Some weeks feel like a masterclass in chasing the wrong things. AI makes 78% of us faster but convinces only 32% it’s worth trusting. Starbucks could use less expansion and more listening. Meanwhile, CX-first brands quietly pocket a 16% premium, and deep work die-hards cash in by skipping the 25 daily app hops the rest of us still confuse for productivity.
In this week’s email
Mixed methods 2.0: How AI is reshaping the way we uncover CX insights.
Greener grass: Why chasing others’ wins is killing your focus.
Grow your patch: 7 habits to focus on what matters most.
Around the web: Tools, trends, inspo, and stats worth your coffee break.
Meme of the week: Why starting three projects at once never ends well.
The Deep Dive
When dashboards lie and interviews mislead
Most CX strategies fail for one simple reason:
They choose either the numbers or the stories, but not both.
Mixed-method research solves this by combining quantitative and qualitative approaches:
1. Quantitative (the scale)
Surveys, sales, analytics data.
Reveal what’s happening, how often, and to how many people.
2. Qualitative (the depth)
Interviews, observations, open feedback.
Explains why it’s happening and how it feels to the customer.
Together, they:
Spot patterns that numbers alone can’t explain.
Prevent overreacting to isolated stories.
Deliver insights that are both representative and human.
Where AI changes the game
Until recently, this blend was slow. Data analysis took weeks and interviews needed days of manual review.
Now, AI-moderated research is changing the game:
Run hundreds of interviews at once, in any language.
Let AI moderate and probe in real time with smart follow-up questions.
Schedule asynchronously so that calendars don’t need to be aligned.
Get instant syntheses of themes, quotes, and highlight reels.
Cross-reference data sources without hours in spreadsheets.
Surface the “so what” moments automatically, so you spend time on decisions, not cleanup.
The question isn’t whether AI can scale research. It’s whether we’ll trust it enough to act on what it finds.
Seeing the whole picture
Consider Starbucks, which recently renewed its long-standing Third Place strategy creating warm, inviting spaces between home and work. By combining sales data with in-store feedback, they realised customers wanted more comfort, not just faster coffee.
In my own work, I’ve seen the same pattern play out. A major bank discovered that low product uptake wasn’t about dislike; customers simply didn’t understand the offer. In healthcare, patient interviews revealed emotional “gaps” in care that no survey question had ever surfaced.
Mixed-method research isn’t new, but with AI it’s faster, richer, and harder to ignore.
Choose focus. Forget FOMO.
We scroll past other people’s wins all day.
New launches. New clients. Another “we’re so humbled…” post.
It’s tempting to measure progress by someone else’s timeline.
But comparison is like caffeine at 10pm, it keeps you up for all the wrong reasons.
My results shifted when I stopped chasing greener grass and started growing my own.
Slower at first. Less flashy. But over time, focus compounds.
And spoiler: your grass starts looking pretty green when you actually water it.
7 ways I’ve learned to grow my own grass
(Not rules. Just what’s worked for me. Pick one, try it.)
North Star Thinking. Define the one outcome you want most and align every decision to it. Mine: taking the road less travelled to filter what I say yes to.
Keystone Habits. Pick one daily habit that sets the tone for everything else. Mine is a 10-minute morning check-in before the world gets loud.
Deep Work Blocks. Protect 90–120 minutes for distraction-free focus on what matters most. No meetings. No phone. Just me, coffee, and momentum.
Customer-led Decisions. Listen to the people you serve more than you watch competitors. The best solutions I’ve delivered came from customers, not boardrooms.
Single Priority Rule. No matter how many projects you run, choose one big goal at a time. When I launched my first company, this kept us from burning out.
The 80/20 Review. Identify the 20% of work driving 80% of your results, then double down on it. I cut half my weekly calls after spotting which ones actually moved the needle.
Start–Stop–Continue. Regularly list what you’ll start, stop, and keep doing. It’s my go-to for cutting noise, spotting blind spots, and staying on track.
🌍 Around the Web
📊 AI-powered surveys raised NPS by 10 points — Fiserv used conversational AI to turn vague feedback into clear, actionable insights.
🎧 Starbucks’ China share dropped from 40% to 14% since 2017 — a reminder that staying close to customer needs beats chasing competitors.
📝 Outset.ai raises $17M for AI-led research — making it easier to combine scale with depth in customer understanding.
🎥 Steve Jobs on the art of saying no — a short clip on why focus matters more than chasing every opportunity.
📚 Deep work over busy work — 25 app switches a day kill momentum; deep focus delivers results busy work never will.
Snippets to steal
Stat: CX-focused brands can charge up to a 16% premium because a great experience is a luxury worth paying for (proof that feelings have a market rate).
Trend: AI’s having a trust crisis. A recent Figma report finds 78% say it makes work faster, but only 32% trust its answers — roughly the same confidence level people have in Monday morning status updates.
Truth: 75% of a website’s credibility comes from its overall aesthetic. Good luck convincing your CFO that fonts pay the bills.
😂 Meme of the week
When your AI model ‘benchmarks perfectly’ but you still wouldn’t bet lunch money on it.
That’s your Real FYI.
Now go water your own grass, keep showing up, and skip the 25 app hops.
Focus is the new flex.
— Toni
Founder, Real FYI
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