Episode 11: Sowing the seeds
In the last episode of season 1, episode 10, we introduced the concept of Insight farming and drew a comparison between Insight farming and Insight hunting.
Insight hunting represents the natural tendency of most Insight teams to spend nearly all their time on new primary research or analysis – hunting for new discoveries.
Insight farming, represents an evolution for Insight teams, shifting the focus to knowledge development, the knowledge that is often drawn from many different sources and many pieces of research and analysis that have been completed in the past.
In the next few episodes of our podcast, we’ll examine 3 essential steps in the Insight farming process. In this 16-minute episode, we’ll begin with Sowing the seeds – crystallizing and recording our findings.
Topics Discussed
- The practical steps to take (2.25)
- Who should do the work? (5.41)
- The Insight manager skillset (6.52)
- Taking your time (9.23)
- The need for effective processes (10.58)
Highlights
- “Insight farming appeals to many on a cultural level, as well as offering obvious cost savings by cutting out project duplication.”
- “In a perfect world I would like to believe that everyone in an Insight team should take part; the distillation, crystallisation and recording forming an integral part of each project. However, there are two problems with this: time and talent.”
- “It’s particularly important to identify contradictions between the outputs from related pieces. Contradictions don’t necessarily mean that either piece of work was wrong – they may just reflect different data sources or different moments in time – but identifying contradictions is key to deciding whether the big picture that has emerged from a range of previous pieces is now out of date, or whether a more nuanced view is now appropriate.”
- “If recording insights and joining the dots is everyone’s second most important task, then it tends to get pushed to the very end of the week by the more urgent task of hunting for new insights.”
This is episode 11 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.
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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.
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