Each and every week the Square Holes team are deep in the bowels of a number of projects, working to mine all of the insights that we can to help grow businesses and support thriving cities.

These insights are used by businesses and organisations to innovate their offerings, move into new markets, track their impact and hone their products and output. Each week we will be sharing a broad insight that we have learnt for you to use in your own work.

Let us know what you find valuable!

Mahalia: Quick, but at what cost?

As someone who loathes unnecessary communication, I have been a big supporter of quick service models. Food dropped off at my door without having to speak to anyone? Heaven. But I do worry about how it is changing how we communicate and connect. All the energy that would go into ordering over the phone and going to pick up, I’m trying to funnel into connecting with my neighbours and building community. Instead of ordering that missing ingredient on Uber Eats, I’m trying to go next door and ask my neighbour if they have a spare. It’s sometimes uncomfortable in practice, but it means that when I have gotten COVID, fresh juice and tea is delivered to my door without me having to order it, and with real human concern and connection behind it.

Dylan: Deep rest for deep work

Contrary to hustle culture’s belief that working longer leads to greater success, research shows that overwork often reduces productivity, creativity, and well-being. Deliberate rest, particularly active forms of rest that fully disconnect us from work, allows the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) to process challenges subconsciously, often leading to fresh insights and innovative solutions. By intentionally building periods of rest into our routines, we can improve our capacity for deep work, enhance creativity, and achieve better outcomes than through constant effort alone. Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is step away from work.

Jason: In plain sight

It’s easy to look at a large organisation and think, “Why don’t they just do X?” Or Y. Or Z. The answer is often that X, Y and Z don’t fit with the EBIT, EPS, ROE, COGS, CAPEX, OPEX, KPI, ESG, IT, HR, Legal or Board requirements. In other words, it’s more complicated than it looks.

Sometimes findings reveal “nothing new”, which can be a little deflating for the research team. But if there is nothing new, perhaps the bigger question is: why hasn’t it been fixed before?

If everyone already knows about A, B and C, is the role of research to simply restate A, B and C? Or is it to provide leaders and boards with the evidence, confidence and urgency to do something about them finally? More often, the challenge is prioritisation, investment, competing demands, organisational inertia, or the simple reality that dealing with a problem is harder than living with it.

Our role is often to help push the case up the hierarchy. The team may know exactly what needs to be done, but boards and executives also have a responsibility to manage risk, allocate finite resources and deliver a satisfactory EPS. There is rarely enough budget to solve A, B and C simultaneously.

Perhaps the real role of research is not to discover X, Y and Z. Perhaps it is to create the burning platform, quantify the cost of standing still, illuminate the most credible path forward and build the case for investment and ROI.

Sometimes the insight isn’t the problem.

It’s understanding why the problem has survived so many strategic plans, steering committees and PowerPoint presentations. And when the issue isn’t ignorance, the best researchers are often those with trusted client relationships and a deep understanding of the realities beneath the surface. Sometimes the answers are hidden in plain sight. Sometimes they sit behind closed doors.

Square Holes is a cultural insight studio.

We design mixed method explorations of people and culture beyond the category,  uncovering the patterns, tensions and shifts shaping behaviour to inform strategy, inspire innovation and enable confident decisions. Our studio model brings together the right mix of thinkers, researchers and specialists for each exploration. If you’re navigating change, entering a new market, or seeking deeper understanding of people and culture, let’s start a conversation >