Introducing the Infinity Growth Loop

I have been very fortunate to have worked with iconic brands in leadership roles across multiple sectors and geographies. One thing I learnt early in my career is progressive improvement is critical to add business value on ongoing basis. In other words, we need to evolve continuously – our thinking, our skill sets and how we show up. 

At the simplest level, this process of evolution can be decomposed into 3 simple steps: start, continue and stop. What should we start doing to stay ahead in these times of change. What should we keep doing or in other words, double down on, because it still relevant and needed to drive momentum. And finally, what should we stop (also sometimes the most difficult), because it is losing relevance. I would argue, that unless we figure out what we need to stop, we true are not evolving.  

So, the question I have been asking myself lately has been the following: In this era of AI- led changes, how are we enabling the evolution of Insights? 

I am convinced that what brought us here will not serve us better in the future. It is time to reimagine Insights & Decision making. It is the time to evolve.

Clearly, the spotlight has been on how AI can enable Insights. This AI-led thinking does drive efficiency, but it also suffers from a key flaw. It starts with a ‘solution’ that teams try to ‘fit’ to a perceived ‘problem’. It’s a golden hammer looking for a nail. To the users of this hammer, everything looks like a nail. Wouldn’t it be better to start with the problem first?

I believe that there is an opportunity to think bigger. What if we started with Insights first to make AI better instead of the other way around? What would it take to recognize the fact that Insights have the power to make AI itself better. 

Thinking differently - what if both approaches were to run concurrently? Just like AI-led approaches are improving Insights, Insights-led approach have the power to improve AI. Think of this as an interconnected double loop system. I call this the Infinity Growth Loop. It encompasses AI making Insights better and Insights making AI better; to truly transform Insights and Decision-making. Forever. 

Indeed, this paradigm shift is critical to drive real transformation. 

Insights uncover The WHY (what are we solving for), The WHERE (what should we prioritize first) and The HOW (what is the way to drive adoption). Essentially, Insights help bring sharp focus on the user’s needs – the problems. This focus will step drive development, deployment, and (eventually) adoption of the solutions.

AI will continue to drive cost efficiencies; it has the power to identify patterns, scale understanding and to accelerate connections. These go a long way making insights better. However, AI needs to be designed intentionally keeping the key user in sharp focus. 

On the other hand, Insights will help understand WHY - by unleashing human curiosity, determine WHERE - by driving collaboration and demystify HOW - by building deep empathy. 

Today’s AI solutions are remarkable. However, while there have been a lot of advances in AI and its application to the Insights domain, there is still an opportunity to drive the value realization of these investments better. AI applied with a tech first approach is highly likely to run into cost over runs and adoption issues. We must remember, mere access to new tools will not drive a transformation. Widespread adoption of these tools will enable efficiencies and unlock growth by reimagining workflows altogether. 

By having right Insights into addressing these 3 key Qs: understanding motivation, determining the opportunity, and unlocking human ability will power scalable AI solutions. This will ensure that tomorrow’s Insights-inspired AI solutions will be truly transformational. Together, both Insights and AI will help each other to deliver impactful decisions in the marketplace. 

However, this transformation will not happen by itself. Given our fascination with Technology and AI we risk becoming mere spectators. Remember AI solutions were not specifically designed to unlock deep human insights. They weren’t designed to transform decision making either.

As domain experts, to truly leverage the transformative power of AI, we need to play a role in building next generation of solutions. By shaping these solutions. As we embrace AI, we need to shape the next generation of solutions that will reimagine the culture of decision making. Strategically. Proactively. Collaboratively.

To answer the initial questions:

Question: How are we enabling the evolution of Insights? 

Answer: We need to create a transformational Insights-AI interdependent system to drive Insights-inspired Human Decisions. 

Question: What should we Start, what needs to Continue, and what should we Stop?

Answer: We need to Start focusing on the problem. We will do this by leverage Insights to bring the spotlight back on the human understanding (Why, Where & How). We need to Continue leveraging the technology (AI) to help drive efficiencies. We need to Stop accepting the status quo. As domain experts it is time to take our responsibility and to shape the future of decision making. 

Let’s unlock The Infinity Growth Loop.