In this episode, Ricken Patel, Senior Leader, Global CXC, with Cisco goes into great detail about expansion of the Cisco Experience Centers, including new models for recently opened centers in Atlanta and Paris.  He also focuses on how Cisco has applied strategies related to each of the ABPM world class characteristics  (Management, Operations, Branding/Experience and Analytics) to create a more globally unified team that moves together, celebrates together and learns together.

“Democratize and evangelize your data - being more open with our data has allowed us to build tighter relationships, get access to the right people, and even get some funding out of it. The more people know about what you’re doing and bringing to the table, the better off you’ll be.”

Highlights 

• The Cisco Global CXC Program defined including locations, team member roles, demos and onsite requirements
• How to fast track the build and launch of a new regional center while implementing a new service model 
• The importance of referencing the ABPM World Class Characteristics
  • Management
    • Functional organization
    • Communication
      • Move Together 
      • Celebrate Together
      • Learn Together
    • Embracing so called “Rogue Centers” 
  • Operations
    •  Vision - how to set priorities according to your “North Star”
    • Tools & Resources - driving strategy through consistency 
    • Processes - Common vs Local 
  • Branding / Experience 
    • Consistent branding across locations
    • Daily communications to provide consistent experiences 
  • Analytics 
    • The motto of “share all data!” 
    • Curating self-service dashboards by personae
    • Partner with “sister teams” for executive insights 
  • Lessons Learned including ‘Be extremely curious’, ‘Right-size advice and best practices’ and ‘Democratize and evangelize your data’! 

Resources

• “Good to Great” by Jim Collins
  • “Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great” by Jim Collins
• “Hit Refresh” by Satya Nadella

Guest Thought Leader

Ricken Patel
Senior Leader, Global CXC, Cisco
Ricken is responsible for the Global Cisco Experience Center program. He and his team are accountable for helping their sellers execute high level engagements across all 11 CXC locations. The team’s purpose is to connect their customers and partners with the best of Cisco. 

Ricken graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering and immediately began working for CIsco. His entire professional career has been with Cisco including a number of interesting and challenging roles within the Sales organization. 

Having attended ABPM conferences since 2019, Ricken presented his first session at the ABPM Fall Workshops in San Diego this past October.