Panel: Excellence in Communicating Insights
Summary
Key Insights
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Being known by leadership and consistently adding value is key to earning a legitimate seat at the decision-making table, as Andy experienced at Instagram.
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Sitting at the table does not always mean speaking immediately; understanding why you are there and the power dynamics involved, as noted by Nini, is crucial.
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Communication with executives extends beyond meetings via follow-ups and digital channels, leveraging multimodal opportunities to maintain influence.
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Persistent repetition and 'beating the drum' helps reinforce important insights over time, especially when facing organizational resistance.
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Tailoring communication to the specific audience’s needs and avoiding oversharing is a critical skill for researchers to remain effective.
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A well-structured research artifact includes a clear insight (what), rationale (so what), and action plan (now what), holding individuals accountable.
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Creating memorable frameworks or models can help research insights become part of organizational vernacular and influence culture.
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Creative dissemination approaches, like Andy’s fortune cookie insights at Uber, can dramatically increase engagement with research findings.
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Organizational readiness and timing heavily influence when research gains traction; good work may lie dormant until the market or internal priorities align.
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Working simultaneously across short, medium, and long-term horizons ensures ongoing impact and prepares researchers for fluctuating organizational appetites.
Notable Quotes
"When the world is silent, even one voice makes a difference."
"Make sure your leadership team knows your name."
"If I go to a meeting and have nothing to say for the third time, I won’t go again; I’ll give up my seat for someone who can add value."
"You have to understand the power dynamics around the table—seniority, function, gender, skin color, religion—they all matter."
"The table’s not a one-time performance; it’s multimodal with before and after moments you can use."
"Take control when you notice resistance or chatter; acknowledge it and turn it into a constructive conversation."
"A research report is essentially the coffin where insights go to die."
"Synthesis is a researcher’s superpower, not just analysis or breaking things down."
"Persistence is about beating the drum over and over, even if it feels annoying."
"You can do everything right, but timing and organizational readiness are beyond your control."
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