The CX Guru

The art of balancing creativity, innovation and collaboration will bring you a rejuvenated path of performance. Today we are in conversation with artist, author and CEO Francis Cholle who advocates for a holistic approach in your work, in order to achieve augmented intelligence. Tune in to learn how to move your life from the golf course to the jungle and how to put your systematic square into your creative circle!

Francis Cholle, Founder & CEO at SQUIRCLE ACADEMY

Francis is a Wall Street Journal Best Selling author and international management consultant. He uses deep human learning and cognitive science to help Fortune 500 leaders and organizations solve complex problems and thrive in disruption. 250,000 decision makers around the world have learned his groundbreaking science-based approach to business performance, inspired by nature.

For More Information: https://thehumancompany.com/

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In conversation with Dr. Lewena Bayer, regarding the importance of workplace civility to improve employee experience. Today’s discussion revolves around the effect of communication between co-workers, and equality in work environments to improve workplace culture. Topics discovered include the definitions of civility and how to measure it, the case for civility in the business setting and how it impacts Customer Experience (CX) outcomes. To learn how to develop civility competencies such social intelligence and cultural competence – tune in!

Dr. Lewena Bayer, CEO of Civility Experts Inc.

For more than 20 years Dr. Lewena Bayer, CEO of Civility Experts Inc., 16-time published author and thought leader, has been striving to build better communities and workplaces all over the world. Lew, who believes that civility is its own reward, has been internationally recognized as a leading expert on civility in the workplace. With a focus on social intelligence and culturally-competent communication, the team at Civility Experts Inc. – which includes 501 affiliates in 48 countries has supported 1000s of organizations in building better workplaces.

For more Information visit Civility Experts and Lewena Baker.

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Today we are exploring the power of words and conversations to drive Customer Experience. Grant Packard has done some exceptional research that demonstrates how a few changes to words and conversations can have a substantial impact on customer experience and outcomes. He shares 3 examples that are easy to train and cascade within your teams and that can help improve how you deliver your customer journeys. Conversations occur every day through in person, phone and electronic channels – improve their impact!

Grant Packard is an Associate Professor of Marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada. His research expertise is in the language of consumption and marketing. He principally studies the language people use in customer service interactions, word of mouth, and cultural products (e.g., song lyrics, written articles). His industry background lies in data-intensive strategies and channels (online, CRM, loyalty programs, research and analytics) in retail, media, entertainment, financial services, and consumer packaged goods. Grant’s research has been covered by outlets including The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, NPR, MIT Sloan Management Review, and The Wall Street Journal. He frequently consults with a variety of organizations and presents at major marketing conferences.

For More Information: https://www.grantpackard.com/

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Diversity and Inclusion are critical levers of business success yet too few companies are driving real impact. Today we explore tangible strategies to maximize the benefit on Customer Experience loyalty and tactics to drive diversity and inclusion in every workplace. It’s more than a business imperative – it’s a critical consideration to any organization’s customer experience strategy. Dr. Victoria Mattingly shares some thought provoking insights from research to demonstrate the need and approaches that yield tangible business outcomes.

Dr. Victoria Mattingly has been providing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and learning & development consulting services to businesses and non-profit organizations for over 10 years. She has built and implemented DEI solutions with companies such as Intel, American Eagle, Sargent & Lundy, Project Management Institute, and Forte Foundation. Dr. Mattingly is founder and CEO of Mattingly Solutions, a woman-owned DEI consulting firm specializing in research and implementation of workplace interventions that result in happier employees, better leaders, healthier company cultures, and a more inclusive and equitable workforce. She is a subject matter expert on measuring and developing inclusive behaviors and allyship—having wrote her dissertation on the build and evaluation of an executive allyship training program and continuing her allyship work in the form of corporate training, keynotes, webinars, and her virtual course, Ally Up, which has been taken by over 3600 students.

Connect with Dr. Mattingly on LinkedIn and www.mattinglysolutions.com

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Organizational Change is inevitable, and it is key to success in Customer Experinece. Today, our special guest Campbell Macpherson, shares his insights on the power to change, how to embrace change, strategies to drive sustainable change, the ability to be resilient and employee involvement.

Campbell Macpherson is an international business advisor, keynote speaker, Executive Fellow of Henley Business School and award-winning author.

His first book, ‘The Change Catalyst’ (Wiley 2017), is about leading change and was the UK’s 2018 Business Book of the Year’. His second ‘The Power to Change’ (how to embrace change and make it work for you) has recently been published by Kogan Page.

Campbell runs workshops and webinars worldwide for leaders on ‘leading change’ and employees on ’embracing change’ based on the content of his books.

Campbell’s career has spanned the UK, Europe, US, Asia, Australia & the Middle East for organizations that include some of the world’s largest financial services organizations and brands. He started his many careers flying jest (badly) in the Royal Australian Air Force.

For more information: www.changeandstrategy.com

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Today we are conversation with an experienced luxury hotelier to capture insights on how to differentiate in the service experience space. Exploring the tactics to create magic to differentiate at the high end of the service experience market. He shares thoughts on how hotels engage all 5 senses, innovation in service, maximizing the impact of each touchpoint and strategies to emerge from the current pandemic.

Adam is the Principal at Knowing Hospitality, a full service hotel management company that operates hotels on behalf of owners and lenders. He brings 25 years experience across luxury brands and independent companies. 

A hospitality veteran and operations expert, he has lived and worked all over North America and the Caribbean. He loves the left brain/right brain dichotomy of the hospitality industry. One minute you’re diving into a P&L, the next you’re tasting the new seasonal menu in the restaurant. His passion lies in understanding how things work and making them better, be it small service experiences or large-scale project management.

For more information: https://knowinghospitality.com/

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A year in review. The CX Guru’s Top 8 themes and ideas from our 2020 season! Get caught up with the ideas that will help you leave a legacy in 2021! Happy Holidays! 

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What better time of the year to be in conversation with Hallmark’s VP of Chief Care Officer, Ted Stodolka! Ted shares some amazing insights on Customer Experience from his journey at both Marriott and Hallmark. He touches on the importance of being easy to work with, how to implement bots successfully and key characteristics that drive strong Customer Experience Cultures. Listen-in to understand the importance of having a strong ‘why’ and one incredibly powerful action leaders can take to drive customer centricity.

Ted is a Global Strategist who has planned, developed, and operated support centers across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East. Adept at planning for and responding to regional nuances in markets and business culture. He has a history of designing services to support new sales and support channels, grooming managers to build top-ranking, highly satisfied sales and service teams, and leading efforts to embrace technologies that foster better collaboration.

As VP of Care at Hallmark, Ted built a unified global Care strategy that enhances customer relationships through effortless, affirming, touch points along the customer journey. By eliminating effort-filled interactions across the enterprise including marketing, advertising, social media, retail outlets, digital, and loyal programs, cost is reduced, and customer relationships are deepened.

Through clear KPI measurements, his team has reduced customer contacts by; replacing effort filled marketing efforts with effortless engaging communications, simplified the digital shopping experience, and implemented easy to understand loyalty program changes. These efforts, and others, resulted in material decreases in contacts to Care and reduced operating cost.

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Today, we are in conversation with April Dunford to explore the importance of starting with a well-defined product or service positioning. Too often, customer experience friction develops when the positioning hasn’t been done well. April presents simple ideas to help better define a product or service from her recent book Obviously Awesome: How to Nair Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.

April Dunford is a consultant and author who helps companies make complicated products easy for customers to understand and love. She is a globally recognized expert in Positioning, having launched 16 products across her 25-year career as VP Marketing at a series of successful startups. She is the author of the best-selling book Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get it, Buy it, Love it

For more information about April: aprildunford.com

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Today, we are in conversation with Clint Malham, President & COO of London Drugs, one of Canada’s largest retailers. This is a must listen to episode for some phenomenal leadership insights on Customer Experience. Clint brings a strong customer orientation grown from his early work experiences and spends the time at the front-line to make it come to life..

Clint shares some great examples on how stories help shape a Customer Experience culture. From the new warehouse worker who zoomed out in his Suzuki Swift to catch up with a truck to meet wrapping paper needs before Christmas to the team member that came to the rescue of an elderly customer that needed to make a large appliance work.

He shares the importance of spending time on the floor, connecting with team members and rolling up his sleeves to bring buggies back to ensuring that his contact centers are never outsourced and always staffed with team members that have been at the front line, interacting with Customers.

He expands on the future of retail, adapting to the new reality of COVID-19 and the importance of community, including London Drugs’ support of local retailers that were left without a storefront through the pandemic. An illustration of how businesses can support businesses.

His stories demonstrate the conviction of customer ownership at the top of the organization.

In his 36 years with London Drugs, Clint has made a lasting impact on many aspects of the business. From part-time stock person to President, Clint has served in a wide range of store and head office roles, enabling him to develop a 360-degree perspective of the business. He is known for his passion for understanding how customer and employee behaviour drives merchandising and operations. 

He spearheaded the award-winning sustainability and recycling initiatives that have put London Drugs at the forefront of retail in North America. Clint was responsible for the development of early versions of London Drugs’ first management training programs, and for the first Process Re-Engineering initiative. He helped design many of the sales and service initiatives, e-Commerce and loyalty concepts that London Drugs is known for throughout the industry. 

Clint was selected as one of BC Business Magazine’s top 20 Most Influential People in British Columbia 2013. In 2017, Clint was selected, with London Drugs, as the Retail Council of Canada “Distinguished Retailer of the Year”.

During his time as President & COO, London Drugs has been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of Canada’s best employers for four years in a row, and multi-year winner of BC’s Most Trusted Brand, and BC’s most loved brand (of any industry) for a number of years. 

For more information on London Drugs: https://www.londondrugs.com/

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