As you read this, I’m probably sipping a cappuccino in Staffal, high in the Italian mountains of Aosta. We’re here with Flowtrack, a Belgian travel company, enjoying an active family vacation in the mountains. Yes, it’s vacation time for me. Perhaps it is for you, too, although the fact that you’re reading […]
Let me ask you a tough question. If you and your CX team stopped working tomorrow, what would actually go wrong? For a moment, forget about who would miss your smile, your enthusiasm, the workshops, the sticky notes, the customer quotes, or even the excellent coffee. Look beyond the personal appreciation and ask yourself what would genuinely […]
Memorability is key. This applies to you as a leader and, of course, to your customer-centric change program or initiatives. Daily reality: In corporate life, so many initiatives demand attention. Let’s be real. The most talked-about topic today is AI. YES. Is it important? Of course. Yesterday it […]
I was recording a podcast episode from a tiny house on Texel, hiding from a 37-degree heatwave. No studio. No air conditioning. Just me, my laptop, and a friend who kept me from melting. And from that little island, I went somewhere I hadn’t gone before—not just explaining the ANI Model, but delving into […]
Last week I was in a room with 32 account managers from a global B2B company. Smart people. Experienced people. People who genuinely love their customers. We were working on something I find endlessly fascinating: the moment of genuine connection between a professional and the person sitting across the table. Not the pitch. Not the […]
You know your CX strategy inside and out. You have the data. You have the roadmap. And yet—the organization isn’t making any progress. Sound familiar? After more than a decade of educating and mentoring CX leaders, I kept hearing the same frustrations. Stakeholders who agreed that customer experience mattered but never made it a priority. […]
There’s a small, slightly ridiculous holiday that has really stuck with me: Upsy Daisy Day. It’s a day dedicated to getting back up, starting fresh, and approaching the world with optimism. My first reaction was: who comes up with these things? My second reaction was: actually, there’s something important here for CX leaders. Optimism is […]
You’re not here to make everyone happy. You’re here to lead. Most CX leaders know their stakeholders. They have the list. They send out updates. They attend steering committee meetings. And yet—somehow—the CX agenda keeps getting stalled. Not because the work is bad. But because the energy […]
Last week’s CX Leadership Masterminds alumni meetup left a lasting impression on me. Great conversations, concrete actions, new energy, and—to be honest—a little discomfort as well. Irene van Hoorn, CCXP, shared her leadership journey: from building the Customer Experience team at Eneco to winning the International CX Award for CX Leader and Team of the Year. A story about […]
Every year on May 17, I can’t help but smile a little. Not only because it’s my birthday, but also because I share that birthday with Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. You can clearly tell she’s at least a year older than I am, right? 😉 This year, my birthday got me thinking […]