The Drunk and the Lamppost

In a lot of companies, research sits inside marketing. That setup quietly shapes how it’s used — mostly to meet short-term goals and turn KPIs. Marketing moves fast, so research does too. It’s there to inform strategy or back it up, not to guide it.

My old boss used to say, “Too often, research is used the way a drunk uses a lamppost — for support, not illumination.” I’ve seen that play out again and again. Strategy sets the direction, and then research comes in afterward to hold it up — to justify the decision, prove the business case, or add a few numbers to a story that’s already been written.

The problem is, when research only supports, it stops challenging. It stops expanding how the company sees the world. It becomes a mirror instead of a flashlight.

So how do you fix that?

First, bring research upstream — not after the brief is written, but while you’re still figuring out what the brief should be. Use it to shape questions, not just answer them.

Second, make every piece of research do double duty: one output for immediate decisions, another for long-term learning. That’s how you connect the tactical with the strategic.

Third, normalize reflection. Build regular moments when teams step back and revisit the assumptions behind their strategy. Make it part of the workflow, not a crisis response.

And finally, build a shared language between strategists and researchers. Train researchers to tell strategic stories, and help strategists get fluent in research thinking.

Because when research leads, strategy doesn’t just get smarter - it gets more human, more realistic, and a lot harder to ignore.

Photo by Mykola Kolya Korzh on Unsplash