How to stop wasting research and turn customer insights into action with Jake Burghardt

Sep 8, 2025

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Episode web page: https://bit.ly/3UXulRJ

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Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Lija Hogan sits down with Jake Burghardt, author of Stop Wasting Research and ex-Amazon and ex-Microsoft. Together, they dive into one of the most overlooked challenges in customer research: why so much valuable insight never gets used.

Jake shares his framework of preparation, motivation, and integration for reducing research waste and turning overlooked findings into meaningful product impact. He and Lija explore the cultural and operational shifts teams need to make—beyond tools and repositories—to ensure insights are visible, reusable, and embedded in decision-making.

The conversation touches on practical strategies for reusing past research, connecting insights across teams like marketing and customer success, and the opportunities and risks of AI in shaping research workflows. Jake also underscores the importance of keeping research human-centered, even as synthetic data and automation gain traction.

Whether you’re a researcher, product leader, or marketer, this episode offers actionable guidance for making the most of the knowledge your teams already have—and ensuring customer insights don’t go to waste.

Why so much customer research goes unused
Jake’s framework for reducing research waste: preparation, motivation, integration
How to make research insights more visible and reusable across an organization
Ways to bridge silos between UX, marketing, and customer success teams
The promise and pitfalls of AI in research operations
Practical steps to keep research human-centered in an AI-driven world
How leaders can run small experiments to unlock more impact from existing insights

Resources & Links:

Jake Burghardt on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeburghardt/)
Stop Wasting Research book; 15% off discount code SWR-POD will work through Dec 15, 2025, (https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/stop-wasting-research/)
Jake’s monthly newsletter (https://www.integratingresearch.com/newsletter)
Lija Hogan on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lija-hogan-894769/)
Nathan Isaacs on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanisaacs/)
Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast