transforming insight

In this episode…

• How can our teams adopt Insight tools & systems to make the communication part of our roles easier and more effective? (2.31)
• How can we inspire all our researchers and analysts to become Insight influencers? (7.47)
• Taking control of our personal brand (13.02)
• The importance of mapping stakeholders and allies (15.16)
• The organisations investing in Insight management (18.38)
• Looking forward to the Insight forums in 2024 (21.33)

Please listen to find out more!

This is episode 41 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. 

Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight and podcast host

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams. 

Resources: 

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved     

To discuss that topic, James is joined by Debra Walmsley, one of the most inspirational corporate Insight leaders in the UK. Debra has led Insight teams at British Airways, British Gas, Saga, Halfords and now Virgin Atlantic. And she has recently joined the IMA as one of our part-time senior Insight advisers.

She also has very impressive form on this podcast. She joined James in episode 8 to talk about her work transforming Insight at Halfords, and it’s still one of the top 5 most downloaded episodes out of the 38 we’ve published so far.

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• A structured approach to recruitment (2.20)
• The importance of business understanding (5.09)
• The skills and attributes that Debra looks for (7.45)
• How to induct new recruits (12.16)
• How do we make money? (18.06)
• Ongoing learning and development (23.30)

This is episode 39 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved                  

In his celebrated book, Factfulness, Hans Rosling said that:

‘People constantly and intuitively refer to their worldview when thinking, guessing or learning. If your worldview is wrong, you will systematically make the wrong guesses.’ 

Rosling founded the Gadminder Foundation, with a mission is ‘to fight devastating ignorance with a fact-based worldview’. If you think that ambition is relevant to your Insight team, then you might agree that we need our researchers and analysts to develop an Insight perspective.

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• How well do we know the world around us? (0.46)
• Why should all Insight managers read Factfulness? (5.53)
• The continuing relevance of Rosling’s work to the world today (8.12)
• Fighting devasting customer and market ignorance in our organisations (10.03)

This is episode 38 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved                             

What skills and attributes do the most successful Insight teams recruit for? Which do they find it most difficult to develop? And which would Lisa prioritise?

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• Categorising Insight skills (2.28)
• Not accepting the status quo (5.43)
• The skills and attributes that Lisa would prioritise (9.03)
• Introducing the 9Ps (11.41)

This is episode 37 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved      

Topics Discussed

• The Insight leadership framework (1.50)
• Working on our Insight teams not in them (5.30)
• The Insight playbook (9.08)
• Introducing the 9Ps (11.21)

This is episode 36 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved    

Clever analysts, incisive researchers, creative Insight managers... these people can bring joy to working in an Insight team and unlock a world of potential for organisations that want to use customer and market understanding to improve business performance. 

So, how can we develop an Insight people plan? 

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• It’s all about the people (1.45)
• Mapping the key aspects of a people plan (3.40)
• AI: a climate change moment for Insight generation? (6.38)
• The wider implications of AI for Insight management (8.58)

This is episode 35 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved                                                                        

Topics Discussed

• Learning from Quirk’s New York (1.40)
• From reactionary service providers (4.50)
• What is an Insight-driven organisation? (8.55)
• The IMA’s online library of best practice (11.15)
• The range of companies now transforming Insight (13.42)
• The implications of AI on Insight management (20.34)

This is episode 34 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved       

Nick speaks about his time at Carlsberg and how he was able to successfully transform their Insight analytics function. We hear about how he worked to develop talent in the Insight team and the importance of adapting to the changing face of Insights talent.

He also touches on the challenge of finding a common ground between different marketing philosophies, and the need to be prepared for changes in leadership that may require a different approach. Nick speaks about the concept of "marketing religions" and how Insight teams need to maintain neutrality while understanding the culture of the business.

We also examine the three main pillars of Insight investment and how to diversify and redirect budget to focus on more forward-looking Insights.

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• A look back at how Nick got into Insight (03:05)
• Developing a successful Insight team and the changing face of Insight talent (05:30)
• Reconciling marketing philosophies and understanding "marketing religions" (11:30)
• Key aspects of Insight Transformation (16:55)
• Diversifying budget for forward-looking Insights (19:00)
• Biggest challenges in Insight Transformation and Top Tips (23:40)

Highlights

• “No longer necessarily are we looking for people who have come from traditional research backgrounds. I'm really excited by the idea of that further developing where you're getting people who come from very, very different backgrounds, could be marketing related but other business functions, they all have something to offer.”
• “Sometimes you need to take the research out of the research and give people something that's really recognisable and meaningful to sales teams, to advertising teams, to digital teams, who need answers about what decisions they make. So, you need someone to really give that human element that perhaps we've been missing previously.”
• “The idea of ‘marketing religions’ is something that is cyclical. You see some businesses follow a very strict religion and want everybody on board thinking the same way. Others you have a disparate set of views and activities that support different ideas. Whichever business you're in, I think as an Insights team you have to have some sense of neutrality.”
• “One thing that really helps you understand how the business perceives Insights is how they invest in it”
• “Knowledge as an asset. I would love to see more the value of Insights being included on profit and loss accounts and balance sheets, because it has inherent value. It can also give competitive advantage to a business. I don't think we've done enough as an Insights industry to help organisations understand the true value we bring.”

This is episode 33 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved     

Topics Discussed

• The importance of implementation (0.45)
• Change management principles (3.25)
• Learning from a corporate strategy guru (7.15)
• The implications for Insight strategy (10.53)

Highlights

• “If this is the first Insight strategy we have written, we may feel that the hard work is done when we have crafted our vision and come up with some profound recommendations for how our organisations should organise and use Insight in the future. We might not appreciate the resistance we will face in actually making these changes happen” 
• “Our plan should include quick wins and short-term milestones as well as our long-term objectives. Making a noticeable difference relatively early on signals change and success wins support for further change. We should think big but start small.”
• “The precise circumstances you face, the pace of change you desire, the barriers to progress that you will meet will all differ enormously by company. Only you can reflect on the universe that you need to win over and the milestones you need to achieve along the way.”

This is episode 32 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved       

Topics Discussed

• Developing a mission statement with your team (2.27)
• The importance of conscious choices (4.40)
• Think creatively and think big (7.48)
• The perils of developing parallel strategies and plans (10.00)
• It’s all about choosing you will do and not do (12.15)

Highlights

• “You could say that we all have an Insight strategy already – the question is whether our current strategy – what we do – has been arrived at through a series of explicit choices and with reference to an overarching vision for Insight?” 
• “For Insight teams, a mission statement usually takes the essence of a vision, and crafts it into a punchy sentence that describes what the team aims to do in a particular period of time and what effect this will have”
• “Just like the process of developing a vision, it is important to think creatively and think big because if you constrain your thinking at this stage then there’s every chance that you will actually implement something even less ambitious”

This is episode 31 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

I think it’s only possible to create a successful vision for your Insight function by examining both the potential ways that Insight could make a difference to your organisation’s performance and then your ambition for it to actually seize those opportunities. 

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• Why ambition is important (2.06)
• The IMA’s Insight participation matrix (5.34)
• Becoming the Voice of the Customer (7.57)
• Becoming project consultants (9.30)
• The optimum position to occupy (11.30)

Highlights

• “What is your ambition for Insight as a function and a concept in your company? How much does your own personal ambition cause you to be optimistic about how transformative a role Insight could play? Or does your lack of career ambition - maybe for perfectly good reasons - impede your thinking when you consider the potential for the Insight department? 
• “Something else that might influence your thinking in this space is the ambition shown by other Insight leaders. Whether you meet your peers at one of the IMA’s Insight forums, through professional associations, research and analysis conferences like Quirks, or online networking groups, it is worth reflecting on the ambition that they reveal when they talk about Insight’s role in their organisation”
• “If your Insight team focuses primarily on contributing analysis and research to individual projects, and the research or analysis is mainly concerned with what is happening, where, when, by whom, and why, it is likely to be playing the role of a service delivery function”

This is episode 30 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved                                                   

Jane leads on Insight strategy and draws on her wide experience to explain why developing a strategy need not be daunting and can actually be a very validating experience.

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• Imagine it’s your first day as an Insight leader (1.45)
• Imagine you’ve been fired (3.30)
• The first step to take (4.55)
• Chunking up the process (11.05)
• It’s a validating experience (15.50)

Highlights

• “It’s not just new Insight leaders who are asked to explain their vision for the future of course, You can design a new vision for Insight in your organisation at any time, and you don’t need to wait to be asked. However, there is something about the mindset of a newly appointed leader that makes it a particularly easy time to think about things clearly.” 
• “If this seems like a weighty responsibility, the good news is that the first phase is not to conjure up a brilliant form of words that can immediately satisfy your CEO and motivate your colleagues. First you need to do some analysis to make sure that you really understand the lie of the land”
• “The best place to start your analysis, and our first step, is to look beyond your organisation altogether, to look out of the window and focus on real people living their lives. Which aspect of their life is your organisation trying to improve? Which market is your company really in? Is that market static, changing, growing or disappearing?”

This is episode 29 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved                                        

So that’s what we’re going to focus on at the July 2023 Insight forums and for several of our podcasts this season.

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• A challenge for Insight leaders (2.38)
• Doing the right things as well as doing things right (4.34)
• The potential keeps growing, but so do the difficulties (6.25)
• Why do so few organisations have an Insight strategy? (7.39)
• What we really need is very different from an activity plan (10.47)

Highlights

• “If your team generates new, joined up insights focusing on solving business issues, develops big picture customer knowledge, influences senior decision-makers, and communicates insights across the whole organisation, then you’ll certainly identify more value for your organisation and drive more change within it. But is that enough to create an Insight-driven organisation?”
• “Many Insight functions report an ever-growing workload, with less time to stop and think about big questions, like why your organisation has an Insight team, how much it spends on Insight activity, what return it gets on its investment, and whether there are structural issues to challenge if you want to create an Insight-driven organisation.”
• “Our team at the IMA believes that Insight leaders need to move their planning upstream, ideally developing a strategy for Insight as a concept and as a department which either aligns directly with a top-level corporate strategy, or better still, examines the data and thinking behind that corporate strategy and, if necessary, challenges it.

This is episode 28 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams.

He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved        

In this 16-minute episode, James looks at how progressive Insight teams can drive change by using the SCQAB structure. It’s great for framing projects at the start and shaping the story along the way.

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• Adapting the Pyramid Principle (0.43)
• Situation, Complication, Question, Answer and Benefit (4.10)
• Shape the comm’s throughout the project (6.03)
• The Insight communication grid (8.35)
• T-shaped communication (12.50)

Highlights

• “A progressive Insight team wouldn’t want to focus on research briefs but on the underlying business issue. Nor would it want to prioritise methodology when communicating to decision-makers; methodology is strictly an internal issue for the Insight team to sort out, and only merits a mention in an appendix when communicating to senior managers.” 
• “When Insight teams work in this way, the structure of our story evolves as we complete our investigation. It isn’t something that we ‘write up’ at the end of our project, it’s an integral part of the project itself”
• “Whether we’re having a conversation with someone, a video call, making a presentation or having a chat over a drink in a pub, we usually have a finite amount of time. So there’s a trade-off we all make, usually without thinking about it, between breadth and depth”

This is episode 24 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved                                              

This breadth of experience strengthened her ability to look at things more holistically, rather than looking at Insight in an organisation through one lens. It gave her the ability to join it all up in a powerful way, to be an important voice in organisations.

Throughout her career, Liz has cleverly used Insight and data analysis in a multitude of ways to achieve success at Disney, PepsiCo, Birds Eye, Nestle and Sainsbury’s. 

With her current role at Sainsbury’s, we hear about Liz’s goals for her Insight team going forward.

Topics Discussed

• A look back at Liz’s past roles (1:10)
• The influence her early move into category management had on her view of Insight (6:27)
• Combining functional knowledge with commercial context and business needs (11:11)
• Being creative about how you get to the Insight (14:42)
• What “good looks like” at different organisations (20:23)
• Driving Insight at Sainsbury’s to have the right impact (23:54)

Highlights

• “That brought a different dimension to using data analysis, pushing it more into the commercial aspects of how you use insight and storytelling to drive solutions and opportunities for retailers and distributors.”
• “We didn't have a huge amount of free-flowing cash to spend, but it forced you to be a bit more creative about how you got to the Insight to guide the business.”
• “Often you have the answers because of all of the wealth of what has come before. And therefore, you can make a very educated decision of what you know, rather than needing to spend more money and commissioning more research.”
• “The power comes from how we join the dots between all of the different aspects of what we know. We talk about having a hive mentality.”
• “Don't be impatient. Once you've got the vision and the organization is bought in to what you're trying to do. You can start small, you can get some quick wins, you can pilot some things. But I think the transformation will not come overnight, because it is that cultural change of driving much more of an insight led philosophy through an organisation.”

This is episode 22 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please hit subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased directly from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved

For the most successful Insight teams, that includes a proper communication programme; an ability to shape and share stories; and an awareness of visual communication techniques to really make an impact and leave an impression.

So, throughout season 3 of our podcast, we hope to inspire Insight leaders to take communication far more seriously, and introduce frameworks that can help our team members to develop key skills. 

Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• Does your organisation aspire to be truly customer-centric? (2.20)
• We should stop thinking like Insight leaders (4.09)
• Is Insight communication getting better? (8.09)
• How do we spend our time and energy? (9.30)
• Let’s move the goalposts (11.15)

Highlights

• “The way we share our knowledge is at least as important as the insights themselves. As members of the IMA’s Insight forum recognised many years ago, a great insight badly communicated will sink without trace, but a reasonable insight, brilliantly communicated, will spread like wildfire throughout your organisation.”
• “If we are to share our knowledge and ideas more effectively, perhaps we need to forget that it’s usually our day job to run research projects and manage teams of analysts. We should stop thinking like Insight leaders altogether and think like the IMA’s six characters of Insight communication.” 
• “There are now some brilliant pieces of Insight communication being produced, but there’s still plenty of rubbish as well. Slides that have no message, charts cluttered with lines and data points, verbose reports written like technical, scientific papers rather than compelling calls to action. It’s the frequency and consistency with which our teams adopt best practice that determines how successful they are.”

This is episode 21 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved

An understanding of behavioural biases is critical for anyone who runs market research projects; you’ll know that there’s always been a gap between what consumers claim is important, and what they actually do when you can observe their behaviour. 

But the IMA believes that our corporate Insight teams need to pay just as much attention to understanding senior stakeholders as they do to understanding the company’s end customers. 

If we don’t know how corporate decisions are taken in our own head office, we stand little chance of influencing those decisions. And if we don’t influence those decisions, there was no point in doing any analysis or research on consumers in the first place. 

So how can Insight teams use an understanding of behavioural biases to nudge decision-makers? Please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• The trouble with market research (4.02)
• The connection to corporate decision-making (5.38)
• Do we all need to be experts on behavioural biases? (7.43)
• Making the use of Insight socially acceptable (11.18)
• Embracing behavioural economics (12.56)

Highlights

• “As David Ogilvy is reported to have said, ‘The trouble with market research is that people don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say’
• “A knowledge of behavioural biases can be just as useful to Insight teams who want to influence their stakeholders as to those who want to learn more about the drivers of consumer choice. It can help us to develop a list of handy tactics which we can use, almost irrespective of how well we know the decision-makers concerned. 
• “The UK Nudge Unit have used the EAST framework to categorise behavioural biases, but there is a lot of merit in keeping things simple to start with and just using the four EAST factors themselves. If we want Insight to be influential, we have to make adopting our ideas Easy, Attractive, Socially acceptable and Timely.”

This is episode 20 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please hit subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved

Several years ago, the IMA’s Julia Joskey looked at ways we could all harness the power of our introverts. More recently, at the November 2022 Insight forums, Lisa Dutton explored the broader but related topic of managing Insight people in a post-pandemic world.

In this episode we draw from both pieces of research - please listen to find out more!

Topics Discussed

• The mix of introverts and extroverts in Insight teams (1.58)
• Corporate life isn’t easy for introverts (3.28)
• How do we square these issue with the demands of influencing stakeholders? (5.30)
• Varying attitudes to in person and online events (8.27)
• The roles which effective leaders are playing in a post-pandemic world (10.51)

Highlights

• “Psychologists think that about one in three of the population are more introvert than extrovert, and informal surveys and discussions at the IMA’s Insight forums suggest that it’s probably a far higher proportion of Insight specialists.”
• “Corporate life isn’t always very comfortable for introverts. The problem is not us; the problem is that many of the working practices that have developed in our offices over the last few decades implicitly favour extroverts over introverts.”
• “A noticeable issue in recent months has been the varying degree to which leaders have grabbed the chance to come back to face-to-face forums or still prefer to sign up for online events; and another, the social awkwardness we sometimes see in more junior team members who have often joined their organisation during the lockdowns.”

This is episode 19 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please hit subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved

Liz talks about the transformation she’s been on throughout her career and how she takes her learnings and “Blueprint” for what a successful Insight team looks like with her to each new role.  

Liz tells us about finding her dream role at Card Factory that challenges her, has a culture that aligns with her values, and gives her a work-life balance and the ability to control her own destiny.

We hear about the transformation Liz is striving to bring about at Card Factory, just as she has with her other roles in Insight teams.

Topics Discussed

• A look back at Liz’s career in Insight (1:18)
• The triangulation of data, research, and commercial finance figures. (6:00)
• Speaking the language of the business to get traction with the Insight (15:57)
• Her current role at Card Factory and how it ticks all her boxes. (20:00)
• The challenge of a blank sheet of paper (22:05)
• Collaboration and the Power of 3 (27:35)

Highlights

• “It was a time when things were being triangulated. Data was coming together with research and coming together with some of the commercial finance figures. It was brilliant to see that side of bringing pieces of the jigsaw together.” (6:00)
• “It is the commercial understanding, but it’s also applying the customer lens to that. You’ve got the pricing analytics of course, but how can we ensure that we are investing in the right areas, giving the customers the prices that they want and need, whilst still making money.” (13:48)
• “You’ve got to speak the language of the business, there’s no two ways about it. I think it’s the only way that you get the traction with the Insight.” (15:57)
• “There was no foundational knowledge. There was no real sense of customer. Data analysis happened in pockets but didn’t come together as a whole. First job: establish what we do have, what that’s telling us, and where are the gaps.” (23:00)
• “Talk to your stakeholders. Get an understanding of what’s important to them, where the business is going and how can you help achieve that ambition. With that foundational knowledge that you’ve got, you’ve also got the piece that says ‘does that reflect of what we’re seeing from a customer point of view? What do we need to deliver to the customer? Where are some of those gaps? Do those two things align?’” (26:23)

This is episode 18 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please hit subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved

So how do the most successful corporate Insight teams improve their relationships with stakeholders? Please listen to this week’s podcast to find out!

Topics Discussed

• A more personal challenge for our colleagues (1.41)
• Learning from the Trusted Adviser book (5.47)
• Where do Insight professionals have natural strengths? (7.11)
• The need to take a few risks (10.20)
• Are we sometimes too defensive? (11.30)

Highlights

• “The perfect advisers are people we like and who we also think are more knowledgeable than us on the subject in question. Our opinions are often shaped by theirs without us even realising it. In the language of behavioural science, we all constantly buy the messenger, not the message.”
• “The way that influence operates in the workplace has far more in common with the way it works in our personal lives than we often assume. People buy from people just as much between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday as they do in their home life at the weekends.”
• “As knowledge workers, it should be relatively straightforward for us to find ways of demonstrating our credibility, but the key question is whether we can demonstrate an ability to translate our technical competence into customer and market understanding that helps to solve business problems.”

This is episode 17 of the Transforming Insight podcast. 

If you have the ambition to transform your Insight team and the role it plays in your organisation, please tune in to future episodes. Not only will we explore the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams as outlined in the Transforming Insight book, we will also talk to senior corporate Insight leaders, delve into books that have inspired us, and discuss new best practice research carried out with the IMA’s corporate members.

You won’t want to miss this! So please hit subscribe - and thank you for listening. 

About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming Insight

James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA). A popular keynote speaker and acknowledged expert on Insight leadership, strategy, and communication, he is the author of the book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams, and over 35 IMA publications. He has provided thought leadership in the UK, Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, India, and the Middle East, and regularly hosts the IMA’s Insight forums - London, Manchester, UK Online and US Online.

The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming Insight teams.

Resources:

If you would like more information on any of the ideas discussed in this episode of the Transforming Insight podcast, please visit www.insight-management.org

Copies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com

Disclaimer

The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

All rights reserved