Thinking about your future: nursing in the 21st century.

Successful preparation for the future requires strategic exploration--"what you do before you plan." Scouting the future involves quickness, sampling rather than exhaustive examination, and qualitative information that will enhance leaders' decision making. Strategic exploration requires skills in monitoring trends, innovations, and paradigm shifts (TIPS); examining the long-term implications of those elements; examining the impact of specific changes; and creating visions based on what we have learned.