Origins

My journey as a detective turned corporate executive can help you conduct better investigations, which leads to better business outcomes.

There were three skills I learned as a police detective that drove the success of building and closing cases—and putting guilty people behind bars:

🔎 Collecting and interrogating evidence like a detective

🎤 Reporting insights like a primetime news anchor

⚖️ Building a case like a trial attorney

When I joined the private sector, I was shocked that these skills weren’t used, despite a clear desire for R&D and GTM teams to use evidence to build business cases and get shit done.

Even more amazing was that the people entrusted with using evidence to make decisions never had the right training to develop, present, and defend business cases. Not having these skills has led to some dramatic—and unnecessary—outcomes:

✂️ Mass research layoffs

📉 Lack of research impact

🍔 Relegation of research to order-takers

But the worst part was that businesses were losing out on making smarter growth bets 😱

 

Research should be one of the most valuable functions in a business…

But it isn't.

Customer and buyer insights should be central to decision-making, helping business leaders make more informed—and less risky—business decisions...

But they aren't.

How do we know this?

- Researchers are getting whacked like Jimmy Hoffa

- Research is being ordered like a fast-food hamburger

- Evidence is being overlooked like the wallflower at the homecoming dance

As a researcher who has led research at Twitter, Panasonic, Indeed, Quantive, and now Twilio, I know the challenges Research faces—and I am on a mission to change this.

Because when you do, the voice of your customer will be part of the conversation informing your business strategy.

Which will help you make smarter growth bets for your business—ones that increase customer AND business value.

Come work with Customer Forensics. We help growth-ready teams make smarter growth bets by using detective-grade forensic analysis techniques to help them better understand their customers, users, and buyers.

THINK LIKE A DETECTIVE NEWSLETTER

Inside the mind of a detective.

Weekly tips and tricks that show you how to Think Like a Detective to uncover better insights—from a REAL-LIFE detective turned market detective.

You're safe with me. I'll never spam you or sell your contact info.