Next in Queue

Next in Queue

By Rob DwyerBusiness
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Next in Queue episodes

  • It Works for Chanel featuring Chris Gillen

    Mad Men was a study in identities – of characters and of brands. Don Draper, played by John Hamm, is a master of fabrications and storytelling. He understands what motivates Americans of the time even if he doesn’t understand himself. The show explores the brand strategy behind some of the most iconic brands and in this scene, he even discusses a still prevalent strategy of driving sales – the coupon. But Rachel Menkin, played by Maggie Siff, wants more for her brand. She wants the kind of emotive loyalty enjoyed by Chanel. It’s the kind of loyalty that buoys sales without transactional loyalty programs.

    Chris Gillen, the CEO of A Closer Look, understands that emotive loyalty transcends price schemes and loyalty programs. But long-established brands are failing to connect with younger generations and rapidly changing customer expectations. He joins the show to discuss how brands can (and must) adapt while illustrating the fate of brands that failed to do so.

    We discuss:

    • The Evolution of Customer Experience Research
    • Understanding Emotive Loyalty in the New Consumer
    • The Invisible Gap in Brand Perception
    • The Impact of Availability on Brand Perception
    • The Shift in Consumer Expectations
    • The Future of Retail
    • The Value of Frontline Workers
    Connect with Chris on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisgillen/

    A Closer Look – https://a-closer-look.com/

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    1 hr 3 min
  • Stronger featuring Ian Storm

    Kanye West’s 2007 hit, Stronger, paraphrased Friedrich Nietzsche’s maxim, “What does not kill me makes me stronger.” The idea is that the trials, tribulations, and challenges we face in life help us grow. It’s a rallying cry used by many in the face of difficult circumstances. A closer reading within context, however, opens the door to different interpretations. Regardless of how you interpret Nietzsche, most business leaders would tell you that creating stronger employees isn’t just about challenging them – it’s also about celebrating and empowering them.

    Ian Storm joins the show to discuss Workforce Engagement strategies that help build high-performing contact center teams. How would he interpret this Nietzsche quote? Well, he is a long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan, so do with that as you will.

    We discuss:
    • The Intersection of Sports and Employee Experience
    • Changing Perceptions of Contact Center Work
    • The Balance of Performance and Support
    • AI's Role in the Future of Work
    • The Importance of Trust in Team Dynamics
    • Modeling Desired Behaviors in Leadership
    • Forecasting the Future: Bills vs. Chiefs in the AFC Title Game
    Connect with Ian on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-storm/

    Aspect – https://www.aspect.com

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    1 hr 8 min
  • Defend the Frontier featuring John Walter

    When Centauri whisks away Alex Rogan to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada in 1984’s The Last Starfighter, he leaves behind his assistant, Beta, to act as a doppelgänger proxy for Alex while he’s away. Beta is a simuloid designed to take the form of a person and act as a stand in for that person.

    Proxies like Beta are the stuff of science fiction. But artificial intelligence advances have led to proxies of another kind – the kind that do mundane tasks for us like cancel subscriptions to streaming services or shop for homeowner’s insurance quotes. John Walter discovered just how much these proxies are inundating contact centers and decided to do something about it. And his vision for the future will change some aspects of CX as we know it.

    We discuss:

    • The Future of Consumer Interactions with Brands
    • Legal Implications of AI Proxies
    • Consumer Demand for Proxy Services
    • Ensuring Security and Compliance in Proxy Services
    • Changing Customer Retention Strategies
    • Personalization vs. Privacy Concerns
    • How AI is Disrupting Search
    Connect with John on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jowalter/

    Contact Center AI Association – https://ccaia.org

    ProxyLink – https://proxylink.co

    Using Voice AI to Get an Insurance Quote – https://youtu.be/NN80Qnc6Ivk

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    59 min
  • Return to Sender featuring Nathan Muniz

    In 1962, The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley topped multiple charts with Return to Sender, a song about a heartbroken man whose mail to the object of his love is always returned unopened. Over 60 years later, the concept of a handwritten apology sent via mail probably seems foreign when we have access to Snapchat, Whatsapp, and Messenger, among many other communication options.

    But January is the beginning of tax season in the US. W2s delivered by mail are still fairly common for small businesses. But when ex-employees haven’t updated their address with their former employers, those W2s are often undeliverable and come back echoing Elvis’s words, Return to Sender, Address Unknown. Nathan Muniz, owner of a few small businesses, has experienced this and the aftermath many times.

    We discuss:

    • The No Call No Show Phenomenon
    • Employee Turnover and Asset Recovery
    • Cultural Differences in Business Operations in the Philippines
    • Gig Economy Impacts
    • Navigating Disruption in the BPO Industry
    • The Impact of AI on Contact Centers
    • The Challenges of Over-Reliance on Technology
    Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/247seretary/

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    59 min
  • Best of 2024
    Let’s hit rewind this week and take a quick listen to some moments from some of my favorite episodes from the past year.
    It’s awfully hard to pick favorites from over 50 guests I hosted in 2024. Each episode was wonderful in its own way. This episode features great moments from Kent Morita, Stacy Sherman, Sarah Hatter, Luke Jamieson, Sarah Caminiti, Lindsay Haun, Matt Beran, Amas Tenumah, Jarad Haggard, Tony Won, and Justin Robbins.
    1 hr 16 min
  • Winter is Coming featuring Jeremy Hyde

    In 2011, Game of Thrones took the world by storm. Ned Stark, played by Sean Bean, is the head of House Stark, the ruling family of the North. In this scene, we first hear the phrase, “Winter is coming,” the motto of House of Stark. The phrase was used so often that it’s taken on a life of its own, even spawning many popular memes. Simply put, it’s a warning to be prepared for harsh and unpredictable times ahead.

    If you’ve ever been to Minnesota in the dead of winter, you understand exactly how harsh and unpredictable mother nature can be. This month, the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota metro received 5-8 inches of snow in a single day which ground Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport to a stop causing delays and cancellations. While no one is impacted more than the travelers themselves, a close second are those supporting the travelers at airline customer service centers. Jeremy Hyde, Sr. Director of Customer Service at Minneapolis-based Sun County Airlines, joins me to discuss how they brace themselves for the coming of winter.

    We discuss:

    • The impact of weather on contact center volumes
    • The role and limitations of self-service channels
    • How stress impacts customer channel choice
    • How company culture drives agent morale
    • How to deal with seasonal volume shifts
    • Why regional work from home is a strategic advantage
    Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hydej/

    Sun Country Airlines – https://suncountry.com/

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    49 min
  • Uh oh, it’s Magic featuring Anders Boulanger

    The 1984 video for Magic by the Cars featured a wild cast of characters who rush to surround a backyard pool. Why? Lead singer Ric Ocasek walks on water while singing about how the feeling of being close with someone can be like magic. The entire crowd is fixated on Ocasek throughout the video, even after he leaves the water and walks around the pool’s perimeter. It’s the kind of attention that any brand would love to have.

    But if you’ve ever been to a tradeshow, you know that most brands barely get the time of day from attendees, even if they’ve paid enormous sums of money to have their logo splashed all over tradeshow swag. But what if a brand brought along someone who could fixate the crowd like Ric Ocasek? While I didn’t ask him to sing, this week, I did talk with magician and infotainer, Anders Boulanger. His company, Engagify, specializes in driving brand engagement at tradeshows.

    We discuss:

    • The Art of Infotainment
    • Engagement versus Awareness
    • The Power of Emotion in Decision-Making
    • Crafting Compelling Stories
    • Cheat Codes for Engagement
    • Engaging in a Virtual World
    Connect with Anders on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersboulanger/

    Engagify – https://engagify.ai/

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    39 min
  • Dancing with Myself featuring Jevon Wooden

    In 1981, Billy Idol left his previous band, Generation X, and went solo. His first single was Dancing with Myself, a remix of a UK flop single he’d recorded with Generation X. But by changing the mix to accentuate the vocals and percussion, the new version was perfect for the newly launched MTV. He became one of the first rockstars popularized on the new channel.

    Dancing with Myself explored a lack of human connection. As Idol told Rolling Stone, “The song really is about people being in a disenfranchised world where they’re left bereft, dancing with their own reflections.” Employees everywhere feel like they’re disenfranchised and dancing with themselves when their leadership is impersonal and ineffective. Jevon Wooden is on a mission to change that.

    We discuss:

    • Jevon’s transition out of Information Security
    • Lessons from Military Leadership
    • Connecting with Diverse Teams
    • The Importance of Human Connection
    • Building Trust
    • High Performance vs. Toxic Culture
    Connect with Jevon on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jevonwooden/
    Brightmind Consulting – https://brightmindconsultinggroup.com/
    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/
    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    57 min
  • We Can’t Keep Up with Our Own Success featuring Corey Harlock

    Perhaps the most challenging part of being a founder of a company is dealing with growth. Anne Hathaway’s character, Jules, in the 2015 film, The Intern, grapples with the consequences of her company’s growth and the struggle to let go of certain aspects of the business.

    Finding the right fit for any job is a challenge – one we’ve recently explored on this show. But finding the right fit for leadership roles in a small, but growing company presents even more challenges. While Corey Harlock may not have Bobby DeNiro on speed dial to step in as your new CEO, he is absolutely prepared to help you find the right fit for your company’s needs.

    We discuss:

    • Common Hiring Mistakes and Their Impact
    • Understanding Fractional Roles
    • When to Hire at the Executive Level
    • Navigating Leadership Changes
    • Understanding Organizational Structure
    • Assessing Company Culture
    • Streamlining the Hiring Process
    Connect with Corey on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyharlock/

    KeyHire Solutions – https://keyhire.solutions/

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    58 min
  • Turducken featuring Andrew Rios

    Perhaps no person loved Thanksgiving more than John Madden. After serving 10 seasons as the head coach of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, Madden began the part of his career that led him to be the most recognizable name in football. As the color commentator for NFL broadcasts for the next 30 years, Madden’s love of Thanksgiving popularized the “Turducken,” a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, stuffed into a deboned turkey. Following his death, the NFL now honors Madden every Thanksgiving. The entire tripleheader of games is dubbed the "John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration."

    Despite winning the Raiders’ first Superbowl, never having a losing season, and having the most wins in Raiders franchise history, he is better known as the mind and voice behind the Madden NFL video game franchise. Instead of simply drawing up plays during broadcasts, he helped generations learn about football and how to use progressively more complex playbooks through gameplay.

    This week, we talk turkey, playbooks, CX, and football with friend of the show and Raider fan, Andrew Rios.

    We discuss:

    • Thanksgiving Traditions
    • Assessing Team Dynamics and Experience
    • Balancing Work and Family During the Holidays
    • Gratitude and the Importance of Frontline Workers
    • Team Member Development
    • The Value of Tough Conversations
    Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/riosa/

    Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/

    Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/

    40 min

About Next in Queue

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Hosted by Rob Dwyer, Next in Queue features Customer Experience, Contact Center, Customer Support, Customer Success, Training, Leadership, and Technology experts and practitioners from around the…