If you believe that technology companies will become major participants in the research economy, then you must also believe that transparency in how these companies do things will be much less than you are accustomed to. Continue reading »

As somebody who is often lucky enough to speak at an event, interview somebody, or write a blog piece I am often asked about how I decide what position to take. Do I think I should be polemical, or constructive, or argumentative? I think the key thing is context, what is my role in the particular situation and what are my views about the topic. However, here are some general thoughts on what I tend to do instinctively. Continue reading »

Most sample companies market themselves according to panel size, quality of respondent data, variety of the traffic sources and customer service excellence. We announce the size of our panels to show scale, and to impress clients. It’s how the industry has defined success over the past decade; however I want to offer up another metric for your consideration: traffic. Continue reading »

Some people just have way too much time on their hands and it never ceases to amaze me how many people would rather try to tear things down than help build a better future together. I also really hate politics, back biting, rumor mongering, character assassination, innuendo, and being overly competitive. All of that stuff is just draining and unproductive. It’s come to my attention that some folks in the industry are engaging in those activities regarding GRIT and the Insights Innovation Competition. I believe that both GreenBook, the various partners involved in those initiatives, and I have strived for full transparency, but apparently the message hasn’t gotten through. So, in order to take away the energy of these negative practices and make room for more productive activities I’m going to set the record straight yet again. I’ll be as brief as I can, I promise. Continue reading »

When the field center tells me they’re comfortable that the questionnaire is 15 minutes long, and in the field it’s actually 23 minutes, who should be responsible for the inaccuracy of their estimate (or the unexpected length of the actual questionnaire)? I would love to hear your take on this, because I honestly don’t know. Continue reading »