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!

  1. Episode 83: Leading insight in 2026

    EPISODE 83

    Episode 83: Leading insight in 2026

    How are you feeling about the environment within which your Insight team will work this year? Do you work in a market sector that is thriving? Is your company growing its share of that market? And is the Insight team recognised as a key contributor to your organisation’s growth? Or do you see challenges all around you – challenges for your market, your company and your Insight team? Are you expecting restructures, budget restrictions or headcount reductions? Whether you feel optimistic, pessimistic, or somewhere in the middle, we can only manage the things we can manage, and having a written plan drastically improves our chances of making intentional, well-considered decisions. In my 2025 book, The Insight Leader’s Playbook, I suggested a 9P framework for anyone who wanted to become a more transformational Insight leader and help their team, their colleagues and their organisation to succeed.  But we can’t all focus on all 9Ps at the same time, so which will you prioritise in the first few months of 2026? And which do I think that none of us should ignore? Please listen to find out more!   Topics Discussed As the sun rises on 2026, do you see opportunities or challenges? (2.05)How transformational are you feeling? (6.00)A recap on the 9Ps of the Insight Leader’s Playbook (7.49)Which aspects of Insight leadership are essential now for you? (12.12)How can we all lead Insight with a clear purpose? (13.43)You are not alone! We have so much to learn from each other (19.40)  This is episode 83 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, and the 9Ps of The Insight Leader’s Playbook, 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 Bank from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA).  He published his first book, Transforming Insight, in 2020, and his second, The Insight Leader’s Playbook, in 2025, and he hosts the Insight forums and the Transforming Insight podcast. An entertaining keynote speaker, he has presented over 50 times at Quirk’s events, a global record, and has provided thought leadership in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, India and the Middle East. The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming corporate Insight teams, and its vision is to inspire and support every Insight leader to transform the impact of Insight in their organisation.   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   Disclaimer The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant. All rights reserved.

    26 min
  2. Episode 84: What’s Insight’s role in modern marketing?

    EPISODE 84

    Episode 84: What’s Insight’s role in modern marketing?

    Ria's transition from traditional Insight roles into marketing and digital positions demonstrates how embracing broader responsibilities can amplify an Insight professional's influence and impact. She highlights how marketing budgets face intense scrutiny, requiring Insight professionals to demonstrate tangible commercial value using language that resonates with senior leadership rather than traditional research terminology. This shift demands that Insight teams reframe their work to clearly articulate business impact and ROI. James and Rhea also talk about AI's transformative effect on the Insight profession, with Rhea urging professionals to adapt and embrace these technologies rather than ever resist them. In her view, while AI enhances productivity and efficiency, it cannot replace the critical thinking, relationship-building, and strategic interpretation that human insight professionals provide. It’s a message that serves as a call-to-action for Insight professionals to redefine their roles, demonstrate clear commercial value, and remain relevant in an evolving landscape where traditional research functions are need to evolve.   Please listen to find out more!   Topics Discussed Philosophy of Insight and team impact (2.02)The changing nature of Insight roles(5.13)Current role at Moonpig Gift Experiences (8.23)Challenges of budgeting for Insight (12.37)Language and framing in Insight communication (15.42)The future of Insight in organisations(19.30)  This is episode 84 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 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams and their leaders, as outlined in James Wycherley’s books, Transforming Insight and The Insight Leader’s Playbook, 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 Bank from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA).  He published his first book, Transforming Insight, in 2020, and his second, The Insight Leader’s Playbook, in 2025, and he hosts the Insight forums and the Transforming Insight podcast. An entertaining keynote speaker, he has presented over 50 times at Quirk’s events, a global record, and has provided thought leadership in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, India and the Middle East. The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming corporate Insight teams, and its vision is to inspire and support every Insight leader to transform the impact of Insight in their organisation.   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   Disclaimer The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

    30 min
  3. Episode 85: Increasing our personal impact

    EPISODE 85

    Episode 85: Increasing our personal impact

    Personal impact isn’t just a quality for Insight leaders to focus on; it’s something we should all consider if we want to thrive and survive in a fast-moving, rapidly changing corporate environment.  And it’s a critical thing for us to consider when the world of Insight as we have got used to thinking about it is unlikely to last long in its present form. Wherever you are on the AI-adoption curve, many of the skills and attributes that have given us opportunities and promotions in the past will mean less in the future.  It will be all about the extent to which we can help our organisations make sense of data, apply learnings to business problems, build scenarios about future markets, and influence decision-makers to adopt the evidence-based opinions we have formed that will determine our success. And we can’t do any of these unless we have developed a personal brand that helps us get invited into the room, and once in it, demonstrate sufficient personal presence that we are invited back So how can we increase our personal impact?   Please listen to find out more!   Topics Discussed The solutions suggested so far for those who want to shape the future of Insight (3.04)The need to increase our personal impact (6.26)Being invited to the table and then earning our right to stay (8.50)But we’re not natural self-publicists! (11.26)Revealing our personal brand values (13.13)James’s knowledge set at Barclays (15.50)Hacks we can develop (19.48)  This is episode 85 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 secrets of successful corporate Insight teams and their leaders, as outlined in James Wycherley’s books, Transforming Insight and The Insight Leader’s Playbook, 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 Bank from 2005 to 2015 when he became Chief Executive of the Insight Management Academy (IMA).  He published his first book, Transforming Insight, in 2020, and his second, The Insight Leader’s Playbook, in 2025, and he hosts the Insight forums and the Transforming Insight podcast. An entertaining keynote speaker, he has presented over 50 times at Quirk’s events, a global record, and has provided thought leadership in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, India and the Middle East. The Insight Management Academy is the world’s leading authority on transforming corporate Insight teams, and its vision is to inspire and support every Insight leader to transform the impact of Insight in their organisation.   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   Disclaimer The Transforming Insight podcast is published by the Insight Management Academy and produced by Zorbiant.

    27 min

Ratings & Reviews

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About

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!