The Influential Researcher

4.8

(46 ratings)

2 Days

Cohort-based Course

Learn to use evidence to build influential business cases and become the strategist your business needs—while building the career you want.

The Influential Researcher

4.8

(46 ratings)

2 Days

Cohort-based Course

Learn to use evidence to build influential business cases and become the strategist your business needs—while building the career you want.

Hosted by

Dr. Ari Zelmanow

Head of Research @Twilio Communications Division

Dr. Ari Zelmanow

Head of Research @Twilio Communications Division

Worked with teams at:

Course overview

Become the strategist your business needs—and build the career you want.

Detectives.

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

They don't just aggregate evidence—they use logic to put the evidence together like a puzzle to build a case that leads to convictions in court.

They don't just deliver data—they are master storytellers who win the hearts and minds of judges and juries by capturing the voices and emotions of the victims and witnesses, ensuring their voices aren't lost in the process.

Detectives close cases.

Do you want to build and close business cases like a detective?

This course will teach you 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."

These skills sharpen your competitive edge and enhance your ability to identify and seize new opportunities, manage risks more effectively, and drive sustainable growth and profitability for your business.

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 three 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 deliver consumer and market insights like headline news, grab your audience by the face, and win their hearts and minds.

3. You will learn 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 Research will be no different.

Develop the confidence and skills to be seen as a trusted advisor to business leadership—and watch your impact, and influence grow 🌱

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 of 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.

The ability to connect 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.

This course includes

Interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

1 in-depth lesson

Direct access to instructor

Projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Expand all modules

Week 1
Sep 19—Sep 20
Week dates are set to instructor's time zone
Modules
Setting the Stage
Setting the Stage
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
The Hourglass Strategy
The Hourglass Strategy
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
The Path to Influence
The Path to Influence
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Consigliere 101
Consigliere 101
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Detective 101
Detective 101
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Moneyball Research
Moneyball Research
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
SIMPLE Investigation Technique
SIMPLE Investigation Technique
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Building a Case
Building a Case
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Crafting a Point of View
Crafting a Point of View
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
The Level of Certainty
The Level of Certainty
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Post-Course
Modules
BONUS: The POSTER Framework
BONUS: The POSTER Framework
1 Lesson
Crafting an Argument
Crafting an Argument
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Making Arguments Matter
Making Arguments Matter
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
The Topline Brief
The Topline Brief
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Measuring with AIDA
Measuring with AIDA
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
The Topline Workflow
The Topline Workflow
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Strategic Communication
Strategic Communication
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Presentations
Presentations
0 Lessons • 0 Projects
Objections and Negotiation
Objections and Negotiation
0 Lessons • 0 Projects

4.8

(46 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.

Join an upcoming cohort