The Chief Customer Officer Human Duct Tape Show

We explore improving CX at a large-scale non-profit, specifically at the YMCA (The Y). I chat with Bob Thomas, the first chief experience officer at The Y, who serves the Greater Minneapolis St. Paul area. The Y is a leading nonprofit organization for youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

Bob and I chat about his role and the work that he had to do in an organization that didn't have a CX team or any CX experience. He shares that despite this, The Y did a good job communicating that being a CXO would be a strong mission-focused role, which was something that was very important to him. Bob shares some of the strategic approaches that he and his team took to improve operations and culture on the path to creating a better total experience.

How do you build a new customer-focused initiative within an established public sector? Barbara C. Morton, who joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016, was brought on board to be the organization's first-ever Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer and has been working diligently to bring a human-centered-design approach to her CX strategy. She shares how her vision in creating a veterans-focused experience has helped improve client relationships and satisfaction.

“It is no longer just about the product. It is all about the customer experience, the way we make customers feel when they use the product. That makes a huge difference,” says Yamini Rangan, HubSpot's first Chief Customer Officer. In today’s conversation, Yamini and I discuss the importance of storytelling and of unifying teams within an organization to work towards a common goal. She also shares some of the ways in which HubSpot has handled the disruption of COVID-19.

“I see leadership as a deeply human endeavor,” says Alain Hunkins, speaker, leader, and author of the new book, Cracking the Leadership Code: Three Secrets to Building Strong Leaders. In today’s episode with Alain Hunkins, we discuss some of the easy-to-understand and implement concepts in his book and how great leadership is really at the core of customer experience. We’ll explore his three concepts of connection, communication, and collaboration, which work in tandem to cultivate a united view of the life of customers and employees.

In today’s show, we’re joined by the New York Times Bestselling author and guru, Seth Godin, who's written over 19 books. He's the founder of Akimbo, and author of the popular, marketing-oriented, Seth's Blog. Seth and I have a great conversation about leadership as he breaks down some of the "alphabets of humanity" from his book, V is for Vulnerable: Life Outside the Comfort Zone. We discuss how some of the principles from this book can be used to guide and grow an organization with humanity and purpose.