---
title: "Letter from the Future"
description: "Subgroups imagine their team five years ahead and draft a collective letter to a former colleague describing their accomplishments, obstacles overcome, and organizational impact. The groups read each other's letters to identify shared vision elements."
last_updated: "2026-09-07"
canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/pfp-september-2002/"
---

# Letter from the Future

Subgroups imagine their team five years ahead and draft a collective letter to a former colleague describing their accomplishments, obstacles overcome, and organizational impact. The groups read each other's letters to identify shared vision elements.

**Time:** 60 minutes. Source recommends 1 to 2 hours. UWT standard session is structured here for 60 minutes.
**People:** 6 to 24. Subgroups of 3 to 6 participants

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Draft a shared narrative of team success over the next five years to uncover common priorities and expectations.
**Use it when:** Use during strategic planning or team chartering when a work group needs to align on long-term direction without getting trapped in generic corporate slogans.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the team is in immediate crisis management or when participants have conflicting operational roles that require immediate conflict mediation rather than future visioning.

## Materials and tools

- 1 flipchart easel or wall pad per subgroup
- 2 to 3 chisel-tip felt markers per subgroup
- 1 roll of painter's masking tape
- 1 printed prompt sheet per subgroup or 1 central display board

## Before participants arrive

1. Post flipchart paper in separate working zones around the room with markers at each station.
2. Write the five core letter prompts prominently on a central display board.

## Say this to open

Welcome. We are going to establish a shared vision for this team by traveling five years forward in time. Before we write, let us spend five minutes calling out major changes we expect in world trends, customer habits, and communication tools over the next five years.

## How to run it

### 1. Scan external trends (7 minutes)

Speak the opening script. Facilitate a 5-minute popcorn brainstorm where participants call out anticipated world, industry, and technological shifts over the next 5 years. Record key phrases quickly on a front board, then close the brainstorm.

### 2. Organize teams and recipient (5 minutes)

Divide participants into subgroups of 3 to 6 people. Direct each subgroup to a flipchart station. Instruct each subgroup to choose an intended recipient: someone who works with the organization today but who might retire or move on within the next five years, or a trusted future successor. Emphasize that every member of the subgroup must agree on each milestone recorded in the letter.

### 3. Draft the letter (25 minutes)

Subgroups compose their letter dated exactly five years from today on the flipchart. The letter must have a greeting, body, and sign-off, answering what the team accomplished, what it took, obstacles overcome, and impact on customers. Every participant must agree to the statements written. Stop writing when the 25-minute timer sounds.

### 4. Read and compare letters (13 minutes)

Have teams post their flipchart letters side by side. For hybrid groups, project the remote team's virtual board on the main screen and display uploaded photos of in-person posters. Give participants 6 minutes to read all letters silently. Reassemble as a full room. Ask each subgroup to read aloud their single most surprising achievement sentence.

### 5. Debrief common themes (10 minutes)

Facilitate a structured plenary debrief using the provided debrief prompts. Limit whole-group comments to 4 spoken contributions per question. Record overlapping priorities on a central summary pad to define the team's core vision themes.


## Debrief questions

- Which accomplishments appeared across multiple letters, even if written in different words?
- What obstacles did your team anticipate having to overcome to reach that future state?
- What is one immediate project rule or standard we can adopt this week to make that future possible?

**Finished output:** Flipchart letters detailing specific 5-year accomplishments, barriers, and customer outcomes, plus a synthesized list of common priorities.

## Remote

Run in a video conference platform with breakout rooms. Subgroups write their letters on a shared virtual whiteboard canvas using digital sticky notes or text boxes. During the gallery phase, bring everyone back to the main room and give 5 minutes of quiet reading time before verbal sharing.

## Hybrid

In-person participants form table subgroups with physical flipcharts; remote participants form dedicated virtual breakout rooms using a shared digital board. Before the gallery phase, the facilitator projects the remote digital board on the room screen and photographs in-person sheets to upload online, ensuring all participants read every draft.

## Access and participation choices

- Subgroups can assign rotating roles such as scribe, timekeeper, or spokesperson to accommodate different physical writing or speaking preferences.
- Any participant may pass on reading aloud or contributing personal predictions during plenary segments without giving a reason.

## If the session gets stuck

**A subgroup gets stuck choosing a specific colleague to address.**

Prompt them to address the letter to 'A Valued Former Colleague' or an incoming new hire joining five years from today.

**Teams write science fiction fantasies instead of credible organizational milestones.**

Acknowledge the creativity, then redirect them: 'Anchor your letter in work your actual team has the authority or direct influence to build.'

**More than 4 participants want to speak during a debrief question.**

Acknowledge the enthusiasm, note that time allows 4 verbal shares per prompt, and invite additional speakers to write their points in chat or on index cards.


## Terms used here

- Framegame: A structured activity template whose content can be replaced to suit different subject matters.

## Participant material: Letter from the Future Prompt Card

Compose a letter dated 5 years from today to a colleague who is here now but will have left by then.

Structure your letter with a formal greeting, body, and sign-off. Ensure your narrative addresses:
1. What specific milestones and deliverables has our team accomplished?
2. What internal work, skills, or process changes did it take to reach them?
3. What obstacles and barriers did the team overcome, and how?
4. What is the observable impact of our accomplishments on our organization and customers?
5. What are the team's next challenges for the subsequent 5 years?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Play for Performance (September 2002), published by Workshops by Thiagi, Inc., crediting the 'Letter from the Future' framegame to Bill Matthews and Tom Buck.

The original newsletter issue from Thiagi's Play for Performance (September 2002) features the framegame 'Letter from the Future' authored by Bill Matthews and Tom Buck. The source excerpt cut off mid-sentence during Part 2. UWT retained the core mechanic (5-year future scan, letter to a departing colleague, flipchart writing, and five core prompt questions) and supplied a complete 60-minute facilitation structure, step timing, clear hybrid mechanics, and debrief prompts.

[The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/september2002.html)

[The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/september2002.html)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/pfp-september-2002/