Research That Scales is a nine-part podcast series inspired by my book, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024). In each thirty-minute episode, I speak with a brilliant research mind, weaving in voice notes and sound design to bring their stories to life. Together, we explore what scaling research means, beyond the platitudes and jargon, and what it takes to turn the vision of scalable, impactful research into a robust reality.
“Scale itself has diminishing returns: the more you scale things without any sense of impact or value, and only thinking about the size of the thing, the size of the organisation.”—Elizabeth McGuane
In this episode of Research That Scales, I speak with Elizabeth McGuane, UX Director at Shopify and author of Design by Definition (A Book Apart, 2023). We explore the dangers of scaling headcount without scaling influence and why expanding research impact requires strategic thinking, trust, autonomy, and creativity.
We also reflect on the need for organisations to treat research not as an executional service, but as a critical, strategic asset. Finally, we discuss the current shifts in the tech world (and the world at large), the power of user behaviour to reshape industries, and why research has a pivotal role to play in uncertain times.
Things Mentioned
My book, Research That Scales: A Research Operations Handbook (Rosenfeld, 2024)
Design by Definition by Elizabeth McGuane (A Book Apart, 2023)
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt (referenced in conversation)
SAS Rogue Heroes: A TV Series
emcguane.com (coming soon)
Scaling & Systematising Research–a One-Day Masterclass
This year, I'm running in-person masterclasses for research, product, design, operations, and marketing leaders in Europe, the UK, and Australia. If you want to transform research into a scalable insights-generating engine, this masterclass is for you.
Thanks
Thanks, Glenn Familton, for being a reviewer and co-producer, and Avec Audio Visual for audio engineering.
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