Be Customer Led

Adrian Swinscoe wears many hats. How many do you ask? Well...

He's the author of three books (https://www.amazon.com/Punk-CX-Adrian-Swinscoe/dp/1095272012 (Punk CX), https://www.amazon.com/How-Wow-Effortless-Customer-Experience/dp/1292116897 (How to Wow), and https://www.amazon.com/Rare-Business-Relationships-Customers-Sustainable/dp/0956673503 (RARE Business)),

He's been blogging and podcasting for 10 years, so way before it was cool (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/punk-cx-with-adrian-swinscoe/id575552097 (Punk CX)),

He runs a https://www.adrianswinscoe.com/ (consulting company),

He writes for Forbes (check out his work https://www.forbes.com/sites/adrianswinscoe/?sh=3c97a1194af2 (here)),

He's a Fellow at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturing, and Commerce,

And an Ambassador for the European Customer Experience Organization (https://ecxo.org/ (EXCO)).

What did we talk about you might ask? Well, plenty! This is one of the longer shows at 45 mins, but you will want to listen to the end. Adrian and I cover:

How CX has evolved over the past 5 - 10 years, and boy does he have perspective

What differentiates the best CX leaders from the laggards

The Core tenets of CX

The 2-3 traits that differentiate the best CX leaders from others in the discipline

How CX teams can drive culture change

The CX Tech Stack and how it adds value

Where CX should sit in an organization

This show is just jam-packed with goodness. If you're a new CX practitioner, a new CX leader, or a seasoned CX leader, there is plenty to take away here.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chingvaldezco/ (Ching Valdezco) is one of my favorite people when it comes to learning about influence and negotiation! Ching works for a company called https://www.exec-comm.com/ (Exec|Comm), and they focus on training, coaching and whole host of other services.

I saw Ching give a talk on negotiation that was posted to YouTube and was blown away by her practical approach and framework to not make it so intimidating. In this episode, Ching and I cover:

Negotiation and advice on how to influence, and how to make negotiation less intimidating

Influencing across an organization, and how to create influence when you're new in an organization

Is executive presence becoming more or less important in a remote environment

Advice on how to build those negotiating muscles for when you really need them

Salary negotiation and how to approach it

We wrap up the call with where Ching gets her inspiration from. Hint: her dad was an amazing photographer.

A special episode that will get you honing your influence skills the second the show is over. And who doesn't need to be better at that?

You know you have a special guest when you're finally nervous about who is on the show. It's not often you get to speak with your heroes one-on-one, let alone the person who's work set you on a course for the next +20 years of your professional career.

When I read 'The Experience Economy' in 1999, a book https://www.linkedin.com/in/joepine/ (Joe Pine) authored with James Gilmore, I left my job at JPMorgan as a fixed income analyst to get into customer experience. I realized when I read the last page that this is what I needed to focus on for the rest of my life.

Joe Pine is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor. He is also the co-Founder of https://strategichorizons.com/ (Strategic Horizons, LLP) along with James Gilmore.

I had the honor and privilege to sit down with Joe and talk:

His 1999 book, with the re-release in 2020, and the five core adjectives around the experience: robust, cohesive, personal, dramatic, and transformative.

His recent article, Embracing the Employee Experience, and what he means by HR being brokers of time.

Whether we need separate teams focused on employee (EX) and customer experience (CX).

Should companies focus on EX or CX first?

And an article he wrote on his site, https://strategichorizons.com/the-model-for-hybrid-experiences/ (Strategic Horizons), about the importance of hybrid experiences post-COVID (something that is coming about as we speak).

I am grateful for the time with Joe and the opportunity to continue learning from someone who I hold with such incredibly high regard. Amazing episode.

Mic. Dropped.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilshprintz/ (April Shprintz) the Founder of https://drivenoutcomes.com/ (Driven Outcomes) and creator of The Generosity Culture® talks about generosity as a philosophy toward personal and professional fulfillment.

Many people keep count of the things they give, whether physical items or otherwise, and expect something in return at some point. As someone who stopped doing this years ago, I can tell you my own life turned for the better once I did.

April and I talk about:

Her work and program, The Generosity Culture®

The roadblocks put up, even for themselves, to be more generous

The power of giving without the need for reciprocity

The paradox to generosity, and why some hold on to what they have vs. giving it away

The most powerful form of generosity

April and I wrap up by talking about where she gets her inspiration from. Personally, this entire episode was inspiring for me, and I know it will be for you as well.

On April's website, you can find https://drivenoutcomes.com/#!/resources (tools/resources) that have helped me, and can help you too on a path to generosity. Click here to access them. Also, check out here podcast, https://drivenoutcomes.com/podcast/ (Pouring into Your Business), for excellent interviews and "Mindset Minutes" which are quick bites of learning you will love!

Dennis Geelen is the founder of a https://www.zero-in.ca/ (Zero In), a boutique consulting firm based in Ontario, Canada whose mission is to help as many businesses and organizations CONQUER INDIFFERENCE! (How cool is that mission!)

Dennis is also the author of https://www.amazon.com/ZERO-FORMULA-Definitive-Sustainable-Customer-Centric-ebook/dp/B08GYF4FK7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9CZUQZ9QWKHFanddchild=1andkeywords=the+zero+in+formulaandqid=1621434148andsprefix=the+zero+in+for%2Caps%2C127andsr=8-1 (The Zero In Formula), a book that delivers a framework to deliver customer-centric innovation in a clear, and easily implemented way. It's a must read for any business leader, not just those in customer (CX) or employee experience (EX).

In this episode, Dennis and I cover:

Why he wrote and book and started his consulting company

His framework behind the Zero In Formula

The 9 most expensive words in business, "Because this is the way we always do it" and how to change that

Dennis' five principles of innovation

His view on the four core skills that bring together CX and EX, plus other skills like data or tech that play into the equation

This episode is chock-full of insights and take-aways that you can start to implement right after listening to the show. And while this is not an ad for Dennis' book, it's a great read and I recommend it.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arosehoward/ (Angela Howard) is an Organizational Culture Strategist running her own business, https://www.angelarhoward.com/ (Angela R. Howard Consulting); https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-vaughan-8ba8a8172/ (Anthony Vaughan) is the Co-Founder of https://e1b2.webflow.io/ (The E1B2 Collective), and the Co-/Founder of other businesses. I had them both on the show as they are individually and collectively bringing fresh, new perspective to people leadership, DEandI, culture, and the employee experience (EX).

In this episode, Angela, Anthony and I cover some heavy topics and we go deep:

The renewed focus on EX and what's happening in this space

The cultural transformation of organizations due to the Black Lives Matter movement

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion's impact on the workforce

Re-thinking HR and what's wrong with it today that needs to change

How Angela and Anthony are collaborating on a new Chief People Officer platform

Angela's podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humanly-possible-future-of-work-conversations/id1534670655 (Humanly Possible: Future of Work Conversations), is timely and one of my favorite pods to listen to and the topics and guests are amazing (I can only aspire!). Anthony's podcasts, https://open.spotify.com/show/0N1DS1XfQWvnmXJ1ISlD8D (Project 2030) and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-e1b2-collective-podcast/id1467066005 (E1B2), are equally amazing and focus on developing new leaders and improving the employee experience, respectively.

I highly encourage you to hit them up and listen to their podcasts. You will come away smarter and more informed.

I LOVE talking to practitioners who are in the trenches every day!!

Jamie Swalgin is the Head of Customer Experience Strategy Enablement for T. Rowe Price; a practitioner that has come up the CX ranks via research and understanding customer needs.

Jamie and I talk about:

Her journey and transition from healthcare into financial services

CX Strategy development

Capturing CX ROI

Customer journeys

The CX Tech Stack

Her view on where CX is headed next

This is an awesome show with a true practitioner who is doing CX right. I was truly impressed with Jamie's passion for the work, her understanding of the discipline and how to use it to create value for the business. I personally walked away with new ideas and learning, and I know you will too.

Jo Boswell started a consulting practice in 2018, https://sentio-b.co.uk/ (Sentio-B), after spending 27 years with https://www.britishairways.com/ (British Airways) where she grew up in the business before leading Customer Value Management. So she knows a thing or two about the importance of Return on Investment (ROI).

This is a show with a practitioner, who shares her views on:

Why it's challenging to uncover ROI within the confines of Customer Experience

The 5 steps to identifying ROI that she takes her clients through

A few "trap doors" to look out for in this work

Her perspective on who the primary partners are in identifying ROI and how to engage them

Great episode with someone who's been in the trenches, and has now taken that learning to help others companies via https://sentio-b.co.uk/ (Sentio-B).

Jo also shares her inspiration for naming her business Sentio-B (I mean, how cool is that name!?!?) and where she gets inspiration from too (it's from a group, but you'll have to listen to hear more!).

If you're in Financial Services, you know who Brett King is. Aside from being the Founder and Executive Chairman of Moven, an innovative platform that blends predictive analytics and behavioral science to help banks and non-banks better serve customers, Brett is a futurist and and speaker, an International Bestselling Author, and media personality.

Brett sat down with us to talk about technology's impact on the customer experience in financial services, where the tech is today and where it's going 10-20 years out, and why first-principle thinking is helping new entrants change the game. You'll also learn about financial services and tech in Asia, and how far ahead they are relative to the U.S.

Brett's book, Banking 4.0, is an amazing read for anyone inside or outside of Financial Services, and his radio show and podcast, Breaking Banks, is the #1 show on FinTech with 7 million listeners across 180 countries (a boy can dream).

Brett has been a hero of mine for a long time, and I've stolen more ideas from him than I can remember. It was truly an honor to have him on the show!

If Alan Pennington was in the CX and EX Army, he would be a Field Marshall. A true CX/EX veteran, Alan was leading new thinking and work when most of us were still trying to figure out what CX and EX even was.

Alan does freelance consulting in the CX and EX space, is Deputy Chairman of https://www.suitecx360.com/ (SuiteCX) a leader in the CX Tech Stack space, and a strategic partner at gloo group which is an interesting online marketplace for growth solutions (GaaS - Growth as a Service).

In this episode, Alan and I talk about his journey into and through the CX and EX space, the core tenets of CX from his perspective, how to influence in an organization at senior levels and across the business, connecting Employee and Customer Experience, and the CX Tech Stack.

Given Alan's tenure in the CX and EX space, this show is choc-full of take-aways that you can bring into your own CX practice after listening to the show.