Insights Unlocked – Episode Summary

Episode Overview

Title: How to Stop Wasting Research and Turn Customer Insights into Action with Jake Burghardt
Host(s): Leah Hogan (UserTesting), Nathan Isaacs (UserTesting)
Guest: Jake Burghardt, author of Stop Wasting Research
Release Date: September 8, 2025
Duration: ~37 minutes

This episode delves into the common industry challenge of underutilized research—how companies can bridge the gap between insights and impactful action. Drawing from his diverse experience at tech giants and as an author, Jake Burghardt offers a candid, practical discussion on change management, breaking down silos, and leveraging both human and AI-driven solutions. The episode is packed with actionable strategies to ensure customer research not only informs but also drives authentic organizational outcomes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jake Burghardt’s Journey & Motivation [01:34–04:17]

• Background: Started in UX research, spanning roles in design, product management, and operations at companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
• Motivation to Write the Book: Jake’s experience realizing organizations often already have valuable research, but fail to use it effectively:

  “I just want to help you get more done with it. And it was a hunch I had and it kind of set me off in a direction ... I’m still on.” [02:47, Burghardt]

• Pivotal Moment: COVID-19 and involvement in research repository space—seeing organizations’ tool-focus and the need for operational and change management strategies.

2. The Culture Challenge: More Research Isn't Always Better [04:17–08:06]

• Change Management: Moving beyond optimizing how to run studies, to maximizing the value of existing work and shifting internal perceptions:

  “Sometimes being strategic is looking backwards and bringing the previous things forward and then increasing the visibility of research.” [06:40, Burghardt]

• The “Cutting Room Floor”: Many valuable insights are lost or overlooked—what’s missing is activating that hidden potential.

3. Why Research Gets Wasted: Three Root Causes [09:55–13:27]

Jake introduces the framework from his book:

• Preparation: How research is formatted and stored impacts later usability.

  “We deliver reports... but how can we prepare things to be ready to use for future decision making?” [11:08]

• Motivation: Both researchers and stakeholders often see research as a ‘nice-to-have,’ not a strategic driver.
• Integration: Research must be present at decision touchpoints, not just generated and filed away.

4. Translating Insights Across Functions & Breaking Silos [14:36–20:10]

• Broad Definition of Research: Encompasses UX, CX, marketing, data science, support, etc.
• Insight Summaries: Jake recommends actionable ‘one-stop’ insights combining evidence from multiple sources for cross-team resonance.

  “A customer support person might find it a little bit less alien to look at a usability finding because they're seeing their data in that context and vice versa...” [18:11, Burghardt]

• Democratization Challenges: As more non-researchers conduct insights gathering, organizations face difficulties in harnessing collective knowledge without losing coherence or momentum.

5. The Role (and Limits) of AI in Research Activation [20:42–28:57]

• AI Opportunities: Automating insight discovery, summarization, and cross-linking research with planning documents to illuminate impact.
• Risks: Creating more content doesn’t guarantee it’s usable or valid. AI cannot establish common language or interpret nuanced human problems without strong human input.
• Practical Application Example:

  “Suddenly we can have our repository of reports and our repository of insights in the same space as we have planning documents... and maybe cross annotate across them. And that would give sort of unprecedented visibility into research impact.” [26:36, Burghardt]

6. Maintaining the Human Element [28:57–32:23]

• Synthetic Data Caution: While synthetic users/data are tools, Jake emphasizes first drawing from authentic, human-generated insights.
• Human-Centric Insights: Well-crafted summary titles, standardized insight write-ups, and visible author attribution maintain personal connection and contextual depth.

  “What we’re talking about is kind of pulling from all of those research sources... instead of reaching for synthetic, what do we already have that is direct from customers?” [29:41, Burghardt]

7. Most Important Takeaway for Leaders [32:23–35:31]

• Experiment and Reflect: Leaders should revisit impactful yet older research, identify what changed and what was left unaddressed (“the cutting room floor”), and actively push valuable dormant insights forward.

  “Go back and have a look... and get that personal sense for it and then think about taking a couple of those things and trying to move them forward.” [34:26, Burghardt]

• Embed Research at Touchpoints: Encourage integrating learnings into key decisions—celebrate those who champion this approach.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Organizational Readiness:

  “Some folks need to see a lot of value demonstrated by others and championed by others before they come on board. Whereas a lot of people are lead users and just get this right away.”
  [14:22, Burghardt]

• On Connecting Insight Types:

  “Everybody talks about collaboration in abstract, but it’s very hard to accomplish... what I pitch are certain information structures and ways of turning up collective impact.”
  [18:41, Burghardt]

• On AI Overreach:

  “There’s a tendency to think that we can throw all sorts of research content into a bucket and put generative AI on top of it. It certainly will get you somewhere... but is it going to build common language? I’m finding the answer is no.”
  [23:45, Burghardt]

• On Keeping Research Human:

  “A compelling insight title speaks to a human problem... immediately sort of grasp what’s going on there.”
  [30:37, Burghardt]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:34] Jake’s professional background and why he wrote the book
• [04:17] The importance of shifting research culture and managing “the cutting room floor”
• [09:55] How organizations waste research: preparation, motivation, integration
• [14:36] Cross-functional research; breaking down silos; democratization challenges
• [20:42] How organizations are turning to AI for research—but where it works and doesn’t
• [28:57] Maintaining human elements in research and the role of synthetic data
• [32:23] Jake’s top advice for leaders to reduce research waste

Final Resources & Connections

• Jake Burghardt on LinkedIn for ongoing thought leadership
• Book: Stop Wasting Research (Rosenfeld Media)
• Website & newsletter: integratingresearch.com

“Connect with your team’s brilliance already.”
[36:44, Hogan]

Summary Takeaway

If you lead a marketing, UX, or research team, don’t just produce new studies—invest in rediscovering and activating the knowledge you already possess. Bridge silos, experiment with information structures, embrace practical AI, and keep the human voice front-and-center. The gold is in your organization—make sure you’re both seeing and using it.