i2 Insights

Ideas, research, and practical strategies for building future-ready skills

Test your innovation skills

Get a random reflection prompt, a quick action to try today, or a "this or that" dilemma to see how you compare to others. Each one takes 30 seconds and is based on the i2 skills framework.

Future of Work

AI Brain Fry and Shadow AI: Why Human-AI Collaboration Is the Skill Set Nobody Is Training For

AI brain fry and shadow AI are two sides of the same problem: organisations have rolled out AI faster than they have built the human capability to use it well. The real work is not about better tools or tighter policies. It is about developing the meta skills that enable healthy, productive collaboration with AI.

13 Apr 2026 7 min read

Skills & Frameworks

Reflection Skills: The Quiet Capability That Makes Everything Else Work Better

Reflection is the skill most people overlook and the one that makes every other capability work better. It is the ability to step back, notice your own patterns, and learn from experience in a way that actually changes what you do next. Research shows it is the strongest predictor of growth across all innovation skills.

9 Apr 2026 7 min read

Reflection

Hold Your First Instinct Lightly

When you feel drawn to a solution in the first 5 minutes of a discussion, write it on a sticky note — then set it aside. Spend the next 15 minutes exploring at least two alternatives before you look at it again.

Research & Evidence

What a Decade of Research Tells Us About How People Actually Learn to Innovate

A decade of academic research led by Dr Jeanne Liedtka reveals five specific skill clusters that drive innovation, and shows they are learnable, measurable, and developable in virtually anyone. The findings challenge common assumptions about talent, training, and what it really takes to build innovation capability.

9 Apr 2026 7 min read

Learning & Development

Why Most Training Does Not Change Behaviour (And What to Do Instead)

Most training programmes deliver knowledge but do not change behaviour. The programmes that actually work treat capability building as an ongoing journey, not a one off event, using assessment, micro learning, and real world practice to make development stick.

9 Apr 2026 8 min read

Relationship

Connect Before You Collaborate

Start your next meeting by asking each person one non-work question. Something simple — what they watched last night, what they’re looking forward to this weekend. Notice how it changes the energy.

Leadership & Teams

Why Your Team Agrees Too Quickly (And What It Is Costing You)

Quick agreement in meetings often looks like alignment, but it can mask a deeper problem: teams have stopped genuinely challenging each other. The cost shows up later in missed opportunities, weak decisions, and stalled innovation.

9 Apr 2026 6 min read

Higher Education

Why Teaching Content Is No Longer Enough: Building Adaptive Capability in Higher Education

Students need more than academic knowledge to thrive in a changing world. Universities that weave adaptive skills into existing curricula, rather than bolting them on, are producing graduates who can think, collaborate, and lead in any field.

9 Apr 2026 6 min read

Scientific Reasoning

Challenge With Curiosity

Pick one idea in a meeting that everyone seems to agree on. Ask: “What would need to be true for this to fail?” Frame it as genuine curiosity, not opposition.

Future of Work

The Skills That AI Cannot Replace (And Why Most Organisations Are Underinvesting in Them)

AI is transforming the workplace, but the skills that matter most are deeply human. Most organisations are underinvesting in the capabilities that will define the next decade: adaptability, creative problem solving, and the ability to navigate uncertainty with confidence.

9 Apr 2026 5 min read