Be Customer Led

“Communication is two-way. So it's much about listening to understand what matters to them, not just telling.”

This week on Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos, Amy Radin joins us for an insightful conversation. She is a member of the Global Board of Directors at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. In her corporate career, Amy championed the use of customer data and technology, devising novel solutions to create new sources of value. Her accomplishments include overseeing the digital transformation of Citi Cards, a $5BB P&L, driving five years of double-digit adoption growth, and establishing a corporate venturing unit to promote mobile peer-to-peer payments in anticipation of new trends. She also demonstrates her competence at AXA US by developing consumer data analytics and digital marketing strategies and rebranding the company.

[01:37] Board's Responsibility – Sharing her background, Amy discusses the board's responsibility in defining leadership and the customer experience they wish to give and the extent to which boards should delve into these topics. 

[08:59] Advice – Amy describes how she would advise them regarding board engagement if she were sitting down with a CXO or CCO. 

[15:28] Get Ahead – Amy discusses a few aspects of the customer and employee experience that boards or CEOs/founders may need to address in the next year or two. 

[22:23] Scale-up - Amy highlights what founders should consider in terms of customer or employee experience while transitioning from startup to growth and scalability. 

[25:55] Customer Feedback - Amy addresses whether more businesses and startups should pay closer attention to the numerous signals available, such as direct customer feedback.

[30:03] Customer-Focused Change - Amy explains her recommendation strategy for influencing senior-level decision-makers to create customer-centric change.

[33:56] Amy's inspiration – Amy mentions the leaders she admires and the sources of her motivation.

Resources:

Connect with Amy:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amyradin/

Amy's website: https://amyradin.com

Amy's Book Mentioned in the Episode:

The Change Maker's Playbook: How to Seek, Seed and Scale Innovation in Any Company: goodreads.com/book/show/38747877-the-change-maker-s-playbook?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=c5ypZrTTrF&rank=1

“This technology that's been available for big brands and large enterprises, we like to say we're democratizing that for small businesses.”

This week on Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos, we are having a wonderful conversation with  Gavin Macomber, the President, and CEO of Cloudli Communications, a leading provider of voice, messaging, and data communications solutions for businesses and consumers of the future generation. He enables numerous other businesses to welcome clients in novel and inventive ways through his company. Also, over 7,000 clients rely on Cloudli's mobile-first unified communications (UCaaS), VoIP connectivity, and digital fax solutions.

[01:47] Gavin's Journey - Gavin shares his career experience thus far, highlighting key elements that he believes have benefited him.

[12:21] Cloudli Communications – Gavin explains what his company does and the impact of their work. In addition, he describes several methods they've employed to improve their approach to enhance the customer experience.

[22:05] Research - Gavin mentions the outcomes of his research. Also, he further describes how his firm assists local businesses and how they interact with customers. 

[32:26] Business Texting – Gavin outlines the facts he has gathered regarding the influence of business texting on the SMB market. 

[34:56] Inspiration - Gavin describes whom he looks up to in the business world and where he finds inspiration.

Resources:

Connect with Gavin:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gmacomber/

This week on Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos, we’re having a fascinating conversation with Luis Angel-Lalanne, Vice President, Customer Voice at American Express. 

Luis has global responsibility for the Voice of Customer program and complaints reporting for the Global Services Group. The Voice of Customer program covers all servicing interactions and is the primary measure of customer experience success for the organization and for individual frontline colleagues. 

Throughout today’s episode, we dive into Luis’s approach to customer listening, the evolution of customer listening, using customer listening to drive change within an organization, and more.

[01:20] Getting to Know Luis – We start the conversation with a brief look at Luis’s career, which he started as an engineer and transitioned into business.

[04:12] Evolution of Customer Listening -  Luis shares his perspective on how the discipline of customer listening has changed over the years and what we can expect in the future.

[07:04] Luis’s Approach to Customer Listening – Luis shares the philosophy and the approach they follow for customer listening at Amex.

[10:11] Reporting vs. Insights – The measures implemented by Luis and his team to move away from traditional reporting and pivot toward deeper and more meaningful insights.

[13:26] Driving Change – Luis shares his perspective on how insightful information gathered via customer listening could be used to drive change within an organization.

[17:00] Journey Analytics – Luis shares his thoughts on how Amex’s approach to journey analytics and orchestration has evolved over the years.

[23:54] Future of Surveys – Luis’s perspective on the place surveys will have in the future of customer listening.

Resources:

Connect with Luis

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/luis-angel-lalanne/

“The reason you would choose, as a customer, to engage with a company and buy their product or engage in their service is very similar to the reason an employee would want to work there.”

This week, Kevin Budelmann, the co-founder and president of Michigan-based strategic design firm Peopledesign joins the Be Customer Led podcast with Bill Staikos. 

From startups to Fortune 500 firms, Kevin has worked with a vast array of businesses, including education, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and consumer items. Moreover, he serves as an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University. 

Addressing various exciting topics, Kevin explores the relationship between purpose, brand, and experience in today’s conversation.

[01:37] Kevin’s Story – Starting the conversation, Kevin summarizes his journey so far. Moreover, he talks about his company and how it works with its clients.

[05:00] Interconnectivity of Purpose and Brand – Kevin discusses the interrelationship between purpose and brand and the pandemic’s effect on this.

[13:30] Cross-Functional Teams – Kevin shares his take on shifting into cross-functional teams.

[16:55] Organized for Success - Kevin outlines the organizational structures he has observed firms use successfully and what they do differently when progressing from purpose to an actual product or service. 

[20:02] Initial Steps - Kevin points out how he would convince his clients to connect the brand’s purpose to the delivered experience. 

[23:39] Service Design – Kevin distinguishes service design from other design efforts and the significance of service design in the context of customer experience. 

[28:02] Inspiration – Kevin concludes the talk by detailing where he finds inspiration and who he admires in his sector, along with the reason why.

Resources:

Connect with Kevin:

LinkedIn: inkedin.com/in/kevinbudelmann/

“One of the things that I've always been focused on is not just the advent of CX but on making sure that customer earned growth and value are really embedded in driving the overall corporate agenda and culture in a meaningful way.”

This week's episode of Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos features Amy Shioji. Amy is the Senior Vice President for Analytics and Transformation and Chief Experience Officer at Strategic Education. Strategic Education facilitates economic mobility through education, where Amy is committed to fostering revolutionary customer growth and organizational focus in her current role.

[01:17] Amy's Background – Amy discusses her journey and the distinguishing factors that led to her current position. 

[03:36] Strategic Education - Amy outlines what "Strategic education" is and what it does, how it differentiates itself from other companies in the industry, and how her work there differs from her previous role. 

[08:48] Human Resources – Amy describes the opportunities and relationship between the corporate strategy and experience function and the HR division. 

[11:27] Message to CEOs – Amy covers some of the initial measures that CEOs can take within their organizations to integrate strategy and CX in a meaningful way. 

[15:13] Platforms and Tools – Amy explains the tools and platforms utilized by the strategy and CX teams. 

[19:38] Journey and Product – Amy addresses how organizations are now aligning themselves around journeys and not necessarily the product. In addition, she mentions the techniques they have been employing concerning this. 

[23:38] The Future – We examine how the integration of strategy and customer experience will evolve in the coming years.

[30:25] Inspiration - Amy talks about her sources of motivation and her role models.

Resources:

Connect with Amy:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amyshioji/

“The good corporate explorers puncture the bubble that leadership teams often have around their business that makes them believe it’ll continue and continue and continue.”

In the early days, innovation was viewed as a game best left to entrepreneurs, but a new breed of corporate executives reverses this logic. Corporate Explorers possess the knowledge, tenacity, and discipline necessary to overcome barriers and launch new initiatives inside even the largest organizations.

This week on Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos, we welcome Andrew Binns, co-founder of Change Logic, a Boston-based strategic advising firm. Additionally, he is a co-author of Corporate Explorer and a founding member of The Corporate Explorers Club. Most importantly, Andy is driven by the mission to assist enterprises in unleashing their potential to innovate and delight the globe.

[01:31] Background – Andy discusses his background by recounting his transition from marketing to consulting. Also, he mentions what motivated him to write his book.

[06:27] Corporate Explorer -  Andy explains the concept of corporate explorers and how organizations could empower such individuals.

[11:27] Digital Business Transformation -  Andy points out how critical it is for an organization to be tech-savvy or forward-thinking and how to ensure that the organization develops the correct attitude internally.

[13:47] Three Disciplines - Andy expresses his thoughts on how the client and the workforce contribute to success via the lens of three disciplines: Ideation, Incubate, and Scale.

[19:56] Time is Up – Andy highlights how to determine when it is appropriate to transition to the next discipline. 

[23:39] Success Models – Andy mentions his views about an optimal way to set up business ventures and ensure their success. 

[29:15] Change Agent - Andy explains why he considers the corporate Explorer a pioneer in innovation and transformation.

[33:16] Productive Tension – Andy defines productive tension and outlines how corporate explorers create and maintain it.

[39:27] Role Models -  Andy shares where he finds inspiration and who he admires.

Resources:

Connect with Andy:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andrewjmbinns/

Mentioned in the podcast:

Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Entrepreneurs at the Innovation Game: goodreads.com/book/show/58398731-corporate-explorer?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=VZ44lkuwjG&rank=1

Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire: goodreads.com/book/show/44064568-reimagining-capitalism-in-a-world-on-fire?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=efRAVEPXq3&rank=1

“Having  different opinions helps the journey and solves the problem differently. It's part of getting it right.”

This week on Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos, we are joined by Amanda Whiteside, Worldwide Head of Customer programs at Amazon. 

She has been working on developing a multi-year strategy that is the foundation for Amazon's global, commercial, and customer strategies for shipping. 

She leads a large team of technical product and program managers, focusing on five distinct business functions, including onboarding and integration, customer service tracking and delivery, billing and sustainability, and business analytics. 

Throughout today’s episode, Amanda shares her knowledge and thoughts on the role leadership plays in the CX & EX spaces and bits of wisdom she accumulated along her journey.

[01:21] Amanda's journey – Mentioning the versatility she had throughout her career, Amanda shares her journey from sales to programs and products.

[03:48] Customer Experience – Amanda explains how she incorporates customer experience into her work. 

[05:01] Amanda's Work - Amanda describes the type of work she does with her team.

[06:30] Two Sides of The Same Coin - Given her emphasis on leading a broad, diverse workforce, Amanda shares her philosophy on the synergistic relationship between the customer and employee experience.

[08:12] Stakeholders – Dealing with multiple stakeholders is quite challenging. Noting that Amanda outlines her encounters with a wide range of stakeholders. 

[10:50] New Normal – Customers' perceptions of digital commerce have shifted due to the global pandemic. Amanda discusses how she and her organization prepare to deliver the types of experiences that consumers increasingly want.

[13:13] Employees and Feedback – Amanda explains how she manages the employees and enhances the employee experience by listening to them daily and having a self-development day.

[16:37] Leadership Style – Amanda describes how her leadership style may have evolved.

[19:35] The Future - Amanda expresses her thoughts on how she sees the customer-obsessed or customer-led culture evolving over the next year or two.

Resources:

Connect with Amanda:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amanda-whiteside-880503209

“It is important to be smart. It is important to be personable, but being a good influencer is such a critical skill.”

This week on Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos, we’re joined by Ryan Hart, Fractional Chief Experience Officer and Experience Practice Lead at Chameleon Collective. 

Ryan also served as Managing Director, Experience Management Consulting (Tokyo) at PwC Japan, where he empowered a diverse and inclusive team of talented, creative, and strategic thinkers to assist organizations in Japan and throughout the Asia Pacific in accelerating experience, digital, and cultural transformations. 

Throughout the episode, we cover several aspects of experience management, including its key components, where people struggle in experience management, and how to prepare for the future of experience management.

[01:25] Ryan’s Story – Emphasizing how fortunate he is to come from such a diverse background, Ryan discusses his journey thus far.

[04:53] Chameleon Collective – Ryan describes the business model of Chameleon Collective, the company for which he works. Additionally, he presents his ideas on a variety of organizational structures.

[11:29] Leadership – There are numerous leadership styles. Ryan explains the type of leader who often achieves tremendous success, in his opinion. 

[13:49] Key Pillars – Ryan talks about experience management and its core components.

[16:32] Why Fail? – Ryan outlines why and where he believes people fail the most or do not place as much importance on customer experience. 

[23:34] The Future – Ryan shares how he envisions experience management five or ten years from now. 

[27:54] Inspiration -  After mentioning the leaders he most admires in this field, Ryan reveals where he finds inspiration.

Resources:

Connect with Ryan:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryan-hart-a9254b4/

Twitter: twitter.com/rhartcx

“You have to inspire yourself every day. Even if you had a massively bad day before, you have to try to find the victories in it.”

Today's episode of Be Customer Led features Richard Botto, Founder & CEO of Stage 32. Stage 32 is an online platform and marketplace aimed at democratizing the entertainment industry, by providing networking and training opportunities for all film, television, digital content makers and professionals, globally. The member community is now over 750,000!

Throughout today's episode, Richard discusses his journey and experience creating his company and developing the community and member experience.

[01:14] Richard's Journey – Mentioning how an entrepreneurial spirit blossomed inside of him, Richard explains his story so far and the distinguishing aspects that drove him to become a business founder. 

[07:12] Stage 32 -  Richard mentions how he came up with the name Stage 32, the genesis of the firm and why he launched it.

[12:45] Challenges –  While recounting the instances where he noticed the community's curvy expansion, Richard shares the evolution of his struggles and victories over the last 11 years. 

[22:26] Richard's Advice – Richard offers suggestions and assistance to anyone considering doing something similar to what he did.

[27:23] Community. Not a Platform – Richard discusses what he does differently to emphasize the community experience and make individuals feel like they are not part of a large platform but rather part of a community to help one another grow, expand, and develop. 

[31:31] Inspiration – Leaving several worthy facts, Richard reveals who he admires and where he finds inspiration.

Resources:

Connect with Richard:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richardbotto/

Company Website: stage32.com

“It’s not that you always have a plan. You don’t know what’s going to come, but when somebody is bringing an opportunity to you to make a change, you cannot ignore it.”

This week on Be Customer Led with Bill Staikos, we’re joined by Marcela Lay. Marcela is a Senior Vice President & Head of Client Strategy & PM Operations at Y Media Labs, a digital product and design agency that creates innovative products that export Silicon Valley to the world.

Throughout today’s episode, we dive deep into several aspects of influencing and driving culture change within an organization and how to create cultural changes that result in better work environments, less friction within teams, and sustainable growth.

[01:10] Getting to Know Marcela – We start the conversation with Marcela’s story of growing up in Colombia and becoming a Silicon Valley executive.

[04:17] Y Media Labs – How Marcela’s company, Y Media Labs, approaches client strategy.

[07:14] Recipe for Success – Marcela shares with us some of the factors that she has discovered in her time with YML that contribute to the success and steady growth of an organization.

[10:22] Tension and Friction – How Marcela approaches dealing with tension or friction within a team that keeps the team from reaching its full potential.

[14:51] Inclusive Change – Marcela’s advice on how to influence the executive teams to drive inclusive change.

[19:11] Allies in the Workplace – Marcela’s advice for people who want to become allies to their colleagues and help them grow professionally.

[22:30] Inspiration – Marcela shares with us some of the people, books, and resources that bring her inspiration and motivation.

Resources

Connect with Marcela

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marcelalayccxp

Website: ymedialabs.com/people/marcela-lay

Mentioned in the Episode

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose – Tony Hsieh

goodreads.com/book/show/6828896-delivering-happiness