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The Influential Researcher

4.6

(24 ratings)

2 Weeks

Cohort-based Course

The Influential Researcher

4.6

(24 ratings)

2 Weeks

Cohort-based Course

Hosted by

Dr. Ari Zelmanow

Head of Research @Twilio Communications Division

Dr. Ari Zelmanow

Head of Research @Twilio Communications Division

Previously at

Course overview

Grow your impact, influence, and career by delivering outcomes from research.

Detectives close cases.

They don't just conduct investigations (or research)—their work drives outcomes. Their investigations put bad people behind bars. Researchers (and those conducting research) could learn much from them.

In this course, you will learn detective-grade strategies and tactics—the kind I learned and used as a metro police detective—to build and close business cases, i.e., research projects that drive impact in "business speak."

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

But it isn’t.

Researchers should be senior consultants that help the business make more informed—and less risky—business decisions...

But they aren't.

We are going to change this.

The secret to becoming a valued researcher is to Think Like a Detective™ to generate better insights—faster—and then have business leaders use those insights to make better decisions.

It's that simple. And that hard.

In just two weeks, you will develop foundational skills that will elevate your career and transform you from an invisible researcher to an influential consultant:

1. You will learn how to Think Like a Detective™ to generate better insights. This will immediately differentiate you from other researchers.

2. You will learn how to use strategic communication to influence business decisions. You will be seen as a consigliere (business consultant) rather than a service provider.

Businesses protect the things they value—and you will be no different.

Value in research comes from being able to leverage insights to affect change. This comes from three things:

🔎 Collecting evidence like a detective

🎤 Reporting insights like a news anchor

🎬 Generating buzz like a blockbuster movie

Master these, and be the change-maker your business needs.

When that happens, you will become a durable, recession-resistant business partner that a company can't live without.

Who is this course for?

You are a seasoned UX or market researcher who wants to drive better business outcomes and be seen as a peer rather than a service provider.

You are an aspiring researcher who wants to land their first job—and be wildly successful when they do.

You are an executive, product manager, product marketer, or UX designer who wants to use research to make better business decisions.

You are a seasoned UX or market researcher who wants to drive better business outcomes and be seen as a peer rather than a service provider.

You are an aspiring researcher who wants to land their first job—and be wildly successful when they do.

You are an executive, product manager, product marketer, or UX designer who wants to use research to make better business decisions.

What you will learn...

How to Think Like a Detective™ to generate better insights faster

A common complaint in business is that research "slows things down." I will show you how to be "high-speed, low-drag" so that you aren't seen as an anchor ⚓️, but as a rocket 🚀.

Don't just be a better storyteller—be a better storybuilder

The TRUE VALUE of research is in collecting evidence, connecting the dots, and catalyzing decisions that:

📚 Turn data into stories

📝 Stories into strategies

🚀 Strategies into outcomes

To tell better stories, you have to build better stories.

You will learn this.

Methods alone are bullshit 🐂💩

Expertise isn't developed from using a cookbook approach to research. You can't be a master chef by following a recipe. You must develop a deeper understanding. The same applies to research. I teach you the fundamentals to becoming an expert practitioner.

The power to influence business decisions

The job of research is to help business leaders make less risky business decisions.

I teach you how to communicate effectively using time-tested principles of persuasion.

You will leave with the confidence to deliver research that catalyzes decisions, i.e., has an impact.

How to connect research insights to business strategy.

Research has historically failed in The Last Mile of Research, i.e., explicitly connecting outcomes to the things businesses really care about.

Learn to speak the language of business and connect your work to business strategy—transforming you from technician to tactician.

Course syllabus

6 live sessions • 5 modules • 4 lessons • 1 project

Expand all modules

Week 1
Week 1
Feb 12—Feb 18
Events
Feb
12
Use the SIMPLE Method to collect evidence like a detective
Use the SIMPLE Method to collect evidence like a detective
Mon, Feb 12, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM UTC
Feb
14
Construct a business case using detective-grade case-building strategies
Construct a business case using detective-grade case-building strategies
Wed, Feb 14, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM UTC
Feb
16
The Topline Building Blocks Workshop
The Topline Building Blocks Workshop
Fri, Feb 16, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM UTC
Modules
Use the SIMPLE Method to collect evidence like a detective
Use the SIMPLE Method to collect evidence like a detective
2 Lessons
Construct a business case using detective-grade case-building strategies
Construct a business case using detective-grade case-building strategies
1 Lesson
Week 2
Week 2
Feb 19—Feb 23
Events
Feb
19
Building a Topline Brief
Building a Topline Brief
Mon, Feb 19, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM UTC
Feb
21
Topline Brief Workshop
Topline Brief Workshop
Wed, Feb 21, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM UTC
Feb
23
Present your business case and measure impact
Present your business case and measure impact
Fri, Feb 23, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM UTC
Modules
Build a Topline Brief
Build a Topline Brief
1 Lesson • 1 Project
Influence business outcomes using the Topline Reporting Method
Influence business outcomes using the Topline Reporting Method
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
BONUS: Present your business case with impact
BONUS: Present your business case with impact
0 Lessons • 0 Projects

4.6

(24 ratings)

What students are saying

More proof this is the course for you!

This is the best research course I've taken this year. This is what has been missing from my research education, how to bridge the gap between business needs and research.

Funmilayo Obasa

I'm a UX researcher team of one, on a new ux team my company created. This course came up just in time. Ari offered so many frameworks and priceless advice on how to see this problem. I started using the POSTER framework to share insights and I noticed teammates started to think and talk about UX research differently.

Lissa Aguilar

I cannot say enough great things about this course. It was everything I wanted and needed to excelling as a UX Researcher today and in the future. Right out the gate, Ari delivers on what he promises. It is so simple but yet so powerful.

Andelae McCoy

Great for advanced researchers and leaders who need to brush up on the basics and for newbies who need to level up quickly. The Influential Researcher will get you closer to speaking the language of business and mapping your work to what the business cares about.

Brian

I'm an OG UXer with more than 20 years experience. In all the research-related webinars, seminars and classes I've taken through the years, I have never learned anything that resembles what you get here. Honestly, it's been a total game changer, and I'm already seeing the impact of putting what I learned into practice.

Melanie Levy

The best thing about the Influential Researcher is that it gave me more confidence. The course empowered me to see myself as a trusted research advisor, rather than as a research service provider. I only wish I had taken this class sooner in my career!

Margaret Aiken

I signed up for this course to sharpen my UXR skills and learn how to better communicate my insights to decision-makers. The course content, including materials such as Notion pages and templates, as well as the clear instructions, guidance, and interactive Q&A sessions with Ari as a mentor, contributed significantly to achieving my goal.

Marjolein

Even though this is a course on research, I think this is a great course for anyone in UX. There were so many new takeaways for me even when I took it up the second time. Yes, you read that right, I took the course a second time!

Nishanth Nagendra

Meet your instructor

Dr. Ari Zelmanow

As a retired police detective turned market detective, I now investigate human behavior as it relates to shopping, buying, and using products. I am on a mission to make research relevant for businesses.

I currently lead research for Twilio's Communications Business Unit. I previously built and led insights teams @Quantive (formerly Gtmhub), @Twitter, @Indeed, and @Panasonic.

Before leading insights, I solved crimes as a metropolitan police detective at @SLMPD.

I believe in truth, justice, the Oxford comma, and NY-style pizza.

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