I spoke with Maarten Copini European Practice Lead running the Customer Experience practice at NTT.

We talk about the state of Employees and how many are just burned out and how the new “leaders” who have adapted their ways to consumers during the pandemic will be leading the way when this ends. 

He has vast experience working within organizations to make change while also seeing the Challenges those changes face. Often leading to “let’s cut some corners” thinking to just please the boss.

We also talk about what the past 2 years of change mean going forward.

• Will this be the New Normal?

Thank you Maarten for this interview!

Links to recent NTT reports:

• 2021 Global Workplace Report | NTT

Maarten’s Articles: 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cx-perspective-building-digital-ecosystem-insurers-maarten-copini/

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maartencopini_pandemic-cx-ex-activity-6892056950641606656-cQuW

Maarten’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maartencopini/

Newsletter & more: https://digital-done-right.com/glad-youre-here

It is a global education and consulting platform on a mission to get companies and organizations comfortable engaging with the digital world to:

✅ Attract today’s digital consumer 


✅ Design more engaging digital experiences


✅ Drive growth, conversion, and sales across the customer/user journey

Our mission is all about informing and getting the word out on how the digital divide can be bridged. Working with organisations, small businesses as well as corporations we develop strategies to address the agile customer communications of today and how these can be tamed for maximal business value.

https://digital-done-right.com/what-i-do

Why can Starbucks sell a $7 cup of coffee?

Why did you binge Netflix knowing you had classes in the morning?

Why are you so dedicated to that fitness trainer?

We, as humans, react to stimuli. We react to things we see but also might not. The field of behavioural psychology is full of concepts which are applied to influence our daily decisions.

My guest today is Jen Clinehens of Choice Hacking.

In this episode we talk about what principle got her on to her exercise bike this week. How bias plays a role when doing user research. Tips for a podcaster on how to grow the subscribers and get them to interact.

If you want a free chapter of her book just go to choicehacking.com/book to get it.

Questions

💡 #1 Explain to the listeners what Choice Hacking is? And why a listener might want to connect with choice Hacking?

💡 #2 What percentage of your week is spent creating content?

💡 #3 Why do people love vending machines?

💡 #4 How to make sure your customer experience is designed for what people do (not what they say they'll do)

💡 #5 What behavioural psychology tips would you have for a podcaster?

💡 #6 What does 'innovation' mean to Jen?

Guests Links

Choice Hacking Website https://www.choicehacking.com/

Choice Hacking Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/3MkPkziKGWkij63tgjTGfe?si=fd123d7a722d4597 (also everywhere else)

Grow Like The Greatest YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/GrowLiketheGreatest

Why do people love vending machines? https://youtu.be/3EzMaMNdr3A?t=1490

About Digital.Done.Right.

It is a global education and consulting platform on a mission to get companies and organizations comfortable engaging with the digital world to:

✅ Attract today’s digital consumer 


✅ Design more engaging digital experiences


✅ Drive growth, conversion, and sales across the customer/user journey

Our mission is all about informing and getting the word out on how the digital divide can be bridged. Working with organisations, small businesses as well as corporations we develop strategies to address the agile customer communications of today and how these can be tamed for maximal business value.

https://digital-done-right.com/what-i-do

I interviewed Amber in July 2020. Today it is the end of January 2022. If you listen to the episode you will hear me at the end say I want to get this show out quickly, faster than normal. 

ICYMI as I am finally releasing what was a really wonderful conversation I had now after all this time. We were earlyish into the pandemic, getting adjusted to a more stay-at-home lifestyle. Some things have changed but the points we discussed have all aged well.

My guest today is Amber Naslund Enterprise Sales Leader at LinkedIn.

In this interview we talk about:

• A now 11 year old book she wrote with Jay Baer and the social telephone and how CX on social is doing.

Follow her on LinkedIn for interesting insights on all things LinkedIn.

Guests Links

Imposter Syndrome

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/imposter-syndrome-paradox-knowledge-amber-naslund/

"Booked more speaking gigs in 2020 than I did all of last year"

https://twitter.com/AmberCadabra/status/1214594394147430401 

About Digital.Done.Right.

It is a global education and consulting platform on a mission to get companies and organizations comfortable engaging with the digital world to:

✅ Attract today’s digital consumer 


✅ Design more engaging digital experiences


✅ Drive growth, conversion, and sales across the customer/user journey

Our mission is all about informing and getting the word out on how the digital divide can be bridged. Working with organisations, small businesses as well as corporations we develop strategies to address the agile customer communications of today and how these can be tamed for maximal business value.

https://digital-done-right.com/what-i-do

This is an admission, an admission of failure. I have many podcast interviews sitting on my hard drive for many months which I have not published. I've not even finished processing them.

I feel bad that I have done that. I took people's time and didn't deliver.

I am making a promise in the next weeks to get everyone of them published. That is my promise and I am making it public.

Next content from me will be fun, interesting and always exploring the designing of excellent experiences. Thank you for being here.

Executive Producer | Communicate Your Why Podcast Network

I connected with Ben over LinkedIn in 2019 as I was giving away PUNK CX by Adrian Swinscoe and Ben had won a copy. As I mention in more detail during the interview I never really checked out what he did. That is until this summer. As Executive Producer for the Communicate Your Why Podcast Network I had to learn more. And I went down the proverbial rabbit hole of his website and publications.

Ben, like me, believe in the ‘why’ in people. Also early adopters of Simon Sinek’s (Start With Why) but Ben has taken it much further. He helps people to find their why and then to share that to others. His podcast network has professional podcasters from differing backgrounds working with clients to write their story, tell their why, and generate content for publications or sharing on social media. Truly a podcast network.

One concept he has is “give me 4 hours or your time and I will give you a years worth of social media content”. Anyone who is into content generation will know you spend more than 4 hours a year! The idea for that he gleaned from Gary Vaynerchuck podcast which I also think I had heard. Ben has taken that into his business and made it a success.

If anyone here is interested in getting your podcasting game into shape, follow the link below to his free “30-day to launch podcast checklist”.

Really fun talking with him and I am sure to circle around again soon to go deeper on some of the topics.

Enjoy!

Website https://communicateyourwhy.com

Launch a podcast https://communicateyourwhy.com/30-day-launch/

Social links https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourbrandmarketing/

My most recent blogpost at https://www.andrewfmaher.com

I got a chance to speak with Howard Tiersky. Howard is CEO and Founder of FROM. FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency and we talked about Digital Transformation, Innovation and why these buzz words matter but also don't really matter.

Howard has been working with many really big name industries and has helped them make the changes necessary to adjust or rebuild their business to stay relevant. He has published a book "Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance" which is a Wall Street Journal Bestseller. When the opportunity to speak with Howard came across my desk I was like "yeah! of course I would".

One takeaway from the conversation was the fact that many perhaps most businesses are behind the curve on addressing their customers digital needs and that those who have a vision for transformation need to not hold back. If you are working in a business or consulting a business and have certain insights into what is working less than optimal then speak up!

I hope you enjoy this podcast. I know I certainly did.

Website https://www.from.digital

Howard's Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/winning-digital-customers/id1535975495

My most recent blogpost at https://digital-done-right.com/newnormalblog

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3WUVumpkK0RIRKBUnQ5m9f?si=399e32cbac75497b

https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/new-normal-designing-great-experiences/id599434958?l=en&i=1000527225434

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrewfmaher_newnormalpodcast-innovation-cxstrategy-activity-6815650938762604544-ibDd

This time I traveled to Brooklyn, NY to meet a bike shop owner. Yeah, a guy selling bikes in NYC. This conversation is one I am really excited about as Chris Nolte sold me my current e-bike. Yes, all the way from NYC to Germany he sold me my bike. Well, not that he gets any commission for it, still he sold it to me.

Chris uses video and YouTube to tell the story of e-bikes, what they are, who they are for and why you should consider getting "back" on a bike. While our backgrounds with bikes are very different, our mission is similar - get people outdoors, enjoying the environment they are in and along with the people they are with.

You'll hear it in the interview, but Chris made a series of videos in 2020 on the latest e-bikes which were. hitting the market. 2020 was getting tougher to get to bike shops and "look around". Chris covered the bike I own now in such a competent manner and with such a likable style that by the time I went to my local shop I knew everything about but the bike and only needed the test ride.

I "got to know" Chris via his YouTube videos and reached out to him for this interview. Of course he said "sure, let's do this".

So, here is that interview from September in an office in the Naval Yards of Brooklyn, NYC. Enjoy!

More about Propel Bikes

Website https://propelbikes.com

YouTube https://youtu.be/eK5wrCR2uK8

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/propelbikes/

More about Andrew

Website https://digital-done-right.com

Blog https://digital-done-right.com/newnormalblog

I got to talk with Daniel Saffioti, Deputy Chief Information and Digital Officer, Western Sydney University and Nick Smith, GM of APAC, Smart Communications, on how they took the traditional application processes online and not only that, made them Smarter!

We talked about the challenges WSU had especially during Covid and how they applied SmartIQ to streamline their processes while improving the student's experience. Right up my alley for sure. Taking the traditional way of doing business and making it digital-first!

Daniel even brings in the Simpson's along to way to make it very clear what the challenge was and how they addressed it. Hope you enjoy this episode.

Links to Daniel's posts

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/smart-communications._smartiq-western-sydney-university-activity-6800593854564179968-x9s3

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4400580/wollongong-man-builds-radio-network-to-get-nbn-access/

More information on Smart Communication

https://smartcommunications.com

More about Andrew

My most recent blogpost at https://www.andrewfmaher.com

(sorry, first bit of audio is not my best)

Introducing Stephen

This interview took some time and some prep. I was pointed to Stephen at Rodeo Adventure Labs by a previous interview guest back in April. This is part of my ‚thing‘. I ask my guests to suggest another person I might ask for an interview. It is never a guarantee but I am batting 1000 so far. Dave who suggested this interview knew my interest in bikes and all and felt I should branch out of my comfort zone; ergo Rodeo Labs.

Dave told me to check out their Instagram account to catch up on what they are up to and i did. Oh boy, that shook me. Yeah, right I am a biker who rides to my guest for interviews and that might be somewhat unique but when I saw these guys and gals on the Rodeo IG I felt really small. Ok, maybe some of you might think „come on Andrew what intimidates you?“ and you’d be right. I saw Rodeo ‚donkeys‘ being ridden up crazy mountains in far flung places, riding up glaciers (well that was my memory of it) and just riding like crazy their Rodeo Labs bikes. I felt a bit ‚uncomfortable‘ like what do I ask these folks? What do I an eBike riding podcaster have to ask and be relevant? Then I began my research.

Research for me is the most important phase of my podcast process. It is the point where all makes it or breaks it. If I am not prepped for the person I am interviewing I will be asking flat questions with little chance of followup or interest from the guest. This is the same most important phase in „user experience design“. Learning about the person in question, the user attempting to make a booking through an app or someone looking for reviews on a particular site. If you don’t really understand what motivates your ‚user‘ you will miss the point, miss the objective or in my case blow an interview.

What I found when looking into Rodeo and Stephen was a company and a movement active since 2014 and much of this was happening on Instagram. The posts there were numerous (over 4000) and many were reposts from their ‚users‘ or better bike owners. I began to see there was a thing going on here. I dove into many of the posts to see ‚how deep‘ the conversation went and soon saw that there was genuine interest in the Rodeo movement and the reason many of us throw a leg over the saddle and ride into the distance.

So in July I took the chance and wrote a very impersonal email using their ‚contact us‘ form. Gosh I felt this is so not the way to connect and ask for someone’s time but what else did I have? Two hours later Stephen responded with „love the idea“ and even commented on my second patent I had earned. So he went to my LinkedIn and saw my recent post on exactly that! OK, we are now on 2nd base for sure. A few main exchanges later we had a date, the 13th of September at Rodeo Adventure Labs HQ in Denver Colorado.

I won‘t detail the interview as that is available on all usual podcast sites but I wanted to share this point: don’t doubt yourself. Stephen mentioned that he had recently challenged a few others to come on to his podcast to discuss an important point and he was a bit unnerved. To that Stephen, do the due diligence and find out a few things on your guests as you already know the main subject at hand. Read some of their writings and the comments which might follow. There are great insights to be found. Just like in my prep for today. Three months it took but it was worth it.

Don’t doubt yourself. Do the work. Payoff will then follow.

But then he knows that as he climbs the uncharted mountain roads in Armenia. Yeah, that is where is he, right now!

Ride on and ride safe.

This podcast is about designing digital experiences

Introducing Dave Skiba

• Today I get to talk with an old colleague and friend and great supporter of my innovation and leisure life and was instrumental to my 2 US patents during a previous time we worked together. David Skiba is a true innovator and as you know if you have listened to this podcast I always ask my guests about innovation and what this means to them. Dave holds over 100 US patents and has more in line. For over 10 years he has been busy learning, experimenting and innovating in the digital communication space. He and I were early acolytes in social media and introducing this to businesses.

Updates / News

• This is another interview I conducted on my Colorado tour in September 2021. As a biker/podcaster I do commit to a challenge of biking to my guests, sometimes causing my ability of producing a quality podcast due to the challenges of biking, weather and others. My first interview with Ajay was during new heat records being recorded in Boulder Colorado and my relatively short ride to him and back had me totally cooked. It was Uber Eats for me as I was not moving any more after that day. Here I am only a few days later on another bike at 10000 feet with little oxygen and tired legs still wanting to talk to people. Why do I do it?

• Through my recent conversations I am beginning to stretch out where my interests in learning what people are doing with digital. During my conversation with Ajay and digital signage we talked about the importance of non-verbal communication and the role it has in creating positive experiences. This has me wondering, where is the relationship between communications and experiences and where does digital play a role.

Questions

#1 After my interview with Ajay recently where we talked about the nonverbal communication also in the digital space, what is the relationship between communications and experiences and where does digital play a role?

#2 Innovation during lockdown. digital times change the way innovating works?

#3 Back in early 2018 I interviewed you and you spoke about the "singular focus" you have at Koopid, has it remained that way?

#4 You and I had a standing Innovation call most weeks for more than 8 years. Let’s talk innovation now. We are both working in the digital experience or communication space. We have worked in Organisations wanting to make great leaps and bounds. In my interview with James Brown from XXX he talked about innovation being iterative. Should we be focused on smaller iterative steps along the progress line or are there any larger leaps to be expected?

#5 What does 'innovation' mean to you?