Most strategy decks don't fail because of bad data. They fail because someone mistook a data point for an insight.

A fact tells you what's happening. An insight tells you why it matters, and that "why" is where real positioning gets built.

Here's the 3-step test I run before I trust an insight enough to put my name on it:

THE "SO WHAT?" FILTER Observation: "Consumers prefer eco-friendly fashion brands." (Fact) So what? → "They want to reduce environmental waste." So what again? → "Because fast fashion makes them feel guilty, and being seen in it threatens the image they want to project." Insight: "People don't buy sustainable apparel to save the planet. They buy it to eliminate fashion guilt while keeping their status intact."

THE FRICTION TEST: If everyone nods politely when you share it, it's not an insight. It's an observation. A real insight creates a beat of tension: "Ah. That's subtle, but true."

THE POSITIONING BRIDGE Observation: "We make durable clothes." Insight: "In a world of disposable trends, restraint is the highest form of taste."

Observations lead to features. Insights lead to authority.

Strategy isn't about collecting more research. It's about distilling noise into one human truth.

What's an "insight" you've caught yourself mistaking for a fact?