Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII

Burning Bright Without Burning Out with Jing Mertoglu

Energy is “oxygen for leadership,” and it’s a choice you make in every interaction. Jing Mertoglu, Global VP Insights and Analytics, Suntory Global Spirits, joins host Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, to talk about burning bright without burning out. They explore heliotropic leadership and why teams naturally gravitate toward leaders who bring light rather than drain it, even during tough conversations. Jing shares practical ways to deliver difficult feedback with empathy and preparation, build trust and psychological safety, and protect your energy through boundaries, perspective, and self-kindness. They also discuss using passion points to guide career decisions, staying honest about what motivates you, and feeding curiosity through thought leaders, books, and podcasts while keeping a healthy life outside of work. 00:00 Energy Beyond Work 00:25 Podcast Intro Burnout Theme 01:06 Meet Jing Urtulu 02:06 Energy Is Leadership Oxygen 04:21 Heliotropic Leadership Light 08:40 Kind Yet Accountable 09:37 Difficult Feedback With Empathy 12:41 Protecting And Resetting Energy 17:28 Passion As Career Filter 22:00 Learning Curiosity Sources 25:17 Advice For Emerging Leaders 28:39 Closing Takeaways And Wrap Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network [https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network] Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/ [https://mrii.org/]

The New Research Architecture with Carol Haney

“Don’t let AI make you stupid” is the warning at the center of this conversation about how research is changing. Carol Haney, Head of Data Science, Statistics & Research at Qualtrics, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research at Conveo.ai, to discuss whether declining survey response rates signal a temporary dip or a structural shift in market research and CX. They cover practical survey fundamentals (shorter surveys, fewer “kitchen sink” questions, and consistent follow-up on open ends), the rise of ambient listening from call and chat transcripts, and how organizations are blending surveys, social data, and AI into composite metrics. Carol also explains how AI can speed questionnaire design, fielding, and analytics while still requiring strong methodology and critical thinking. 00:00 Stats Meets Agentic AI 00:18 Podcast Intro and Big Question 02:55 Are Surveys Still Relevant 06:29 Fixing Survey Fundamentals 08:15 How Companies Are Adapting 10:28 Business Impact and ROI 14:14 Ambient Listening Explained 16:23 Composite Metrics and Indexing 18:55 Researcher Skills in the AI Era 22:00 Using AI Without Losing Rigor 26:35 Future of Insights Teams 27:55 Key Takeaways and Closing Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network [https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network] Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/ [https://mrii.org/]

How To Turn Insights Into Real Business Impact with Elizabeth Oates

If your insights are only “interesting,” they can easily get ignored, so start with the business choice you’re trying to influence. In this episode, Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, talks with Elizabeth Oates, VP Consumer Insights, Molson Coors Beverage Company, about turning research into action and building insights functions that drive decisions. Elizabeth shares the moment that led her to write More Than Just Interesting and explains how to reframe requests by asking: what action is being considered, why it isn’t happening yet, and what success looks like. They discuss measuring impact by whether insights has a seat at key decision tables, planning ahead for business cycles, and strengthening communication and partnership skills. Elizabeth also frames AI as an incremental way to extend reach when time and budget are constrained. 00:00 Why Communication Matters 00:26 Podcast Welcome and Guest Intro 02:29 Why She Wrote the Book 05:28 Never Be Interesting 06:41 From Insight to Action 08:25 Start With the Decision 13:37 Measuring Insights Impact 19:07 Proactive Partnership Skills 22:12 AI and the Real Threat 25:42 New Role at Molson Coors 27:10 Advice for Rising Leaders 28:11 Key Takeaways and Wrap Up Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network [https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network] Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/ [https://mrii.org/]

How Insights Drive Disruption with Vineet Mehra

“Today is the worst AI we’ll ever have,” and that shift is rewriting what insights teams must deliver. In this episode, Vineet Mehra, Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, Chime, joins host Nick Graham, Founder, Vertemis, to discuss what the C-suite values most from insights: not reporting, but synthesis that connects product value to real human needs. Vineet shares how Chime used segmentation, ethnographic research, and jobs-to-be-done to build product-market fit and a brand platform, including a pivotal shift from “financial peace of mind” to progress and ambition. They also cover why a cross-industry career builds transferable advantage, and how AI, synthetic research, and automation will speed up analytics while raising expectations for strategic recommendations. 00:16 Podcast Welcome 01:31 Golden Age Marketing 04:01 Real Value of Insights 06:55 How Chime Disrupts 09:20 Feels Like Progress 10:45 Mission Shift Nugget 13:59 Career Jungle Gym 19:13 AI Disrupts Insights 24:51 Wrap Up and Thanks Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network [https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network] Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/ [https://mrii.org/]

How to Build the Insight Edge with Vivek Banerji

More information doesn’t automatically lead to better insights, and the relationship between data and insight is nonlinear. Vivek Banerji, Author & Founder, Insight Dojo, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research, Conveo.ai, to unpack why organizations often conflate insight with information and stay “data rich but insights poor.” They discuss what leaders and insights teams miss most often: clearly defining the real problem, acknowledging uncertainty, and avoiding the trap of confirming leadership hypotheses. Vivek shares a case where ethnographic work with doctors overturned a plausible assumption and helped drive a 40% sales increase through a clearer mechanism story. The conversation also explores the “pragmatic polymath” mindset, micro-mastery for skill building, and how AI works best when paired with real-world experience, judgment, and human-centered thinking. 00:00 Polymathic Teaser 00:20 Podcast Welcome 01:26 Data Rich Insights Poor 03:09 Insight vs Information 05:07 Building the Insight Edge 08:35 Has Insight Improved 10:52 What Counts as Insight 12:28 Ethnography Case Study 19:08 Pragmatic Polymath 23:46 Cultivating Polymath Skills 27:11 AI and Human Judgment 29:53 Career Habits for Insight 31:49 Wrap Up and Subscribe Insights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast Network Explore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network [https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-network] Learn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/ [https://mrii.org/]