Experts of Experience

Most leaders build strategy around data and decks — and then wonder why nobody commits.

Matt Marcotte has spent 34 years watching this pattern repeat across 200+ companies, from Apple to Salesforce. His conclusion: real commitment starts with emotion, not logic. In his book Built on Belief, Matt lays out a deceptively simple mental model — heart, head, hands (feel, think, do) — that explains why culture breaks at scale, why AI-perfect content repels instead of attracts, and why the companies that invest in belief outperform everyone playing the metrics game.

Key takeaways:

- The brain is wired to feel first, think second, act third — leaders who reverse this order get compliance, not commitment

- You cannot give what you've never received: employee experience must precede customer experience

- As AI commoditizes execution, belief and human connection become the true competitive advantage

- The 3 C's (Clarity, Curiosity, Connection) give leaders a practical framework for aligning teams around purpose

- Metrics replace purpose when companies scale without vetting for belief — and that's when culture dies

Connect with Matt Marcotte:

Matt’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mamarcotte/

Matt’s Book: https://a.co/d/065v7O29

Website: m2collaborative.com/

Email: [email protected]

Expert of Experience is hosted by Lacey Peace and made by the team at Mission.org.

• 00:00:00 You Can't Give What You've Never Received
• 00:02:21 The "Rational Consumer" Myth and Becoming a Consumer Anthropologist
• 00:08:38 Heart, Head, Hands: Why the Order Matters
• 00:11:05 Why Startups Lose Belief at Scale
• 00:16:37 The 3 C's: Clarity, Curiosity, Connection
• 00:21:43 You Can't Give What You've Never Received
• 00:32:22 Patagonia, Starbucks, and the Power of Alignment
• 00:38:11 AI and the Rebellion Against Perfection
• 00:43:03 Outsourcing Meaning vs. Building Confidence
• 00:50:39 Lightning Round: Physical Spaces, Talking to Strangers, and Built on Belief

Experts of Experience is a Mission.org production. To discover more shows designed to educate, inspire, and entertain, go to mission.org.

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if everything you thought you knew about customer experience was backwards?

In this episode, JC Quintana—author, educator, and psychologist—reveals why most companies are approaching CX completely wrong. Instead of obsessing over touchpoints and metrics, JC argues we need to start with something much more fundamental: expectations.

JC walks us through his Dialogue 7 framework, which identifies the seven critical conversations that must happen before you can even think about designing an experience. From defining value and understanding cultural influences to managing engagement levels and transparency expectations, these conversations form the foundation of every successful business relationship.

We explore why employees are anxious about AI adoption (hint: it’s not about the technology), why ChatGPT accidentally became the world’s best communication teacher, and why saying your company is “like a family” might be doing more harm than good.

If you’re tired of CX strategies that look great on paper but fail in practice, this conversation will fundamentally shift how you think about customer relationships in 2026 and beyond.

(00:00) Why Technology Vendors Broke Customer Experience

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if everything you thought you knew about customer experience was backwards?

In this episode, JC Quintana—author, educator, and psychologist—reveals why most companies are approaching CX completely wrong. Instead of obsessing over touchpoints and metrics, JC argues we need to start with something much more fundamental: expectations.

JC walks us through his Dialogue 7 framework, which identifies the seven critical conversations that must happen before you can even think about designing an experience. From defining value and understanding cultural influences to managing engagement levels and transparency expectations, these conversations form the foundation of every successful business relationship.

We explore why employees are anxious about AI adoption (hint: it's not about the technology), why ChatGPT accidentally became the world's best communication teacher, and why saying your company is "like a family" might be doing more harm than good.

If you're tired of CX strategies that look great on paper but fail in practice, this conversation will fundamentally shift how you think about customer relationships in 2026 and beyond.

• 00:00:00 Why Technology Vendors Broke Customer Experience
• 03:14 What's Really Broken: We've Lost the Human Component
• 10:00 Business Model First, Experience Second
• 16:35 Introducing the Dialogue 7 Framework
• 24:01 The Most Commonly Missed Expectations: Knowledge & Engagement
• 34:48 How to Actually Use the 7 Conversations in Practice
• 41:00 Why Employees Are Anxious About AI (And What to Do About It)
• 50:03 ChatGPT: The World's Best Communication Teacher
• 58:21 Lightning Round: Books, Trends, and What's Next
• 01:09:00 Connect with JC: Books, Resources, and Next Steps

Experts of Experience is a Mission.org production. To discover more shows designed to educate, inspire, and entertain, go to mission.org.

–

Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if everything you thought you knew about customer experience was backwards?

In this episode, JC Quintana—author, educator, and psychologist—reveals why most companies are approaching CX completely wrong. Instead of obsessing over touchpoints and metrics, JC argues we need to start with something much more fundamental: expectations.

JC walks us through his Dialogue 7 framework, which identifies the seven critical conversations that must happen before you can even think about designing an experience. From defining value and understanding cultural influences to managing engagement levels and transparency expectations, these conversations form the foundation of every successful business relationship.

We explore why employees are anxious about AI adoption (hint: it's not about the technology), why ChatGPT accidentally became the world's best communication teacher, and why saying your company is "like a family" might be doing more harm than good.

If you're tired of CX strategies that look great on paper but fail in practice, this conversation will fundamentally shift how you think about customer relationships in 2026 and beyond.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

01:52 - What's Really Broken in Customer Experience

05:12 - Redefining CX: It's All About Expectations

08:19 - The Promise-Proof-Delivery Framework in Customer Journeys

12:26 - Business Model First, Experience Second

16:56 - Introducing the Dialogue 7 Framework

21:58 - Why Culture and "Centricity" Matter More Than You Think

24:43 - The Knowledge and Accountability Gap

28:02 - Transparency vs Trust: The Critical Distinction

29:13 - Why Experience Comes Last (Not First)

33:22 - The Two Most Commonly Missed Expectations

36:46 - How to Actually Use the 7 Conversations in Practice

42:49 - Why Employees Are Anxious About AI

48:03 - The Value-Cost Equation in Every Relationship

53:53 - ChatGPT: The World's Best Communication Teacher

58:21 - Lightning Round: Books, Trends, and Frameworks

1:06:11 - Stop Saying Your Company Is "Like a Family"

1:11:59 - Skills the Next Generation Will Need

1:14:36 - Where to Find JC Quintana

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What separates companies succeeding with AI from those struggling to see results? The answer isn't the AI itself-it's the data foundation underneath it.

In this episode, we explore why the companies winning with AI today are the ones that spent years cleaning, structuring, and curating their data. Our guest is Mike Hutchinson, Chief Operating Officer at Teradata, bringing 35 years of customer experience expertise across three software companies.

Mike breaks down the critical gap between structured and unstructured data, why vector stores and context engines are game-changers, and how real AI use cases come from solving business problems-not from hackathons. He shares examples from banking, airlines, and Teradata's own operations, including their fully autonomous account planning system.

We also look ahead to 2026 and Mike's bold prediction: this will be the year companies build agents at scale - autonomous systems that monitor, decide, and act without human intervention.

• 00:00:00 Meet Mike Hutchinson, 35 Year CX Veteran
• 00:09:22 The Unstructured Data Problem
• 00:12:07 Marrying Structured & Unstructured Data
• 00:16:15 Why AI Use Cases Fail
• 00:19:32 Banking NPS Transformation Story
• 00:25:18 Security & Hallucination Concerns
• 00:30:32 Getting Started with Data Organization
• 00:37:33 Predictive Analytics & Weather Patterns Example
• 00:42:21 CX Skills for the Next Decade
• 00:48:52 The Expertise Debate in an AI World
• 00:56:49 2026 Prediction: The Year of Agents

Watch Next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enBE_5PQOb4

Experts of Experience is produced by the team at Mission.org.

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What separates companies succeeding with AI from those struggling to see results? The answer isn't the AI itself-it's the data foundation underneath it.

In this episode, we explore why the companies winning with AI today are the ones that spent years cleaning, structuring, and curating their data. Our guest is Mike Hutchinson, Chief Operating Officer at Teradata, bringing 35 years of customer experience expertise across three software companies.

Mike breaks down the critical gap between structured and unstructured data, why vector stores and context engines are game-changers, and how real AI use cases come from solving business problems-not from hackathons. He shares examples from banking, airlines, and Teradata's own operations, including their fully autonomous account planning system.

We also look ahead to 2026 and Mike's bold prediction: this will be the year companies build agents at scale - autonomous systems that monitor, decide, and act without human intervention.

Chapters/Key Moments

06:20 – The Structured vs Unstructured Data Problem

09:00 – What Companies Miss About Unstructured Data

12:00 – How AI Changes the Data Game

15:00 – Marrying Structured and Unstructured Data for Real Value

18:30 – Why Data-Ready Companies Have a Massive AI Advantage

22:00 – The Hackathon Trap: Why Most AI Use Cases Fail

26:00 – Real AI Success Story: Banking NPS Turnaround in 3 Months

28:30 – European Airline Identifies Baggage as Brand Problem

30:00 – Inside Teradata's Autonomous Account Planning System

32:00 – Preventing AI Hallucinations with Data Guardrails

35:00 – The Unsexy Work: Cleaning Data for AI

38:00 – What Companies Should Do If They're Behind on Data

40:30 – Predictive Analytics with Unlimited Parameters

44:00 – Skills That Matter in the AI Era

47:00 – Why Curiosity Beats Technical Tools

49:00 – Generational Differences in AI Adoption

52:00 – The Expertise Debate: Why Pilots Still Matter

55:00 – 2026 Prediction: The Year Autonomous Agents Go Mainstream

58:00 – What Real AI Agents Look Like (Not Just Automations)

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How are customer expectations evolving when people are talking less, trusting less, and switching brands faster than ever?

In this episode, we break down the four major shifts reshaping customer experience in 2026 and why traditional listening tactics are failing right when companies need them most.

Our guest is Isabelle Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at the Qualtrics XM Institute and co-creator of one of the largest global CX studies in the world. With data from 20,000 consumers across 14 countries, Isabelle reveals the surprising trends leaders cannot afford to overlook and why trust has become the real driver of customer behavior.

• 00:00:00 Meet Isabel Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at Qualtrics XM Institute
• 00:04:43 The Surprising State of Customer Experience Heading Into 2026
• 00:10:44 Why AI-Powered Customer Service Is Failing Customers
• 00:15:07 How to Use AI to Enhance Rather Than Replace Human Experience
• 00:19:41 The Silent Customer Crisis: Why Feedback Has Dropped to All-Time Lows
• 00:25:03 Conversational Surveys and Predictive Models: The Future of Customer Listening
• 00:34:55 Why Value Alone Won't Keep Customers Loyal in 2026
• 00:38:18 The Trust Equation: How Economic Uncertainty Changes Customer Behavior
• 00:42:51 The Personalization Paradox: Consumers Want It But Don't Trust It
• 00:54:10 What Will Surprise Us Most About 2026: Two Wildly Different Predictions

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How are customer expectations evolving when people are talking less, trusting less, and switching brands faster than ever?

In this episode, we break down the four major shifts reshaping customer experience in 2026 and why traditional listening tactics are failing right when companies need them most.

Our guest is Isabelle Zdatny, Head of Thought Leadership at the Qualtrics XM Institute and co-creator of one of the largest global CX studies in the world. With data from 20,000 consumers across 14 countries, Isabelle reveals the surprising trends leaders cannot afford to overlook and why trust has become the real driver of customer behavior.

You will learn:

• Why customer satisfaction is rising even as feedback collapses
• Why AI powered customer service is the lowest rated AI use case today
• How conversational surveys uncover issues traditional surveys never capture
• Why value brings customers in but service quality keeps them loyal
• What customers actually want from personalization and why most do not trust it
• What CX leaders must understand to rebuild trust in the year ahead

If you lead customer experience, insights, digital transformation, or AI adoption, this conversation will reshape how you think about listening to customers and earning loyalty in 2026.

Chapters/Key Moments

00:00 – When AI Becomes the First Impression for Customers

03:12 – The Signals Customers Are Reacting To (Even If They Don’t Say It)

06:24 – Why Customer Expectations Keep Rising Every Year

09:36 – The Gap Between Better Metrics and Worse Experiences

12:48 – Where Trust Starts to Erode in AI-Driven Interactions

16:00 – When Efficiency Helps the Business but Hurts the Customer

19:12 – How Loyalty Becomes Purely Transactional

22:24 – Why Customers Are Choosing Silence Over Feedback

25:36 – What Customer Silence Is Really Telling Brands

28:48 – The Limits of Surveys and Traditional Listening

32:00 – How Some Companies Are Rebuilding Empathy at Scale

35:12 – When Technology Improves Experience and When It Gets in the Way

38:24 – Rethinking Customer Experience From a Blank Slate

41:36 – What Customers Will Expect From Brands Next

44:48 – The Future of Trust, Transparency, and Customer Experience

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Wondersauce CEO and Co-Founder John Sampogna breaks down what today’s customer really expects - and how brands can stand out when AI overviews and LLMs shape the journey long before anyone reaches your website.

You’ll learn:

• How AI is rewriting customer behavior
• Why your website may no longer be the front door
• The two paths brands can take in 2026
• How to design digital and in-person experiences people actually want
• How to stay relevant in an AI-first era (hint: it might mean LESS AI)

Watch Next: https://youtu.be/rgNCaTYkXCE

• 00:00:00 Meet John Sampogna, Wondersauce CEO and Co-Founder
• 00:08:41 Why Brands Need an Outside Perspective to Stay Relevant
• 00:11:27 How AI Is Changing Customer Behavior
• 00:15:32 How to Stand Out When AI Summaries Flatten Every Brand
• 00:20:22 The Rise of Analog Experiences (and Why They Matter)
• 00:25:52 How to Choose Which AI Tools Are Worth Your Time
• 00:38:12 How to Prepare Your Team for an AI-Driven Future
• 00:43:07 The Honest Truth About “Vibe Coding”
• 00:45:42 The Return of Cool, Personalized Digital Experiences
• 00:48:02 What Personalization Will Look Like in 2026

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How do brands create customers who stay for years or even decades?

In this episode, we break down the model behind lifelong loyalty, emotional connection, and trust-based customer experience - the kind that drives repeat revenue, referrals, and real brand love.

Our guest is John Boccuzzi, Jr., CX leader, speaker, author of The Art of Seducing Your Customers, and President of ISG Research. With 30+ years studying how companies build trust and deliver memorable customer experiences, John shares the frameworks and stories that prove: CX is not a cost center — it’s a growth engine.

You’ll learn:

The #1 factor that determines whether customers return

Why customer experience is more emotional than operational

The “Ruth Story” - how one pair of glasses changed John’s entire view on CX

How to scale empathy, trust, and personalization across big organizations

What brands get wrong when implementing AI in customer experience

The future of CX and what will matter most in the next 12 months

If you lead customer experience, marketing, service, brand, or product, this conversation will reshape how you think about delivering value.

Watch Next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgNCaTYkXCE&t=1864s

Key Moments:

0:00 Meet John Boccuzzi, Jr.

3:20 What Customer Experience Really Is

5:20 The “Ruth Story”: Creating Emotional Loyalty

10:10 Why Having a Point of View Builds Trust

15:15 Training Teams to Deliver Great CX

18:55 Scaling Emotional Customer Experiences

23:30 How AI Fits Into Customer Experience

29:55 The Power of First Impressions

33:25 How Brands Stay Relevant Today

37:15 Make the Customer Journey Simple

42:55 The Future of Personalization

49:15 Common Misconceptions About CX

50:27 A Trend to Bet On (That Isn’t AI)

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Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients.
Learn more at mission.org

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.