Elizabeth Oates on insights strategies for driving real results

In this engaging episode of our podcast, we sit down with Elizabeth Oates, a seasoned insights leader and author of More Than Just Interesting: How to Build an Insights Function for Impact. With 20 years of experience across top-tier companies like General Mills, Ulta Beauty, and Kohl’s, Elizabeth shares her expertise on how insights teams can move beyond simply collecting data to driving actionable strategies that fuel business success.

Elizabeth opens with a bold assertion: “As insights leaders, we have both the opportunity and the obligation to push our businesses forward.” This core philosophy underpins her book, which was inspired by her career-defining realization that insights must deliver more than intrigue—they must drive measurable impact.

Key highlights from the conversation include:

• Making insights actionable: Elizabeth emphasizes that the ultimate goal of insights is action. “Defining actions upfront ensures the discovery process is purposeful and aligned with business goals,” she explains. This approach prevents teams from producing insights that, while interesting, fail to influence decisions.

• The importance of vision: Elizabeth shares how a clear, aspirational vision can align teams and energize stakeholders. “It can rally the team to do their best work, and it can motivate your business partners to really lean into the talents of your team. And if you do it in a way where you have a vision that is both inspirational and aspirational, that will take you a long way.”

• Building partnerships: Insights teams thrive on collaboration, and Elizabeth stresses the importance of building strong cross-functional relationships. “Insights are not impactful in a vacuum." So it is important to build trust and understand your partners’ needs so you can deliver insights they can act on.

• Proactive planning: To maximize impact, Elizabeth urges teams to align their work with business cycles. Knowing when key decisions are being made allows you to deliver high-quality insights at the right time to influence those decisions effectively.

• Learning from consumer-centric leaders: Elizabeth highlights LEGO as a standout example of consumer-centricity. From co-creation initiatives like LEGO Ideas to immersive store experiences, LEGO exemplifies how listening to customers and integrating their feedback can drive both engagement and business results.

The conversation also touches on the future of insights, particularly in the context of AI and data automation. While Elizabeth acknowledges the transformative potential of AI, she emphasizes the irreplaceable human element: “AI can help us collect and synthesize data, but our job as a consumer insights professional is to keep the human at the center. We can use it as a tool, but we still need as professionals to be strategic advisors that grow and help the business and build for human needs. ”

As the episode concludes, Elizabeth challenges insights teams to rethink their role in the organization: “Making sure that we take the opportunity to push the businesses forward and that we are having fun in our jobs, making a difference, but really being more than just interesting. Let's all look through the windshield. Let's all think about how to use AI as a tool. Let's all build partnerships and let's all push forward the industry.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone in the insights or business strategy space looking to elevate their work. Don’t miss Elizabeth’s book, More Than Just Interesting: How to Build an Insights Function for Impact, available now on Amazon. Tune in to the full episode for more strategies and inspiration!