An insight is:

  • New information
  • Executable
  • Causes action
  • Profitable

Or, more detailed, an insight is:

  • A piece of information that you didn’t know before, which –
  • Can feasibly executed, culturally acceptable and of a scale relevant to the firm, and –
  • Causes a decision to be made that wouldn’t have been made otherwise, and –
  • Results in profit or a sustainable competitive advantage

I’m finally happy with this definition. It aligns with the best innovation rhetoric very nicely and is generalizable to both design thinking and analytics communities.