Leading Insight: strategy and people

Successful Insight teams work hard to identify value for their organisations, and to drive change within them.

However, as Insight leaders, we also need to choose, shape and articulate a proactive role for Insight in our organisations, amd demonstrate this in the way that we develop an Insight strategy and lead our Insight people.

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Insight strategy guides and videos

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An introduction to Insight strategy
IMP501: If we want Insight to transform our organisations' performance, we first have to transform our Insight teams. But very few companies have a comprehensive plan for making this happen. This 12-page guide sets out the reasons for having an Insight strategy and the key steps involved
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How to identify the opportunity for Insight
IMP502: A key part of having a successful Insight strategy is having a well-articulated vision for how Insight will make a difference within your organisation. This guide outlines the 6 key steps that will help you to first understand the lie of the land.
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How to define your ambition for Insight
IMP503: To develop an Insight strategy you need to understand the lie of the land, but then it is time to reflect on your ambition for Insight to change your organisation. The IMA's Insight Participation Matrix will help frame your vision for the role you want Insight to play in your company
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How to identify options for your Insight team
IMP504: Like any other department, an Insight team will operate within certain parameters, for example carrying out work of a certain type, within a certain budget. This guide lays out the 7 key choices that effective Insight teams make explicitly to define those parameters.
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How to execute an Insight strategy
IMP505: This is where the rubber hits the road - you can formulate a brilliant strategy, but unless you can execute it, you might as well not have bothered. This guide shares best practice for what is essentially organisational change management.
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How to prioritise an Insight team's work - video
IMV502: How do you prioritise your Insight team's work and resources? This is really important as it reflects the type of team you are and helps determines the role you will play this year
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New data for Insight - video
IMV503: Julia Joskey discusses the challenges faced by organisations in getting value from their data investments, and the fact that Insight has a fundamental role to play in creating the data-driven organisations of the future
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New decisions for Insight - video
IMV504: Jane Woolley examines our assumptions about the types of business decision that Insight teams set themselves up to inform, considering the 5 key sources of value.

Insight people guides and videos

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An introduction to developing successful Insight people
IMP601: As Insight leaders we are heavily reliant on the talent of our people, but relatively few companies take a really comprehensive approach to recruiting, managing and developing Insight specialists. This 10-page Insight leader guide provides an introduction to 5 key areas of focus
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How to lead an Insight team
IMP602: To successfully lead an Insight team, Insight leaders need to think like small business owners. In this guide, we examine the broad range of responsibilities of Insight leadership and present a tool which can help all who lead Insight in their organisations
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How to identify key Insight skills and attributes
IMP603: Are the right people on the bus? Successful Insight leaders make this their primary concern as for an Insight team to perform well, the calibre of its people is crucial. This guide outlines the four main categories of skills and attributes required in an Insight team.
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How to develop an Insight perspective
IMP604: According to Hans Rosling, "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". So how can we develop an Insight perspective to improve our organisations' worldview?
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How to recruit and develop an Insight team
IMP605: If Insight is to deliver competitive advantage, then our organisation must be at least as able as its competitors to recruit, develop and retain really good Insight people. This guides sets out the approaches which Insight leaders have found effective.
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How to develop successful Insight teamwork
IMP606: What matters most - how well you perform as an individual within an Insight team or how well the Insight team performs overall? In this guide we focus on what excellence looks like in terms of how the individual members of an Insight team work together to maximise their collective impact.
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Prioritising an Insight leader's time - video
IMV602: At the January 2022 online Insight forum we discussed the ways in which Insight leaders can prioritise our own time and energy. If we can't manage our own diaries, we're in no position to lead our Insight team