Speak the language of business, or your insights won’t land.

If you’re not speaking the language of the business, your insights won’t land. This truth is expanded on by Ed Keller in his very timely MRII article, ‘The Great Disconnect’.

In his global survey of insights professionals, most said they wanted to strengthen:

:: AI/digital literacy (57%)
:: Technical skills (42%)

But far fewer prioritized:

:: Financial literacy (32%)
:: Communication skills (31%)
:: Emotional intelligence (18%)

And that’s the disconnect.

Because when MRII spoke to senior leaders on their Insights & Innovators podcast, the message was clear:

➡️ Tie insights directly to growth, profitability, and customer retention.

➡️ Simplify the story so executives can act on it.

➡️ Inspire action, not just present data.

Pamela Forbus of Mondelez put it bluntly:

“Insights without action are pointless. Your job is to inspire leaders and connect data to decisions that drive growth.”

This resonated deeply with me. I’ve built a whole agency around this exact point: at Opinium (Insights with impact) we live that every day supporting and partnering with our clients to drive strategic business impact.

And it’s a reminder that while AI and technical mastery are essential, they’re actually not enough.

The true differentiators are:

:: Financial fluency
:: Storytelling with impact
:: Human skills like leadership, collaboration, and influence

Being data-savvy will get you in the room.
Being business-savvy will keep you there.

Huge credit to MRII for surfacing this important conversation—this is the kind of recalibration our industry needs.