Could Should Might Don't: How We Think about the Future

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.

Author: Nick Foster
Publisher: MCD
Published: 08/26/2025
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.49h x 5.79w x 1.19d
ISBN: 9780374619350


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 07/01/2025 pg. 13
Publishers Weekly 06/16/2025
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2025
Booklist 07/01/2025 pg. 3

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.