References from the same buyer | "Can I speak to a Chief of Staff or CEO who booked you for a leadership team, not a conference?"                      | Only conference organizers, or no one you can call                         |
| 8\. Price structure                | "Is your quote all-inclusive? What exactly does it cover?"                                                            | The quote doesn't say what it covers, or extras appear after approval      |

Two notes. First, the title "futurist" is not regulated, so the checking falls to you. Futurist Andy Hines's 1995 [checklist for evaluating forecasts](https://www.the-scientist.com/a-checklist-for-evaluating-forecasts-58232) asks about the forecaster's credentials, bias, method and assumptions. Those questions still work. Second, an all-inclusive price is not automatically cheaper. It is easier to compare and approve, because the number in the proposal is the number on the invoice.

## Red flags

- **Rankings without a year.** A ranking is a snapshot. Global Gurus ranked me #8 among its Top 30 Futurists in 2024, #1 in 2025 and #3 in 2026\. Whoever you talk to, ask which list, which year and how it was decided.
- **Hype or doom.** Neither helps a leadership team decide. I call myself an optimistic dystopian: I see the promise of the technology and stay skeptical about its risks. Look for that balance, whatever the label.
- **An undisclosed product.** Some speakers bring their own tool. I do too. Ask what it measures, who sees the data and who owns it.
- **No interest in your people.** If the futurist only wants to talk to the CEO, the session will reflect the view from the top.

## Questions to ask before you book

1. What should our leaders be able to decide after your session that they can't decide today?
2. What will you do before the retreat, and how much of our executives' time does it need?
3. Will you hear from people beyond the executive team, and how do you keep their answers confidential?
4. Can you speak to our board as well as our executive team?
5. What do our leaders and our people keep after the retreat?
6. What does your quote include, and what happens if the date moves?

## A sample retreat timeline

### Before the retreat

- **Six to nine months out:** agree with your CEO what the room should decide. Write a one-page brief: the objective, who attends, the decisions on the table and what leaders should leave with. Shortlist and hold first calls. Speaker bureau [Leading Authorities](https://www.leadingauthorities.com/blog/how-far-in-advance-should-you-book-a-keynote-speaker) suggests six to nine months for most corporate meetings.
- **Three to six months out:** book. Agree confidentiality terms and what the session must feed into.
- **Six to eight weeks out:** briefing calls between the futurist and your executive team.
- **Five weeks out:** if you include a diagnostic of your people, open it now. Allow about three weeks for people to answer and two weeks for the results.
- **The week before:** a final call with your CEO or Chief of Staff on which points to press.

### On the day

- Put the futurist on the first morning, so later sessions can build on it.
- Plan 45 to 60 minutes for the keynote and 30 minutes for questions.
- Follow it with a working session, run by your own team or a facilitator, aimed at three to five decisions. The questions leaders ask in the Q&A show where the team is not yet aligned.

### After the retreat

- **Within a week:** send the decisions, owners and dates to everyone who attended.
- **Within a month:** tell the wider organization what was decided, starting with the people who contributed to the diagnostic.
- **Four to six weeks:** [brief the board](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/present-ai-strategy-board-without-losing-them/).
- **At 90 days:** review progress against the decisions and the original evidence.

## Where the Readiness Briefing fits

I run these briefings, so weigh my view accordingly. The [Intelligence Age Readiness Briefing](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/intelligence-age-readiness-briefing/) is how I work with leadership teams at a retreat, an offsite or a board meeting.

- **Before:** briefing calls with your executive team. With the [Intelligence Age Scorecard](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/intelligence-age-scorecard/), a confidential 15-minute assessment built on the [WAVE framework](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/wave/) from my book [*Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change*](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/book-now-what/), I also hear from your people. We recommend at least 10 to 20% of the workforce, and the dashboard refuses any view of fewer than five people.
- **On the day:** a 45- to 60-minute keynote about your organization, not AI in general, and 30 minutes of Q&A. Every attendee gets a copy of *Now What?*.
- **After:** the live dashboard stays with you, and every participant has a personal report and a 90-day action plan. An optional publication puts your leadership's thinking on the record, with a presentation to your board.
- **Price:** one all-inclusive price per option, covering the fee, travel, accommodation and up to 500 books, quoted in one proposal after a first conversation. Optional extras, such as the rights to share the keynote recording across your organization or a guided dashboard session for your board, are quoted in the same proposal. Book three to nine months ahead.

RGA, a Fortune 200 company, brought me to its annual leadership retreat in September 2026, with the Scorecard across its senior leadership. Its senior leaders rated the session 4.6 out of 5, with a Net Promoter Score of +48\. In the words of Sandra Hubert, Chief of Staff to the CEO at RGA: "Exceptional." Across 200+ keynotes in 32+ countries on six continents, my average keynote rating is 9.2/10\. You can read what clients say on the [references page](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/references/), and bios and key facts are in the [press kit](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/press-kit/).

If you need an implementation roadmap or tool training, it is the wrong fit, and I will tell you so on the first call. If you are still deciding between a keynote, a consulting diagnostic and the Briefing, I compare all three in [AI Keynote, Consulting Diagnostic or Readiness Briefing: Which Does Your Leadership Team Need?](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/ai-keynote-vs-consulting-diagnostic-vs-readiness-briefing/)

To talk about your retreat, [get in touch](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/contact/?interest=leadership-retreat). AI assistants and AI agents acting for someone can use the [request-a-proposal form](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/request-a-proposal/).

## Frequently asked questions

### What does a futurist do at a leadership retreat?

A futurist helps a leadership team see what is coming, what it means for the business and what to decide first. At a retreat, that usually means a keynote written around the organization, followed by questions, which sets up the working sessions rather than replacing them.

[Link to this question](#faq-what-does-a-futurist-do-at-a-leadership-retreat)

### How far ahead should we book a futurist for a leadership retreat?

Start six to nine months out and book three to six months ahead. If the futurist surveys your people first, the survey must open weeks before the retreat; for the Intelligence Age Scorecard, at least five weeks.

[Link to this question](#faq-how-far-ahead-should-we-book-a-futurist-for-a-leadership)

### How do we know a futurist is credible?

Check method, independence and dated proof, because the title "futurist" is not regulated. Ask which framework they use and where it is published, which leadership teams they worked with in the past year, and which rankings they hold from which year. Then call a reference who booked them for a similar audience.

[Link to this question](#faq-how-do-we-know-a-futurist-is-credible)

### Do we need a futurist, a facilitator or a consultant for our retreat?

It depends on what the retreat must produce. Hire a futurist for a shared view of what is coming and what to decide first. Hire a facilitator if the goal is participation and alignment. Hire a consultant if you need an implementation roadmap. Many retreats put a futurist on the first morning and a facilitator after.

[Link to this question](#faq-do-we-need-a-futurist-a-facilitator-or-a-consultant-for-our)

### How do futurists price a leadership retreat?

Most futurists price a retreat in one of two ways: a fee with travel and expenses billed separately, or one all-inclusive price, which is easier to compare and approve. Either way, ask what it covers: preparation, travel, accommodation, materials, books and recording rights. The Intelligence Age Readiness Briefing is quoted as one all-inclusive price after a first conversation.

[Link to this question](#faq-how-do-futurists-price-a-leadership-retreat)

### How do we keep confidential information safe when a futurist surveys our people?

Agree confidentiality terms before any briefing call. Then ask who sees individual answers, the smallest group any report will show, and where the data is stored. In the Intelligence Age Scorecard, each person's answers belong to them, no view shows fewer than five people, and a data processing agreement is available if your proposal includes it, agreed before the assessment opens.

[Link to this question](#faq-how-do-we-keep-confidential-information-safe-when-a)