Customer Obsessed

About the Episode

John Maeda is the CXO of Publicis Sapient, a six-time author, and TED speaker. In our wide-ranging interview, we discuss the power and purpose of asynchronous work; data, AI, and privacy; his latest book “How to Speak Machine: Computational Thinking for the Rest of Us”; and how different generations think about work and finding purpose.

About John Maeda

John Maeda is an American technologist, designer, engineer, artist, investor, author, and teacher. He is Chief Experience Officer at Publicis Sapient, the technology consulting and delivery arm of communications and marketing conglomerate Publicis. Prior to Publicis Sapient, he spent three years working all-remote at the largest all-distributed tech company in the world — in preparation for what is now the new norm. Maeda serves on the Board of Sonos and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. He has held positions with Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com; the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins; served as president of the Rhode Island School of Design; and began his early career at the MIT Media Lab at the intersection of computer science and visual art. Named as one of the “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century” by Esquire, Maeda draws on his diverse background as an MIT-trained engineer, award-winning designer, and MBA-community translator to bring people and ideas together at scale. He is the author of several celebrated books, including How To Speak Machine, The Laws of Simplicity, and Redesigning Leadership. He has appeared as a speaker all over the world, from Davos to Beijing to São Paulo to New York, and his talks for TED have received millions of views.

John's book: How to Speak Machine: Computational Thinking for the Rest of Us

John's Customer Obsessed Pick: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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Tiffani Bova is the Customer and Innovation Growth Evangelist at Salesforce, author of best-selling book Growth IQ, and former distinguished analyst at Gartner. Tiffani shares her insight into the current sales landscape and how she sees the future of sales shaping up due to the impact of COVID-19.  Eric and Erin also discuss common mental blocks entrepreneurs experience when trying to embrace the "seller's mindset"  and how sales leaders can  support their teams without restricting their autonomy, creativity, and innovation.

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Get Tiffani's book Growth IQ or read her Customer-Obsessed pick on storytelling, Illuminate.

Jen Igartua is the Chief Services Officer of Go Nimbly, a revenue operations company that’s lighting up the Salesforce ecosystem and changing the way organizations go to market. Revenue operations is both a methodology and a cultural mindset that breaks down internal silos and improves cross-functional relationships to help companies achieve their overall strategic outcomes. As Jen shares her story, learn how to break down silos and get your teams on the same page, define the right goals, and foster an employee culture that values personal growth and teamwork.  Plus, Jen reveals her outrageous promise she made to her cofounders about what she'd do when they hit their top revenue goal. 

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Read Jen's Customer Obsessed Pick, I'll Be Gone in the Dark.

This episode is all about business strategy—what it is, why it's important, and how to create a strategic statement that can effectively guide you and your team to achieve your company's vision. 

In the first half of the episode, Glen and Eric discuss the ins and outs of strategy and share the five main parts of a strategic statement. In the second half, Glen and Erin use Erin's company, Afternoon Tea & Copy, as a  model during the on-air workshop so you can hear how all of the parts fit together. We encourage you to take notes and think about how you can apply these exercises to your business to get more clarity regarding your goals, offerings, and customers.

For additional resources and the Customer Obsessed Newsletter, visit us at customerobsessed.net.

Natalya Watson, founder of Beer With Nat, is an independent beer consultant, sommelier, and educator. She has a BS in Microbiology from UCLA and an MPH from UC Berkeley, but it was her experiences outside of the classroom that ultimately led to her adventures in the world of beer.

In this episode, we talk about how Natalya broke into the beer world, what it's like for her as a woman in the industry (and how she's using her platform to shine a light on female beer professionals), and what she's learned about how to build a brand from the ground up.

Read her book Beer: Taste the Evolution in 50 Styles

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We’re in the middle of extreme social upheaval, and many brands are re-evaluating their cultures and the impact their actions are having on marginalized communities. As a leader, how do you make sure your good intentions turn into good actions? We interviewed Matthew Manos, a pioneer in the world of philanthropically-minded entrepreneurs, to find out. On the show, we talk about the radical give half model at the heart of verynice. We also address the challenge of using your talents authentically to have a positive impact and how to use creativity and generosity to create not just a customer-obsessed company, but a humanity-obsessed one.

How do you find your purpose as an entrepreneur? And what do you do after you find it to build a successful business? We're talking to the President of Brooklyn Bicycle Co Ryan Zagata about his journey from tech to bicycles that all started after he took a trip to Vietnam. Learn how he discovered his purpose and the actions he took to transform Brooklyn Bicycle Co. from an idea to reality.

Is an innovation center an innovation gatekeeper? We sat down with MURAL CEO Mariano Suarez-Battan to discuss how to encourage all employees to experiment and innovate, and how to keep creativity and teamwork alive whether your team is in an office or remote.

Part I of our interview with Bob focused on the current state of contact centers and customer service—from customer relationships to AI to hiring. Part II dives deep into employee culture and executive alignment, and how both can determine whether your customers stick around or take a walk and never come back.

In Part I, we dive into the current state of contact centers and customer service. What are companies doing to stay connected with customers, especially now when their contact centers are being inundated? What technologies are out there that can help you build a successful contact center and what really is the secret sauce of a good customer service agent? Bob shares his insight and experiences with us from over 25 years of customer service and support. And don’t miss part II where we talk about the failures and pitfalls of companies who aren’t prepared to meet their customers where they are—and what you can do to build a customer-obsessed support culture in your business.