Customer Experience

Break the Glass – Set Expectations

Thanks for joining me for the third installment in my series titled Break the Glass, where we’re looking at ways to take constructive action in these unprecedented times.
This week we’ll explore the importance of setting expectations for team members and customers alike. We’ll also link expectation setting to the third of the four key behaviors covered in this series – namely letting people know if and when you are open.
No matter what the status of your business – now is not the time to go radio silent.

Break the Glass – Anticipate

Last week we talked about the first of four categories of constructive behaviors that this series will cover, namely listening to the needs and pain of your team and customers. This week we will focus on anticipation and I will link anticipation to the second category of constructive behavior, which is offering value, thought leadership, and kindness.

Break the Glass – Listen

I have been surprised at how quickly some owners, leaders, and managers have lost their focus on the people who created their success. Those leaders certainly prioritized team members and customers when business was good, but due to panic prompted by threats of business survival. In essence, self-preservation leads to “self-absorption.”  

Sharing Not Telling – Gratitude and Hope in Action

I want to offer a glimpse into a personal practice that helps me in these times. I truly hope that this approach will be helpful to you as well. It involves taking time every day to list and share the things for which you are grateful. Here’s an example of a recent day of writing...

Leadership is NOT Waiting to Follow – Be Thoughtful, Proactive, Humble, and Courageous

This week I'm sharing lessons from the most challenging week of my career (and quite frankly, I had it easy compared to so many). When I’m talking challenges, I’m talking about leadership challenges faced by people I’m proud to call clients and friends. Let’s start with the word – leadership.
This past week I participated with phenomenal teams who stared into an uncertain future and led.

Leadership and Life Lessons Learned In a Pandemic – My Offer of Service

When lamenting unforeseen and adverse events, my momma Michelli was prone to say, “I would never wish this on anyone, but now that it’s here, what are we to do?”
Not surprisingly, during the past week, my mind has searched for “momisms,” “dadisms,” and the wisdom of the ages, to cope with uncertainty like none I’ve encountered in my lifetime. Leveraging off my mom’s aforementioned phrase, I’ve been reflecting on this question – what can we learn and do in the face of this Pandemic?

VUCA, Coronavirus, and Tools for Human Experience Leadership

For years now, I have been equating leadership with managing in a VUCA world.
While the acronym VUCA has origins in Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus’ 1985 book titled Leaders – The Strategies for Taking Charge, the first use of the acronym occurred a couple of years later in Army War College documents. As you likely know, VUCA refers to navigating a world replete with:
Volatility
Uncertainty
Complexity, and
Ambiguity
In continuation of my series on leading transformational human experiences in uncertain times, I’ve been struck by how well VUCA describes the challenges that leaders face in the context of the coronavirus.

Listening and Leading Customer Experience in Uncertain Times

I’m in the throes of difficult planning sessions with clients as they seek to communicate with and ready themselves to care for their team members and customers in a time of heightened uncertainty associated with the coronavirus. For some clients, these conversations revolve around possible disruptions in a supply chain; for others, it takes the form of remote sales strategies or enabling team members to work from home.
Maybe I am unusually lucky, but in contrast to political leaders who can get bogged down in blaming their opposition for problems, the people with whom I work are spending all of their time looking for solutions on behalf of their team members and customers. I thought I would share some of these strengths in the hope that they will be of benefit to you.

Isn’t It Time for Ecosystem Mapping? | The Changing World of Customer Experience

I’m convinced the pre-Socratic philosopher, Heraclitus happened upon an enduring truth when he said, “you can’t step into the same river twice.” I heard that quote when I was a freshman in college and it was the same year I’d read the classic book by M. Scott Peck titled The Road Less Traveled. In this book, Peck suggested above all else people fear change.
That made me wonder if we also fear that things won’t change. In other words, we get bored when things become stagnant and become overwhelmed when change exceeds our ability to cope.
For me, the world of human experience elevation is a perfect mix of dynamic change.

Are Customers Getting Smarter than Business Leaders? Hard Truths About Customer Experience!

I’m a fan of both business leaders and customers. However, of the two groups, it seems that customers are winning when it comes to embracing change.
While customer expectations are increasing at a lightning pace, the fundamentals of customer experience delivery have remained relatively constant across the past decade.
Smart customers realize that they have the power to choose brands that care about them and exceed their expectations.
Less smart leaders believe that customers make decisions predominantly based on the benefits, attributes, quality, and price of their products.