The Way of Product with Caden Damiano Why Researchers are Being Laid Off, & How Thinking Like a Detective Can Save Your Research Career w Ari Zelmanow, Head of Research at Twilio Ep 110
On #wayofproduct this week, Dr. Ari Zelmanow, the Sherlock Holmes of consumer market behavior, joins us to share his journey from police detective to Research Leader at Twilio and how his unique perspective transforms how businesses approach research and decision-making.
Here's a sneak peek of our conversation:
โญ How agile methodologies in software development impacted the speed and approach of research.
โญ Ari's unique journey from law enforcement to leading research in major tech companies.
โญ The critical role of research in the business environment and how researchers can serve as strategic advisors.
And there's a lot more insight into where that came from!
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Who is Ari Zelmanow?
๐๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐น๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ด๐ผ-๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ. ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต, ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐.
Connect with Ari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zelmanow/
The Influential Researcher Newsletter: https://influentialresearcher.com/
00:22 Ari Zelmanow's Journey from Police Detective to Market Detective
01:31 The Importance of Research in Business
02:34 The Sherlock Holmes Influence
04:01 The Magic of Research and the Sherlock Holmes Persona
05:37 The Role of Researchers in Business
06:07 The Challenges of Democratizing Research
07:08 The Value of Experienced Researchers
08:17 The Problem with Research Templates
08:31 The Difference Between a Discussion Guide and an Interview Template
09:06 The Role of Research in Startups
10:32 The Experience of Building a Research Function at Twitter
16:14 The Future of Research
16:27 Lessons from Police Detective Work Applied to Research
18:56 The Importance of Abductive Reasoning in Research
20:41 The Difference Between Deduction, Induction, and Abduction
26:25 The Burden of Proof in Business
27:48 Understanding Usability Testing and Decision-Making
28:03 The Role of Certainty in Decision Making
28:44 The Importance of Research in Decision Making
29:20 The Impact of Research on Product Development
29:38 The Research Process and Its Challenges
30:02 The Role of a Researcher: Delivery Person vs Consultant
31:07 The Shift from Traditional Research Reports
31:33 The Power of Observations and Customer Insights
33:50 The Concept of a Top Line Report
34:03 The News Organization Model for Research
34:17 The Role of Researchers in Interrogating Evidence
35:57 The Importance of Ethical Reporting in Research
37:37 The Challenges and Future of Participant Recruitment
42:43 The Role of Researchers in Decision Making
53:01 The Role of Researchers in Interpreting and Delivering Data
53:47 The Importance of Storytelling in Research
54:19 The Influential Researcher Course and Final Thoughts
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