Preview of 2025: New Year’s Resolutions

What’s your New Year’s resolution this year? Contributors to Research Live’s Preview series for 2025 set out their goals for the year ahead.

Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director, GfK

Staying relevant. This means staying relevant to our clients as their businesses evolve and keeping a close eye on the wider political and economic factors globally in what is likely to be a volatile 2025.

Nick Baker, global chief research officer, Savanta

Never be a lemming. To be honest, that’s an annual resolution. Question everything. Think better. Act different.

Kelly Beaver, chief executive officer UK and Ireland, Ipsos

On what will be the 50th anniversary year for Ipsos, it’s prompted me to reflect on our next 50 years, and I want to ensure that market research remains a dynamic, growing industry in the UK, as an epicentre for excellence and a destination employer for diverse talent in this country.

Amy Cashman, executive managing director of the UK insights division, Kantar

I looked back at what I said last time, and my resolution is really along similar lines for 2025. Make a plan, stick to it and all that.

Back then, my goal was to get as comfortable as possible with new AI-based tools, understanding their potential and their pitfalls too so that I can steer their implementation across our business. I’m a year in now to having my CoPilot license and I’m getting better all the time at thinking about how it can add value to our work, where it’s right to use it and where it’s not. So for 2025, it’s about embedding this knowledge further for me – getting to the stage where it becomes natural, second-nature even, to use AI to do my job better and more effectively.

Jane Frost, chief executive, MRS

My new year’s resolution? To be more confident (dare I say, blunt) in telling those who aren’t company partners and MRS members that they’re riding on the coat tails of peers who are really putting the work in to improve standards and outcomes across the sector.

Tatenda Musesengwa, vice-president of audiences, Savanta, and co-founder, Colour of Research (CORe)

In the new year, I hope to focus more on outcomes and get less stuck in the weeds. I find that over the years, it’s become more important to learn to take a step back, regroup and reassess whether you’re still working towards your original goal.

Crawford Hollingworth, global founder, The Behavioural Architects

To think very hard about the human versus the digital space and find a way to more proactively balance and celebrate the unique strength in each, pushing back on the wrong-footed hybrid ‘man and machine as one’ mantra.

Graham Idehen, senior director, customer experience – international, Dscout

Against a backdrop of increasing negativity in this space, I want to continue championing inclusivity — teaching people not just why it matters, but how to do it well.

Representation is hugely meaningful to me, the work being done by CORe, MRS Representation in Research, MRS EDI Council and all of the special interest groups will be fundamental in keeping the dialogue going to help in making those “uncomfortable” conversations less daunting and far more comfortable.

Ray Poynter, chief research officer, Potentiate

To keep learning more about the different generative AI platforms.

Fiona Blades, chief experience officer, MESH Experience

Explore and harness the potential of AI for our business.

Ben Shimshon, chief executive and founding partner, Thinks Insight & Strategy

To write that damn blog about new frontiers in comms development and evaluation…

Paul Hudson, founder and chief executive, FlexMR

Re-establish my LinkedIn challenge to post on LinkedIn regularly for six months. When I last did it, I saw real beneficial results to the way I work, my knowledge and networking, but my posting has dwindled a lot in the last few months.

We’ve got a lot happening in 2025, so I will be posting more frequently to share news, engage new audiences and keep that momentum high. However, I might modify my previous challenge and ‘only’ post three times a week this time around.

Emma Cooper, chief people officer, System1 Group

My professional New Year’s resolution is to focus on developing my coaching skills, specifically through pursuing an ICF (International Coaching Federation) accreditation.

This will enhance System1’s coaching approach while also aligning with my personal interest in the field. More broadly, I’m committed to expanding my knowledge in new areas and embracing fresh challenges to continue growing and evolving in my career.

Danielle Todd, director, The Forge

To triple my client entertainment spend – let me know if you want to go for a drink! 

We hope you enjoyed this article.
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