Impact: More than Interesting

At Langston, our work is shaped by a set of Guiding Principles that define how we think, how we operate, and how we partner with our clients.

These principles weren’t invented in a planning session. They emerged through years of experience and were shaped by what consistently led to better outcomes, stronger partnerships, and more meaningful work. Over time, we’ve chosen to recognize these principles, cultivate them, and hold ourselves accountable to them.

In this article, we explore one of those principles in depth: Impact.

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Insight only earns its place when it changes something.

As a Consumer Insights firm, pretty much every minute of our day is dealing with questions. But our two favorite questions are “So what?” and “Now what?” These are the two questions that move work from observation to implication. They transform the outcome of our work from information into action.

Many of our team members were trained in academic research in the social sciences, where rigor and careful inquiry are paramount, but we find deeper inspiration in the business world, where research doesn’t exist to be admired. Rather, it exists to be used. In this setting, insight matters because it shapes real decisions, influences real people, and creates real consequences.

That orientation toward use is foundational to how we define Impact.

Impact is the principle that gives our first guiding principle, Passion & Curiosity, its teeth. It’s what pushes us past “That’s interesting” and into “Why does this matter?” and “What should happen next?”

Being More than interesting means designing research with decisions in mind, interpreting findings through the lens of consequence, and translating insight into implications that people can actually act on.

At Langston, impact isn’t defined by how much work we produce. It’s defined by how long the work stays with the organization. We want our presence to be felt because enduring insight continues to influence decisions long after a project ends. The most impactful work changes how problems are framed. It also endures as a reference point in future conversations and shapes ideas and decisions that weren’t even on the table when the research was conducted.

Our guiding principle of Impact is thus motivated by caring deeply about whether insight actually changes something for the people we work with, the organizations they lead, and the consumers they serve. It’s where rigor meets responsibility, where curiosity meets consequence.

It makes the difference between work that is consumed and work that is remembered.