Ep.27 - From Insights to Action, Not Storage - Elizabeth Knox Oates

Elizabeth Oates is on a mission to help insight professionals go from simply being “interesting” to delivering true business impact. As the author of More Than Just Interesting and a seasoned insights leader, she’s transforming how organizations approach decision-making, data collection, and the role of human understanding in customer experience.In this episode, Elizabeth introduces the concept of “collection debt,” explains why insights functions often fall short, and provides practical tools for tying every insight to a business decision. She dives into how AI is reshaping the role of analysts, why trust and timing matter more than ever, and how journey thinking can create an infinite loop of customer engagement. Whether you lead an insights team or work with one, this is essential listening.Guest BioElizabeth Oates is an insights strategist, thought leader, and the author of More Than Just Interesting: How to Build an Insights Function for Impact. With over two decades of experience, she has built, led, and transformed insight teams for major organizations, helping them move from data collection to decision enablement.Elizabeth developed a framework of nine core skills for impactful insight work, blending business strategy, storytelling, and stakeholder influence. Her work centers on elevating the role of human insights in an increasingly AI-driven world, ensuring organizations maintain customer relevance while building trust through strategic insight delivery.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Elizabeth Oates and collection debt 03:26 What is collection debt and why it matters 07:36 Aligning insights with business actions 12:48 VOC: From reporting to relevance 14:48 Insight lifecycle: What’s still true and what’s now true 17:36 Where to start collecting insights 22:35 Anatomy of a perfect insight 28:02 Reframing insights language for impact 30:20 The role of AI in modern insights work 35:22 The underestimated power of influence 44:36 From interesting to impactful: The action connection 49:40 Case study: When not launching a product is the win 56:08 Measuring and celebrating insights impact 59:37 Using journey thinking to avoid customer exits 01:07:16 Why LEGO masters the customer journeyJochem’s Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochemvanderveer/Elizabeth's Profile - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethknoxoates/