February 14, 2019 by Carla Johnson It’s not easy to create an innovation track record like Amazon or Google. But companies that hope to outperform their competitors and shake up their industries are pouring money into innovation programs – labs, hubs and design thinking tanks. But are they successful? Several years ago Booz & Co. (now part of PwC) conducted a Global …
Why CEOs Are FINALLY Focusing on Talent & Culture
April 19, 2018 by Michelle M. Smith The shift has been palpable. I noticed it first during the Great Recession. After years (decades!) trying to convince senior executives their employees were invaluable assets – and often the most direct route to successfully achieving organizational goals – the lightbulbs began to go off over the heads of many leaders. Those leaders …
Developing a High-Performance Culture
April 3, 2018 by Michelle Smith If only there were a silver bullet for leaders…. Most leaders are constantly seeking the ultimate solution to build strong cultures, raise performance levels and operate at maximum efficiency and effectiveness. And there are many options from which to select your course of action, but in all the research I read, three factors consistently …
Hierarchy is Out – Authenticity is In!
February 27, 2018 by Michelle M. Smith The business world has had a long-standing love/hate relationship with hierarchy. Hierarchy determines who gets to decide what and where the information flows, which allows us to focus our attention on other aspects of running the business. It reduces complexity, helps us scale and get things done, but it frustrates us by making …
Leaders – Make Your Communications Useful
October 12, 2017 by Michelle Smith The way in which leaders communicate with employees is one of the most effective factors in creating and increasing employee engagement, as well as in retaining top talent. Employees want their leaders to inspire confidence, create certainty and build community when they communicate. Doing this successfully can mean the difference between employee compliance or commitment, and a sense …
The Need to Empower Employees for Customer Experience
October 5, 2017 by Carlos Hidalgo What does it mean to “empower employees” and why is it so important to delivering customer experience? Why should organizations go beyond enabling and equipping their employees, but also take the steps necessary to empower their employees to deliver on the promise of customer experience? It is because our employees are on the front …
What the GRAMMYS Can Teach B2B Marketers About Customer Experience
August 31, 2017 by Carla Johnson Beyoncé. U2. Bruce Springsteen. Tony Bennett. Yo-Yo Ma. Chick Corea. These are just a few of the thousands of music creators recognized by the GRAMMYs since its inception in 1957. And a handful of the 22 top winners in GRAMMY history. The GRAMMYs are the one night a year set aside to honor the …
Equipping Employees for Customer Experience
August 8, 2017 by Carlos Hidalgo B2B customer experience continues to be center stage with a majority of corporate executives listing this is one of their strategic initiatives for 2017. However, fewer than 15% of B2B marketers (those most often charged with customer experience initiatives) state that they feel “customer experience is ingrained in the fabric of their company, according …
How Marketing & HR Can Build a Much Stronger Brand Together
June 15, 2017 by Michelle Smith Enduring brands are built by people – not ads, clicks or views. Marketing has traditionally taken the lead in communicating the corporate brand promise, but when it comes to delivering on those promises, its people from all around the organization who have to do the meticulous work of successfully bringing the brand promise to …
The (Fixable) $600 Billion Hit to Your Bottom Line
June 13, 2017 by Carla Johnson I’ve written many times before that no company can deliver remarkable customer experiences without an eye to employees and their level of engagement. Marketing and sales often make promises and write emotional checks on which employees never deliver. It’s not that they can’t deliver, but rather, they don’t want to because of how they’re …