Transforming Insight Podcast

James Wycherley

Welcome to Transforming Insight, the podcast for anyone who has the ambition to transform their Insight team and create an Insight-driven organisation. Your host is James Wycherley, chief executive of the Insight Management Academy, and the author of Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams. In the Transforming Insight podcast, we not only explore all 42 secrets outlined in the Transforming Insight book, but 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 hit subscribe! read less
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Season 6

Episode 42: Optimising our position
11-01-2024
Episode 42: Optimising our position
An Insight team looks outwards to an organisation’s customers and markets and shines a light on issues of strategic importance. In stormy weather, it is there to pinpoint rocks upon which the organisation might founder, and competitor companies with which the company might collide. Many Insight teams pride themselves on their ability to understand customer behaviour and its drivers. They have developed a powerful light to shine upon market issues, and they aspire to serve as a lighthouse, a beacon to guide their organisation as it navigates the market. However, a lighthouse helps nobody if it is not in a position to be seen. Positioned inland, or hidden by cliffs, its light cannot help shipping. Likewise, there is little point in building an Insight capability to identify issues and guide management teams along the best route if our Insight teams are not well positioned within our companies. Effective Insight teams succeed in identifying and occupying an optimal position in the hearts, minds and decision-making processes of their wider organisation. And that’s never been more important than this year with the AI tide just starting to come in.Please listen to find out more! Topics DiscussedAre you pushing water uphill? (1.27)Insight as a lighthouse (3.56)An improvement in benchmarking scores (6.17)Positioning Insight teams for success through 4 pathways (7.49)AI – a profound positioning challenge for Insight teams (10.07)Learning from the mistakes of big data (12.19)This is episode 42 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased directly from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 43: Developing the Insight team brand
25-01-2024
Episode 43: Developing the Insight team brand
According to the entrepreneur.com website: ‘Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.’ In our world of corporate Insight, we might rephrase that paragraph as: ‘Simply put, our Insight brand is our promise to other departments. It tells them what they can expect from our products and services, and it differentiates our offering from that of other functions. Our brand is derived from who we are, who we want to be and who senior people in other departments perceive us to be.’ All Insight teams already have a ‘brand’ of some sort whether we realise it or not. But do other departments’ views of our team align with our views of Insight? And do they help us to optimise our team’s position in the hearts, minds and decision-making processes of our organisation?Please listen to find out more!Topics DiscussedWhat does brand mean for an Insight team? (1.58)Leveraging our knowledge of brand development (4.42)The role of personal brand (7.03)How do we become good influencers (8.57)AI and its impact on the Insight brand (13.00)This is episode 43 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased directly from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 44: Transforming Insight at Transport for London
08-02-2024
Episode 44: Transforming Insight at Transport for London
Topics DiscussedRenate's journey to leading the Insight Team at TFL (1:50)Navigating the team through a re-org (4:21)Annual goals, priorities and team collaboration (10:04)What is Renate most proud of her team achieving? (14:15)Maintaining the heightened profile for the Insight team post-pandemic (17:05)Challenges and success of a leadership role (19:58)Highlights“This year, 2023, is the year of communication… That year everybody has an objective linked to that one thing. On top of the day-to-day and the project delivery, that everyone has objectives within their own development plans that is also speaking to that objective. That it's not my priority, it's a team priority. And that everybody understands how everybody kind of contributes to that.” (10:17)“That's how you get a seat at the table is by helping people out when they asked you. But obviously there's a balance in there. We can't then say yes to everybody, at all times. And how you continue to build that good reputation and that helpful reputation, without just doing other people's admin for them.” (12:53)“Suddenly, wanting to know what customers were thinking and doing and going to do next was the organization's number one priority and suddenly we were under pressure to deliver almost daily Insights and figures and facts.” (14:28)“It was a really useful exercise to review absolutely every single thing you do as a team and I think, by nature of doing that, I think it made us more focused and more kind of specific and deliberate in what we did and what we didn't do” (17:27)“It was realising that they don't need me to be the most experienced researcher. They need me to provide direction and vision and challenge, and that's my role.” (20:35)This is episode 44 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 45: Increasing the awareness of Insight
22-02-2024
Episode 45: Increasing the awareness of Insight
There’s no point developing detailed brand concepts if nobody has heard of our companies in the first place. And the same is true for our Insight teams.So in this week’s episode, I’m going to suggest that whilst we should certainly reflect on our Insight team brand, we should also recognise that we often simply need to promote awareness of Insight as a concept and our team as a department. This requires an opportunistic mindset as our internal market for Insight is always changing. It’s very easy to assume that everyone knows who we are, but in a large company they probably don’t. And we have to start again every time there is a major restructure or new senior managers arrive. Please listen to find out more!Topics DiscussedAn opportunistic mindset (2.12)The need to make deliberate decisions (5.17)Introducing signature pieces (7.37)James’s own experience of signature pieces (10.15)Insight managers as entrepreneurs (12.33)This is episode 45 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.To find out more about our insight forums please click here for further details. About James Wycherley, the author of Transforming InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 46: Transforming Insight at Coca Cola Europacific Partners
08-03-2024
Episode 46: Transforming Insight at Coca Cola Europacific Partners
Topics DiscussedHazel’s journey to becoming Associate Director of Insights at Coca-Cola EP(1:38)Enabling colleagues to self-service their data needs (5:02)Three-pronged approach to drive a more Insight-led business (8:31)Hazel’s approach to team management and Insight leadership (21:06)Collaborating with agency partners for success (25:10)What advice would Hazel like to pass on to Insight leaders? (29:46)Highlights“I enjoyed working with customers, however challenging that sometimes is. But felt like there was a real opportunity to kind of use my skill set to see how I could apply that internally to influence business strategy and business planning and be able to see some of that Insight impact within my own business, rather than be reliant on the customers as to whether they would kind of take that Insight on board.” (2:57)“For me, that was about how do we enable the business to be able to access that data and be able to service their questions themselves, in order to free up time in my team to do more of the deeper analysis.” (5:10)“It was a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, in that we were trying to inspire them with their vision of what an Insight-led organisation looks like, but then also talk to them about these new tools that we've got that could help them be more self-sufficient in answering their own questions.” (14:00)“My time is kind of split, probably in two ways. One is kind of leading the team. So making sure that we've got the team set up in the right way to deliver what the business needs. Whether that be about kind of helping prioritizes we've just discussed that the key projects coming in, making sure that we've got the right people assigned to the right pieces of work. That's more about the management. And then the second part is then more about the leadership. So I think that is where I will be looking at, the things that we've got in the pipeline from a transformation perspective.”“That's, in reflection, I think, of the value that we've added to the business, and they've been able to recognize that bringing more head count in will deliver better business results.” (24:02)“It's almost being brave to take that leap of faith and trust yourself to be able to make some of those changes.” (30:32)This is episode 46 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 47: Easter roundtable
21-03-2024
Episode 47: Easter roundtable
We also see this as a time of team change, with lots of restructures, some redundancies, and a loss of people with years of experience. In response, the most successful Insight teams have doubled down on commercial thinking and influencing skills.Finally, we look at leaders’ roles in guiding their team members through change. Lisa provides a personal perspective on coaching and explores how Insight teams can learn from coaching principles. And Emma talks about imposter syndrome, and how we can all learn to recognise it, and help ourselves and others to manage it.Topics DiscussedInsight team’s early use of AI (1.15)It’s a time of change and restructure (8.20)Insight leaders need to be agile and aware of the politics (11.01)Learning from coaching (12.30)How to recognise and manage imposter syndrome (19.35) This is episode 47 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved

Season 5

Episode 35: All about the people
14-09-2023
Episode 35: All about the people
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 DiscussedIt’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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 36: Working on our teams
28-09-2023
Episode 36: Working on our teams
Topics DiscussedThe 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 37: Insight skills & attributes
12-10-2023
Episode 37: Insight skills & attributes
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 DiscussedCategorising 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 38: Adopting an Insight perspective
26-10-2023
Episode 38: Adopting an Insight perspective
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 DiscussedHow 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 39: Building an Insight team
17-11-2023
Episode 39: Building an Insight team
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 DiscussedA 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 40: Transforming Insight at Deliveroo
30-11-2023
Episode 40: Transforming Insight at Deliveroo
Topics DiscussedLooking closer at Hayley’s switch to Deliveroo (2:00)Transforming Insight culture to look more toward consumer understanding (4:48)The importance of clear objectives (10:40)Has Hayley’s view on the role of Insight changed? (14:27)The opportunities and threats of AI to Insight teams (18:48)One piece of advice Hayley would give Insight Team Leaders (25:15)Highlights“Yes, there's a great customer concept there, but it's actually a really smart piece of Tech that has enabled the business to scale as quickly as it has. And it's not really until there's more competition in the market, and the business gets onto that sort of next phase of development, that there's suddenly an appreciation that a rather more structured, rounded approach to customer and market Insight is needed.”“Even though we had used OKRs, so every quarter would have our Objectives and Key Results. But that in itself didn't seem to be enough to equip team members to say “no”, whereas this sort of very succinct one-pager worked really well.”“You have to make sure that you are able to touch every part of the organisation, otherwise you're not really going to enable customer-centric thinking. And by that, I mean, quite often we do lots and lots of research and we speak to lots and lots of teams, but there's some teams that we probably never ever would speak to unless we organise some quite large-scale events. So, HR teams or Finance teams or even some of our engineers probably wouldn't get invited traditionally to our debrief. So, what I make sure that we do as part of our research plans now is have large-scale events. That means that everybody can come and listen to the customer.”“[Being] less precious as well, in that we don't own the customer in as much as we can democratize data and enable teams to dive into specific areas themselves. That’s not a threat to Insight functions. Actually, it's really helpful in terms of helping make sure that the customer data we captured is being used as much as possible”“I think the skill set just needs to kind of shift, but there'll definitely still be a role for people. And it comes back to what we do as researchers right, asking the right questions in the right ways, making sure that the right material is there.”This is episode 40 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 41 - Christmas roundtable
14-12-2023
Episode 41 - Christmas roundtable
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 hostJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved

Season 4

Episode 28: A strategy for Insight
04-05-2023
Episode 28: A strategy for Insight
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 DiscussedA 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 29: The opportunity for Insight
18-05-2023
Episode 29: The opportunity for Insight
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 DiscussedImagine 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 30: Defining your ambition for Insight
01-06-2023
Episode 30: Defining your ambition for Insight
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 DiscussedWhy 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 31: Identifying options
15-06-2023
Episode 31: Identifying options
Topics DiscussedDeveloping 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.
Episode 32: Implementing our strategy
06-07-2023
Episode 32: Implementing our strategy
Topics DiscussedThe 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.com DisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 33: Transforming Insight at Carlsberg
13-07-2023
Episode 33: Transforming Insight at Carlsberg
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 DiscussedA 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved
Episode 34: Summer roundtable
03-08-2023
Episode 34: Summer roundtable
Topics DiscussedLearning 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 InsightJames 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.orgCopies of James Wycherley’s book Transforming Insight: the 42 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams can be purchased direct from www.transforming-insight.comDisclaimerThe Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.All rights reserved