Faster and Cheaper Insights Are Costing Us Something Priceless... Respect

I just returned from #IIEX, and by all accounts, I should be riding high.

The sessions were strong. The energy? Electric. I even launched a new AI product (more on that soon).

But in the quiet moments since Thursday, something hasn’t sat right with me.

Because the most important insights at the conference weren’t shared on stage—they were whispered in the hallways:

• Suppliers anxious about declining pipelines and negative growth.
• Senior insights leaders wearing badges that read “Ex-[Brand]”.
• Clients admitting that high-context, big-budget research is gone for good.
• Entire insights departments cut, reorg’d, or made redundant.

And everywhere I looked? A wave of vendors promising faster, cheaper research powered by AI.

On paper, it sounds like progress: quicker timelines, lower costs, more automation so we can have time to “think strategically”.

But I keep coming back to one question:

What in life do you truly RESPECT that’s faster and cheaper?

Sure, we value faster and cheaper solutions. But do we respect them?

When the stakes are high—your health, your family, your future—do you reach for the budget option?

When your child breaks an arm, do you shop around for a discount surgeon?

Of course not.

So why would a billion-dollar brand respect research that costs less than an average flight to Europe? And why would they respect the team that got them that data point in less time than that same flight? Deep down, why would a CEO or CFO respect and trust the data from a concept test that took less time to field than the delivery of a pizza?  

This thought keeps echoing in my head since Thursday (though I admit it started on Tuesday night's Nyquil): In our rush to embrace and celebrate 1-hour concept tests, $3K idea screens, synthetic data, and “good enough” digital twins... Have we lost the respect of the C-suite?

We’ve gotten more efficient. But have we become less respected in the process?

• Speed doesn’t earn you a seat at the strategy table.
• Efficiency doesn’t command influence.
• Cost-cutting doesn’t protect your job in the next reorg.

If it did, research teams and budgets wouldn’t be shrinking. And seasoned pros wouldn’t be vanishing from org charts.

I love this industry. It’s given me purpose, community, and the ability to support my family. But in our pursuit of value through “faster and cheaper,” we may have accidentally signaled to executives that insights are transactional... and replaceable.

Here’s what I saw at IIEX: AI and tech companies are doing what they do best, driving efficiency.

But what if we invested in AI to drive our effectiveness so we can do what we do best? Help our partners make confident, strategic decisions.

Because that's what C-Suite executives truly want... Confidence.

• Confidence that insights are rooted in real people making real purchases.
• Confidence that the analysis comes with professional expertise and sound judgment.
• Confidence that the insights professional behind the data understands both people and business.

Maybe it’s time we stop chasing AI that makes us faster… And start building AI that makes us more respected.