Our Story
Our Experience
Insight Experience was founded in 2001 by Nick Noyes and Amanda Young Hickman to improve their clients' performance by developing effective leaders for the twenty-first century. The founders, with the rest of the Insight team, design and deliver business simulations used to make Insight's experiential learning programs successful in businesses around the globe. The team has business and management consulting experience with a focus on large-scale change, executive facilitation, and simulation design. The majority of our employees have been involved in the simulation business for more than 15 years.
Our Philosophy
Our learning philosophy is based on three fundamental beliefs:
- Adults Learn by Doing — We believe adults acquire new skills and behaviors by applying and practicing them.
- Adults Learn from Others — Working with peers to solve a business challenge not only introduces new insights from peers, it also teaches skills needed to interact productively and cooperatively. Group-based activities bring to light the need for leadership and interpersonal skills.
- Adults Learn with Relevant Tensions — We believe adults learn best in an environment that reflects the core tensions and complexities of their unique work environment.
Our History
Insight Experience’s story, like many stories, began before its creation. In the ‘90s many Insight team members worked together at a pioneering business simulation company enabled by the growth of the personal computer. While focusing on strategy and business acumen, business simulation participants could test their decision-making skills, make mistakes, and safely learn from their experience. In the late '90s eLearning represented a new frontier, and several Insight Experience team members pioneered customized eLearning solutions for the Fortune 500.
In 2001, turbulence in the industry, a desire for innovative solutions, a chance meeting, and demonstrated client need conspired to spark the creation of Insight Experience by Nick Noyes and Amanda Young Hickman. Amanda and Nick set their sights on forming a team that could develop a new generation of simulation-based experiences. They would be designed for a blended learning environment, flexible in configuration and delivery, and responsive to the ever-changing needs and technologies of clients. The simulations needed to be easy and cost-effective to tailor. They had to challenge users with both hard and soft skill development while providing an easy-to-use interface. And, the simulations needed to be part of a larger, comprehensive learning experience. It seemed like a tall order at the time.
Today, it’s a reality. Our business simulations, combined with the passionate work of some of the best and brightest professionals in the industry, allow Insight Experience to deliver best-in-class experiential learning solutions to our clients.