I explore non-traditional and unexpected ideas. Archives

Mini Activity / Insight

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.

Click the button to get started

Future of Work

Outputs vs. Outcomes

When AI can produce anything, the only thing that matters is what you do with it. The Direction of Travel AI doesn’t hallucinate the way it did two years ago. It won’t hallucinate the way…

11 Jun 2026 1 min read

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

One skill, one question

Are You Testing or Confirming?

“When you gather feedback on a new idea, are you designing the test to learn — or to prove you’re right?”

— Scientific Reasoning Skills

Scientific Reasoning Skills

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

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

Try this today

Seek the Critic

Identify the person most likely to poke holes in your idea. Go to them first — before the stakeholder meeting, before the pitch. Ask: “What am I missing?”

Scientific Reasoning Skills

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

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

Try this today

Build Forward Together

In a group conversation, choose to be the person who connects other people’s ideas. Say things like: “That builds on what Sarah said earlier — what if we combined them?”

Relationship Skills

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

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

Try this today

Treat It Like a Hypothesis

Reframe your best idea as a hypothesis: “We believe that [X] will result in [Y] for [Z].” Does it still feel as certain when you write it that way?

Scientific Reasoning Skills

i2 Insights

Test your innovation skills

Outputs vs. Outcomes

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

Are You Testing or Confirming?

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

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

Seek the Critic

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

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

Build Forward Together

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

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

Treat It Like a Hypothesis