Greenbook Future List Spotlight: Sam Watson

Editor’s Note: The following interview features a 2025 Greenbook Future List honoree, Sam Watson. The Greenbook Future List recognizes leadership, professional growth, personal integrity, passion, and excellence in the next generation of consumer insights and marketing professionals within the first 10 years of their careers.

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For Sam Watson, Insight Manager at STRAT7 Researchbods, the lessons learned on the rugby field and cricket pitch—teamwork, resilience, and strategic thinking—have shaped a thriving career in market research. Whether he's reflecting during walks with his fiancée and their puppy or exploring the world of classical music, Sam finds fresh energy and perspective that fuel his passion for delivering impactful insights.

Guided by inspiring mentors and a belief in the power of simplicity, Sam champions a leadership style rooted in passion, curiosity, and patience. He encourages young professionals to trust their instincts, embrace the unexpected twists in their journey, and never underestimate the importance of clear, powerful storytelling in bringing the voice of the customer to life.

Outside of insights, what are your passions and interests?

My interests are predominantly sport driven, with rugby and cricket being my sports of choice (dependent on the season). I've played both since I was a child and have taken a lot of the key traits for success in these sports into the professional world. Rugby requires you to always think one step ahead, quick decision making and mental toughness. It places an emphasis on working as a team, without whom, you could never succeed. On the other hand, cricket is a huge test of patience and requires consistency, sticking to a plan that you feel will eventually lead to success, even when it appears to be failing you!

Beyond sport, I often unwind on long walks with my fiancée and our puppy. Come rain or shine, this is a crucial part of my day, allowing me to reflect on my day and refocus my mind. 

My fiancée has recently rejoined a large choir in Manchester. Having already turned me into a huge musical fan, she is now exposing me to a whole new world of classical music, and, for the most part, I am really enjoying it!

Who is your career role model or source of inspiration?

Interesting question, as there isn't a single source of inspiration or an individual that has led me to where I am, but every step I've taken has had a huge impact on my career. 

For example, I could not have asked for a more inspirational first team. I was surrounded by highly driven and supportive colleagues, who provided a nurturing work environment in which I could develop as a professional as well as observe and learn from their personal success. 

My manager at the time, Xuan-Zheng Goh is now Head of Product Management at Smart Europe. He had me fixated on bringing the voice of the customer to our business. It is impossible to imagine meeting anyone as passionate about their role as Xuan, it was utterly infectious! As an intern in my first professional environment, Xuan showed me what it would take to be fully immersed in my passion.

That role led me into a graduate scheme working with Lisa Rendell, a Senior Research Manager. Lisa is incredibly passionate about research, with 20+ years' experience. I started a role as an Insight Executive with no prior insight experience, and yet she was a huge advocate, instilling confidence in my abilities from day 1 in the role. The ease in which she explained complex research methodologies to stakeholders (and myself) in a way that would make sense, first time, without any real questions was incredibly admirable and a lesson that will stick with me throughout my career. 

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned from market research?

There are several valuable lessons, but I'll stick to a theme I've started - the importance of simplicity in delivery. This is an incredibly important message that I was fortunate to have seen in action at a very early stage of my insight career. It is easy as passionate insight professionals to delve into the complex detail of data, to run away with the richness of findings. However, delivering the voice of our customers succinctly, relies on our ability to synthesise and provide clarity in our message.

We often find ourselves delivering strategic insight to stakeholders that were not involved in the research creation, and therefore they may not be aware of the complexities of our design, or the layer upon layer that we've carefully curated to the insight. Ultimately, we need to deliver our message in a way that empowers every individual in the room to go away and have the voice of their customer in their head whenever they are making key decisions. If we can do that in the single hour or 15 minutes that we get with them, then we're going in the right direction!

If you could go back in time to when you first started your career, what advice would you give to your younger self?

This may seem obvious or cliché, but I would tell myself to have faith and trust my gut when it comes to career-related decisions. I think when we're younger we're taught that our career path should be linear, but in reality it can be a complex, often stepwise, one. Sometimes you have to take a step sideways, or even backwards, to learn and develop, before eventually moving forwards. It’s these unanticipated parts of your professional journey that may end up being the most rewarding and influential aspects of your career. 

This ties in with my other piece of advice - make the most of opportunities presented to you. The research industry is full of incredible people and it's developing at a rate that hasn't been seen before, which is extremely exciting. Having the confidence to say yes to things that come your way will ultimately lead to success at a rate unpredictable and unique to the individual. Enjoy it all, as who knows when AI will catch up with you! 

What do you think the key characteristics or qualities of a leader are? How does this play into MRX?

There are a vast range of key qualities that make a good leader. I'll focus on three that I believe play a particularly integral role in market research; passion, curiosity and patience. 

Passion - More specifically, a passion for people! Passion is infectious, so whether it be engaging with stakeholders, clients, colleagues or participants, having the energy to create interest in whatever you are doing is not only motivational for others, but essential for landing whatever message you are looking to put across. 

Curiosity - Interlinked with passion is the need for curiosity. Being naturally curious is useful for any researcher and insight professional, irrespective of whether they see themselves as a leader. For leaders in an ever-evolving, fast paced environment, the natural desire to learn and grow is almost a pre-requisite for success. In my experience, the biggest leaders in our field are typically the most curious people out there. 

Patience - To immerse yourself into people, projects and, let's face it, problems, patience is an unquestionably important trait for leaders and one that can at times be hardest to maintain, particularly when faced with high pressured deadlines. Gathering insight can be immensely challenging; it is often a carefully curated, gradual journey that requires iterative steps and a huge investment of time and energy. Leaders need the patience not to cut corners, to go beyond the quick wins and/or initial insight, and to persuade others to do the same. Patience often leads to the most impactful insight, a leader's job is to convince stakeholders to wait too!