Episode 58: Investing in Insight
Is it possible to calculate an Insight team’s return on investment?
Well it isn’t if you see insights as an essential part of a value chain. Every essential element of a chain has to be in place for there to be any value in the first place.
But in every organisation I know, there are multiple decisions taken every month without any insights. Maybe because there’s no Insight team, or the team wasn’t consulted, or it was asked far too late in the day.
These decisions might not have been very good decisions, but they were taken, and that proves that insights are not an essential part of how companies operate, they’re a discretionary part. And that means we can always estimate the incremental value of including them.
If we routinely estimate the size of the prize before we prioritise projects, and then record the value delivered by the business and other departments’ estimate of Insight’s contribution after they’re completed, we can elevate everyone’s appreciation of our work.
And that’s invaluable when we want to argue for more resources - or when we need to make the case for keeping those we have.
To help explore this topic, James is joined by Jane Woolley. Jane is a former Insight leader at the London Underground and BMRB International, and now a senior adviser at the IMA and their lead on Insight commercial thinking and return on investment.
Please listen to find out more!
Topics Discussed
- Is insight discretionary? (
- The Insight valuation process (5.07)
- Asking others for their view of Insight’s contribution (8.09)
- A pleasant surprise for IMA members (11.07)
- The importance of commercial curiosity (15.01)
- Common challenges faced (18.24)
- ROI in the public sector and charity sector (22.32)
This is episode 58 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.
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