Remember that really fun insights game we vibecoded, Insights Tinder?
Where we put an insight on the screen during a training? And half the room wanted to swipe right, while the other half wanted to send it straight into the black hole.
Now instead, let’s say everyone agrees. It’s the best insight ever. Crystal clear context. The why front and center. Useful implications. Absolutely deserves the right swipe.
The MSL submits it.
And then?
Crickets.
All that effort to get the meeting, ask better questions, understand what’s really going on, and write something useful goes to waste. Nothing happens!
But at least the insight count went up. 1 insight closer to meeting that # of insights metric.
MSLs (and insights) deserve better than this.
An MSL can become excellent at gathering insights and still work within a process that does nothing with them. If you lead that team, you can invest in better skills without fixing what happens after submission. The problem is not only whether your team can gather excellent insights. It's whether your process turns those insights into action.
In this week's newsletter: where insights get stuck, and a prompt to help MSLs and leaders start the conversation about what needs to change.
1. Good Insights need somewhere to go
In Why Insights Never Make It to Leadership, Patrina covers 3 reasons MSLs get the blame: relevance to medical strategy, communication, and context.
It’s easy to read that list and think: “Ok, our insights are crap. We need more insights training.”
But that won't fix a broken insights process. Leaders need to make those priorities clear and keep the conversation going after submission. If the direction is vague, the discussion never happens, or feedback never reaches the field, better insights can only get you so far.
2. Use AI to start an insights revolution
If you want to show impact with insights (and you should because it's the easiest way for Med Affairs to show impact), you need to know where the process is breaking. And potentially start an insights revolution.
Use this prompt to figure out where the insights process is breaking down:
My role is [MSL or Medical Affairs leader]. I want to understand what happens after insights are submitted. Ask me 2 questions first: what I currently know about the review process, and where I lose visibility. Then help me open a constructive conversation and suggest 3 specific questions to ask. Don’t assume the problem is insight quality. Keep it natural. No corporate script.
Then start talking.
You might uncover missing context. You might uncover a handoff nobody owns. You might find out your insights are the bomb and helped shape a decision. But nobody told you.
Those need different fixes. Start by finding out which problem you have.
TL;DR
- Better insights need need a formalized end-to-end process or they end up in the black hole.
- Use the prompt to find out where the insights process is breaking.
- Start having the convo because MSLs and insights deserve to shape strategy.
Hit reply: what happens to insights after submission on your team?
In your corner always,
Sarah, Patrina, & Ralph
P.S. Stop letting good insights disappear into the black hole. You need a simple, formalized process that maps each stage. We help teams work through all 4 stages of the insights process and get them on paper. Everyone can see what happens next and who owns it. It’s beautiful! Reply “INSIGHTS” if your team needs this. Patrina's favorite thing is building insights processes.
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