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Welcome to the latest edition of 5-Minute Insights, the e-mail newsletter from Steve Wills and Sally Webb at Customer Insight Solutions (CI Solutions). We hope that in the few short minutes that it takes to scan the key messages, you will find snippets that are both informative and stimulating. If you want to find out more, we have provided links to longer articles for some of the insights.

INSIGHT IN PRACTICE

A CHALLENGING SITUATION

This month, we take a look at challenge, another of the seven important principles for success outlined in Michael J Gelb’s book, “How to think like Leonardo Da Vinci.”

For Insight teams, challenge involves the development of a mindset that doesn’t just accept conventional wisdom, but questions it – and ourselves. This involves:

• Thinking new thoughts - Leonardo Da Vinci was always experimenting and trying new things - and he wasn’t deterred by failure.
• Challenging old ideas - Like Leonardo, we need to learn to challenge our own opinions, assumptions and beliefs – and those of our organisations.
• Learning from mistakes – It’s easy to make a mistake; the hard part is learning from it. We all need to treat errors of judgment as a stepping stone towards making better decisions in the future.

To find out more about how we can grow in stature and understanding by challenging traditional thinking, please click here.

 

HAPPINESS: THE ROUTE TO SUCCESS

Some people believe that success leads to happiness, but have you ever thought that the reverse is often true – that happiness can actually lead to success?

This point is made in a new book by Professor Richard Wiseman: ‘59 seconds: Think a little, change a lot’. He says: “Happiness does not just make you enjoy life more, it actually affects how successful you are in both your personal and professional life.”

Happiness doesn’t depend on money – A study in the 1970s suggested that prosperity doesn’t automatically lead to happiness.

Happiness can be cultivated – If we can learn to be grateful for all the good things in life, we will start to be happier. Unfortunately, it’s often just too easy to take these things for granted.

Happiness helps to nurture positivity – Professor Wiseman’s book suggests that if we are grateful for all of the good things we have, this will translate into a more positive outlook in both life and business.

Please click here for more thoughts about happiness – and a link to more detailed research.

TAKE A NEW LOOK AT INSIGHT: THINK LIKE AN....... EDITOR

This series investigates how other professions can teach us some valuable lessons.

The Editor - Highly Influential!

Last year, we looked at how a journalist approaches and delivers individual pieces of work. But what about the role of the overall editor of a newspaper or magazine? An editor has three classic roles, all of which can be applied to the insight function:

• Relevance – An editor has to sort out material that is likely to be relevant and interesting to the readership. The same principle applies to Insight teams – they need to condense a vast amount of customer and market information and present it in a relevant and attractive way. 
• Impact – An editor needs to ensure that articles grab people’s attention and make them want to read more. Similarly, insight professionals must get their messages across quickly and effectively.
• Balance – An editor takes responsibility for balance, accuracy and taste. Insight teams also need to think about balance – and sometimes have to say things that people don’t want to hear but need to hear.

To unpack some of these roles and to learn more about how an editor can teach us useful lessons, please click here.