It’s September, and the start of a new academic year. How are you feeling? Are you feeling optimistic about the term or semester to come? Are you feeling nervous about the pressure that your organisation might put on you? Do you have mixed feelings about the future of Insight in your company?
At the Quirk’s events in Chicago, London and New York, I’ve been asking corporate Insight professionals that question. And the answers have been largely split between those who say they are “tentatively hopeful” and those who admit to having “mixed feelings”.
Exploring this topic further at the IMA’s Insight forums and team development workshops, I think there are some clear patterns we see relating to how visible and valued an Insight team feels, and how optimistic it is for the future.
Those that are engaged early on strategic projects, whose opinion is respected, and whose work is valued are being a given a licence to experiment with new tools and have a confidence about shaping the future.
Those who feel trapped on the corporate hamster wheel feel so much pressure to just produce analysis and research they say they can’t prioritise Insight communication or stakeholder influence. Not surprisingly they are worried that AI adoption be a threat to their jobs.
So the big question for me, at this pivotal moment in the evolution of Insight teams, is whether we are going to wait for change to happen to us, or step forward and shape the definition, development and decisions of Insight-driven organisations.
If you have the ambition to be a change-maker rather than a change-taker, please listen to Episode 94 of the Transforming Insight podcast to find out more!
Topics Discussed
· The first episode of Season 14 of the podcast (0.44)
· Are you feeling visible and valued, with a licence to explore? (5.50)
· Are you constantly under pressure, responding to requests (9.22)
· Are we going to wait and accept change, or step forward and lead it? (12.12)
· An Insight-driven organisation needs a blueprint (16.18)
· Changing our self-perception from Insight producers to Insight activists (19.57)
· Insight leaders’ responsibility to write their own playbook (27.23)
This is episode 94 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, and the 9Ps of The Insight Leader’s Playbook, 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
James Wycherley was Director of Customer Insight and Analytics at Barclays Bank from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA).
He published his first book, Transforming Insight, in 2020, and his second, The Insight Leader’s Playbook, in 2025, and he hosts the Insight forums and the Transforming Insight podcast.
An entertaining keynote speaker, he has presented over 60 times at Quirk’s events, a global record, and has provided thought leadership in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, India and the Middle East.
The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming corporate Insight teams, and its vision is to inspire and support every Insight leader to transform the impact of Insight in their organisation.
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
Disclaimer
The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.