Passionate about delivering business impact through the intersection of research, analytics, insights and collaboration.
When I read a book that educates and inspires business success, I have to share it with other people. Today, that book is by Brett Townsend and Tim Hoskins and is called, “Insights on the Brink: Revitalizing the Market Research and Analytics Industry.” The struggle it addresses is summarized with this quote: “Consumer insights is, almost without exception, classified as nonworking dollars, meaning that we’re considered a cost center instead of a revenue-generating part of the business. So from the get-go, we’re fighting an uphill battle to prove our value.” Many of the concepts resonated deeply with my real-world experience, deeply held beliefs, and lifelong passion. Research insights, analytics, and collaboration are the foundation for driving business impact. We hold the key to unlocking opportunities for change, growth, and transformation—yet we often resist the changes needed to fully unleash that potential. Insights on the Brink challenges the traditional mindsets and practices of our industry, urging us to rethink how we approach our work. It offers fresh ideas and innovative methods that help us achieve the meaningful impact we strive for but don’t always attain. Here are a few excerpts that truly resonated with me. Every time I re-read them, I find myself internally shouting, "YES! This is spot on!" • “If you can’t tell me your story in three slides, you don’t have a story.” • “I don’t need to know everything you know; I just need to know what I need to know.” • “The most successful projects are the ones where the client and agency go on the journey together.” • “And further, the agency role should not end with a report, but should follow through on implications and strategy.” • “It’s not about methodologies: We need to give ourselves permission to break free from methodology and inconsequential data and flip our mindset to focus on outcomes so we can play a more powerful role.” I invite you to get the book and discover how it inspires new thinking and actions that can make a real difference for you! Kudos to Brett Townsend and Tim Hoskins for this remarkable book! https://lnkd.in/g5Pmya_6 #MRX #Insights #ConsumerInsight #CustomerInsight #MarketResearch #MarketingResearch #BusinessImpact
Thanks, Yvonne. I appreciate the recommendation and the quotes you highlighted. The last one resonates with me, particularly being on the client side. Oftentimes, we have to render the methodologies more amenable to what it is that we're trying to achieve, which, more often than not, is a close-the-loop strategy. It's not a question of sacrificing the integrity of the research but more of adopting a less holier-than-thou stance to readily address the issue at hand. Love it!
That second quote hits my buttons! People forget that they really do NOT need to see a chart or table for every single question in a questionnaire. That's useless data overload. They DO need clear and actionable answers to big business challenges. If that takes five pages rather than 112 pages, then 5 pages is the right way to go.
Kari Hyde
2mo
LOVE this Yvonne Brouwers CAIP CMC MBA, Illumina Research Partners! Any book you have ever recommended (and likely given to me) I have read and found to be a book I return to again and again. This looks like another "must add" to my library!
Tim Hoskins
2mo
Yvonne Brouwers CAIP CMC MBA, Illumina Research Partners, thank you for the time that you spent reading our book and for the endorsement! Creating change doesn't happen over night but it will happen through intentional steps taken each day.
Brett Townsend
2mo
Yvonne, thank you so much for your thoughtful post about our book! I'm glad it resonated with and spoke to you. Like you, we want to spark these types of conversations that help make the entire industry better.
Thanks for pointing this book out Yvonne and mentioning those key points. I will be sure to get this book as it looks very timely.
Mark Kaley
1mo
Great share, Yvonne!
Great post and messages - research data can be complex, but if you can't distill it to a few key points of direction for the client, then you don't understand a) the client, b) the purpose of the research or c) the data itself.