In this session, participants will explore how the CX Orchestrator approach helps organizations shift from an acquisition-focused mindset to a retention-led growth strategy that maximizes customer lifetime value. They will learn how to design structured post-sale customer journeys that deliver continuous value, foster meaningful engagement, and strengthen long-term relationships. The session will also examine how organizations can orchestrate post-purchase touchpoints to enable hyper-personalized experiences that deepen customer loyalty and advocacy. Finally, participants will discover how effective post-sale experience orchestration can generate measurable business impact through improved retention, increased referrals, and sustainable growth.

Customer Experience is often described as the sum total of customer perceptions across touchpoints — a useful diagnostic view, but not an actionable one. In this session, Ashutosh Karandikar offers a sharper, execution-oriented definition of CX: the discipline of articulating the right brand promise and ensuring its consistent delivery through the right differentiated value propositions, across the right touchpoints, for the right personas.

Customer-centric performance does not begin with the customer — it begins with leadership systems. In this session, Dr Linda Wilson explores how strategic planning, change management, and organizational design either strengthen or silently undermine experience management. Participants will examine how leadership behaviours, communication structures, and feedback systems shape culture, workflow, and ultimately customer outcomes.

80% of CX strategies fail. How can you maximize the chances that yours will actually be implemented—and deliver real business value? What if you could identify 3–5 critical focus areas that truly move the needle, uncover the hidden organizational drivers of resistance, and design practical ways to mitigate risks before they derail execution?

Employee experience is not broken, but many organisations are investing energy in the wrong places. In this session, Ryan McGrory will explore why well-intentioned EX efforts often fail to improve retention, attraction, or performance, and how poor prioritisation quietly shows up in turnover, customer experience, and business results. Drawing on practical work with turnover cost calculators, retention diagnostics, and business impact measures, this session will help attendees identify what matters most, strengthen the business case for EX, and leave with practical tools they can apply immediately.

The objectives of the session: to revisit the theory of organisation management in the context of corporate and customer-centric organisation; to dive into CX Leadership and organisation design in order to implement customer-centric organisation. How to address them: shared purpose for alignment, adaptable organisation in navigating change management, culture as the operating system, managing organisation (leadership)

In an era of rapid digital transformation, the most critical metric for organizational strategy isn't just financial ROI, but a Return on Relationship (ROR). This session moves beyond "vanity measures" to explore how "disconnectedness" acts as a financial leak—an "Invisibility Tax"—that compromises even the most sophisticated Experience Management (XM) strategies.

Many organizations run VOC programs but still struggle to turn insights into decisions and measurable improvements — because VOC alone doesn’t reveal cross-functional root causes, ownership, or execution gaps. This session shares a practical, case-led playbook for moving from VOC to Stakeholder Intelligence by triangulating qualitative and quantitative evidence across the end-to-end journey (customer feedback, mystery shopping, frontline reports, complaints, and ticketing data).

In this session, Mark Levy demonstrates how behavioral principles such as cognitive load, emotion, motivation, and ethical choice architecture can be applied to design more innovative and human-centered customer experiences. Through practical examples and a psychology-based framework, he shows how organizations can reduce friction, build trust, align stakeholders, and drive measurable business outcomes through small but impactful behavioral changes.

In a world obsessed with "what’s next," we often forget who is next. This session challenges the tech-first narrative, arguing that the only way to be truly future-proof is to be radically human-centered. We will bridge the gap between emerging tech and human intent, providing a blueprint for leaders to build "Future-Relevant" organizations. By shifting focus from surviving disruption to mastering the human experience, we’ll explore how to design environments where intuition, empathy, and connection serve as the ultimate competitive advantages. It’s time to stop chasing the future and start shaping it.

This session explores how organizations can move beyond journey mapping to operationalize journey management through governance, prioritization, and accountability. Participants will learn practical approaches for turning journey insights into coordinated action, aligning cross-functional teams, and driving measurable improvements at scale.

AI is transforming how organizations design, measure, and optimize experiences, but without intentional reflection on how we think with AI, we risk automating bias, amplifying noise, and weakening critical judgment. This session introduces MetAIcognition—a neuroscience-informed approach to partnering with AI that helps experience leaders enhance human thinking, generate better insights, and make more effective, human-centered decisions.

This session isn’t about customer experience theory — it’s about whether your organisation is built to deliver on its strategy. Most companies don’t fail from bad strategy — they fail because their organisation can’t execute it. Silos, slow decisions, and misaligned priorities quietly destroy customer value. We’ll explore Organisational Foundations through the MarketCulture MRI™, with real case studies showing how these challenges play out — and what high performers do differently.

Experience management & silo thinking: What are typical silo issues, what causes it and how can they be broken with effective change management? Silo thinking is rarely a people problem alone. It shows up where behaviour, data, metrics, and decision-making are misaligned across functions. The result is predictable: fragmented customer journeys, friction along the journeys, fragmented data, low adoption of change initiatives, and disappointing ROI on CRM, CX, and AI investments.

Customer, patient, and visitor experiences are designed to build trust, inspire loyalty, and influence behavior. Yet most organizations evaluate success using feedback collected after the experience ends. The challenge is that experiences unfold moment by moment in the brain. In this session, behavioral neuroscientist Laura Beavin-Yates explores how emotional engagement shapes what people remember and what they do next. Drawing on work across healthcare simulation and immersive environments, she will discuss how to design experiences with the brain in mind and explore emerging ways to better measure the real-time impact of those experiences.

Often, we have the motivation for an experience-led focus and the method in place, but do we have the customer-centric mindset? 15 years of study have identified the 7 leading characteristics of progressive experience leaders. We will share this dynamic. This has been translated into a personality test with development activities. Participants will identify their score, profile, and discover where to focus more to be more customer-centric

What happens when you take nine interviews with XMGC members from around the world, structure every pain, customer job, and desired outcome into a knowledge graph - and then connect an AI agent to it? You get superpowers. This session tells the story of how I built a Customer Intelligence Brain for the XMGlobal Collaborative - from raw interviews to a live, queryable evidence layer. Attendees will see, in real time, how one structured data set powers outputs that would normally take weeks: a member pain heat map, resource-to-job mapping, and hyper-individualized support plans. No slides. Just a live system doing what XM teams wish they could.

Many organizations invest heavily in journey mapping but struggle to demonstrate business impact. Static maps create alignment and insight, but they rarely provide the measurement and governance needed to drive continuous improvement.This session explores how organizations evolve from journey mapping to journey management by connecting experience metrics to operational and financial outcomes.

This session explores how to design and deliver customer experiences that withstand operational realities across channels and do not just launch successfully.

In this thought-provoking session, Ben Phillips explores why myths are so prevalent in society and how they directly influence the behaviors, assumptions, and decisions made within organizations—particularly in the field of Customer Experience Management.

In this session, we will answer 2 questions: 1. How do you identify agent performance behaviors (strengths & opportunities) today? 2. How do you identify customer friction points to address today? - Quick review of common themes in breakouts. - Then we dive into how AI can support both of these saving critical time to be repurposed for Targeted Coaching and Targeted Process Improvements to impact CX.

Join Werner [1010], Human-Centered [AI] Advisor & Founder of getai.cc, to master organizational foundations for people-centric transformation in CX. Learn principles of ethical AI integration and strategic change management to build lasting success.

Siloed thinking remains one of the most persistent barriers to meaningful Customer Experience (CX) improvement. While many organizations declare customer-centricity as a priority, internal misalignment between departments often prevents real progress. This interactive session combines strategic input with participant reflection. We will explore why silos emerge, how they affect customer journeys and business performance, and what organizational conditions enable stronger cross-functional collaboration. Rather than offering quick fixes, the session provides a structured perspective on how organizations can move from fragmented initiatives toward a more systemic approach to CX built on shared direction, transparency, and joint ownership of the customer journey.

Most leaders don’t ask for “better experience.” They ask for retention, speed, fewer complaints, and less rework. This session introduces a simple operating mechanism built around five touchpoints where experience is created or broken. You’ll see how leader responses get repeated and become standards, how to define “what good looks like” in high-stakes moments, and how to use a short list of recurring breakdowns to focus improvement where it matters most. Includes a case example and a fast breakout with practical outputs.

Experience metrics don’t speak for themselves. Customer behavior is shaped by culture, emotion, and context, yet many organizations interpret data as if it were universal. In this 45-minute session, we explore how to connect experience metrics to real behavioral insight, avoid vanity measures, and turn data into meaningful decisions that drive continuous improvement across diverse markets.

Bart Fanelli is the CEO and Co-founder of Skillibrium and a seasoned GTM leader with 25+ years in tech. Bart is best known for helping scale Splunk from ~$60M to ~$1.5B and driving growth at OutSystems from ~$100M to ~$300M. Bart is a co-author of The Success Cadence and an executive advisor focused on building predictable, high-performing revenue organizations through alignment, discipline, and scalable operating rhythms. In this episode, Bart and James discuss what it really takes to build high-performance teams without losing the customer. And what happens when Customer-Driven Leadership meets “hire for will, coach for skill" in today's AI-hyped, rapidly changing world of work?

Designing for Behavior: Turning Experiences into Achievement Systems This session introduces the Achievement Design Canvas — a structured framework for turning experiences into achievement systems that build confidence, reduce friction, and sustain customer progress. Participants will learn how to intentionally leverage behavioral tactics to deliver different value propositions — from personal progress and status to social connection and authority — and align them to measurable outcomes.

The Causes and Costs of Resistance to Customer-Centricity in Tech-Led Organizations Because customer experience isn’t a “nice to have”—it directly shapes retention, product adoption, brand trust, and long-term growth. Practitioners must understand how internal resistance blocks value creation. This session uncovers the real drivers behind that resistance and the costs of ignoring them. Key takeaways of this session include: Tech cultures often resist customer-centricity because speed, features, and data come first. Ignoring customer centricity leads to higher churn, costly rework, slower adoption cycles, excess support volume, and revenue leakage. Satisfaction drops, operational costs rise, and products become misaligned with actual demand.

In this episode of XM Pulse, we pull back the curtain on a sobering reality. Despite the gold rush toward automation, AI initiatives in experience management are failing at an alarming rate. We move beyond the buzzwords to examine why massive investments are frequently yielding stagnant NPS scores and fragmented customer journeys instead of the promised ROI.

James welcomes Dr. Ben Granger, author of A Leader Worth Following, who serves as Chief Workplace Psychologist at Qualtrics. James and Ben discuss his new book and how leadership drives the ultimate business outcomes we hope to achieve in Experience Management (XM). His research has been published and featured in major academic and media outlets, including ABC News, Business Insider, Bloomberg, CNBC, Fast Company, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Don't miss this one!

Featuring The Human Culture Imperative: The Leader’s Playbook for Innovation and Sustainable Growth with author Sean Crichton-Browne. What this hour will be: - A fast, interactive live Q&A where you get to go straight to the source, and we unpack the Market Responsiveness Index (MRI) results together. If you’ve ever wanted to ask an author, “Okay, but what do I do with this?”, this is that session.

From silos to systems. Practical Solutions for Cross-Functional Collaboration in CXThe webinar focuses on three pillars of successful CX collaboration: shared goals, shared data, and shared responsibility for the customer journey. Participants will leave with concrete strategies they can implement immediately, regardless of their organization's size, maturity, or structure.

Join fellow experience management professionals for a virtual coffee break designed to stir fresh ideas and authentic connections. No slides, no pressure—just thoughtful dialogue, shared learning, and a space to refuel with your XM peers. Bring your favorite beverage and a curious mind, and let’s build better experiences—together.

Breaking silos. Cross-functional collaboration as the engine of customer experience improvement

In this episode of the Customer-Driven Leader, James welcomes industry veteran Erik Vogel, Founder of VistaXM. Erik and James will discuss the current state of XM, industry challenges, and why technology (albeit critical) is only part of delivering a solid XM program. Erik will share his expertise on why CX-as-a-Service is the right approach to helping companies activate their technology and deliver meaningful, measurable, and lasting value XM programs.

Creating a People-Centered CX Leadership Mindset and Culture Building on the roundtable discussion, this webinar will present solutions to embed a people-centered leadership mindset and culture that consistently drives excellent customer experiences. Attendees will learn practical strategies, tools, and examples to translate leadership behaviors into team engagement and CX results

Defining Experience (X): A Global Evolution by the XM Global Collaborative explores how experiences shape human perception, decision-making, and organizational success across cultures and time. The report traces the evolution of experience management—from relationship-based trade to today’s AI-driven digital age—emphasizing that meaningful experiences integrate thoughts, emotions, and cultural context. It highlights global perspectives such as Omotenashi, Ubuntu, and the Seventh Generation Principle, offering frameworks for human-centered, sustainable design. Modern experience management connects customer, user, and employee experiences through understanding, design, and measurement. Looking ahead, the report identifies intelligence amplification, digital-physical integration, and global consciousness as key forces transforming experience creation. The episode also features an interview with Lou Carbone, a pioneer of the experience management profession, and an interactive Q & A session with the live audience.

Challenges in Building a People-Centered CX Leadership Mindset and Culture

Join podcast host Nick Glimsdahl for a dynamic, one-hour conversation with two of the most influential figures in the customer experience movement — Lou Carbone, founder of Experience Engineering and CX visionary, and Bruce Temkin, co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association and widely recognized as the “Godfather of CX.”Together, they’ll reflect on the origins and evolution of customer experience as a discipline, share personal stories and pivotal moments that shaped the field, and offer forward-looking insights on what’s next for CX leaders in an era of rapid change. Expect candid conversation, timeless wisdom, and a healthy dose of inspiration from the pioneers who built the foundation of modern experience management.

Tamar Cohen is a workplace and employee experience strategist with over two decades of global leadership in employee engagement, customer experience, and organizational transformation. As Founder of HaloEffect, she helps mid-sized and enterprise organizations connect workforce and workplace insights to build cultures of trust, productivity, and loyalty. Tamar is recognized for her ability to translate complex people data and behavioral science into actionable strategies that drive measurable business outcomes. A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Tamar has led executive sessions, keynotes, and workshops for leaders across industries—including financial services, healthcare, and technology—on topics such as AI’s role in the future of work, employee listening, and culture transformation. Her perspective blends research-backed insights with practical strategies, making her a trusted voice on how organizations can create meaningful employee experiences that unlock growth.

In this episode of Experience Heals, host Leslie Pagel explores when AI should be used in healthcare. Nick Glimsdahl is a contact center strategist. His team designs, implements, and supports Genesys Cloud solutions with a focus on real business outcomes.. He is a speaker, author of The Heart of Service, and host of the Press 1 for Nick podcast, where he interviews leaders about customer service and AI.

In this episode of Experience Heals, we're diving deep into a topic that’s long been felt but not always quantified: the return on investment (ROI) of patient experience. Our guest on the show is Rachel Hitt, a forward-thinking patient experience leader who is helping reshape how healthcare views the value of PX. Rachel is on a mission to educate and inform the industry on how exceptional patient experiences aren't just good for patients—they're good for business. We’ll explore questions like: - How do you define the ROI of patient experience? - How do you turn human-centered care into measurable outcomes? - How can leaders make a compelling case for investing in experience strategies? Whether you're a healthcare executive, provider, or PX champion, this conversation will give you practical insights and language to connect the human and financial value of experience. Don’t miss this episode—because when we lead with experience, everyone heals.

Sara Brandon & Giselle Valencia. Two experience leaders from Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island will join the show to discuss the role that experience plays in health care:Sara Brandon is the Director of Customer Experience and Communications. She’s a dynamic strategist and storyteller with deep roots in customer experience, design, and communications. With a passion for analytics and a fire in her belly for healthcare, she uses the creative process to drive action and human-centered change in the workplace.Giselle Valencia is the Director of Human Resources and brings a wealth of experience in employee engagement, operations, and strategic HR. Known for her ability to lead across all five pillars of HR (Operations Management, Coaching, Government, Community Partnerships, and Employee Communications), Gisselle is a connector of people and purpose, always working to align organizational goals with human needs.

Many organizations aspire to be customer-centric, yet few succeed in embedding it into everyday behaviours and decision-making. This roundtable will explore what genuine customer centricity looks like in practice and why so many attempts stall at the level of vision statements. Together we will examine the barriers created by silos, competing priorities, and leadership gaps, while sharing practical ways to overcome them. Participants will be encouraged to exchange their own experiences and explore how the 3 M’s of Motivation, Mindset, and Methodology can help organizations move from rhetoric to reality.

This Roundtable uncovers where operational inefficiencies are quietly destroying your customer experience — and what it’s costing you in loyalty, revenue, and internal time. We’ll explore real-world friction points in digital processes, VOC loops, and service delivery, and help you identify where to focus improvement for the biggest impact within operations management.The session includes an interactive mapping exercise to surface process gaps that degrade CX and drive up cost.

Fix the Flow: Turning Process Friction into Customer-Centric Growth This follow-up session to the September Roundtable will give you tools to improve operational flow while keeping the customer at the center. We'll share a practical framework for identifying, prioritizing, and addressing broken processes using VOC, internal insights, and cross-functional collaboration.You’ll walk away with strategies to improve digital adoption, reduce service costs, and create measurable CX wins — fastKey Takeaways Include: - Apply a VOC-driven method to prioritize process improvements.- Learn how to balance cost-efficiency with human-centered design.- Gain practical tools for breaking silos and co-owning CX across functions.

In this episode of Experience Heals, host Leslie Pagel explores how Child Life Specialists play a vital role in shaping healing healthcare experiences. Guest Jennifer Sciolla, a Certified Child Life Specialist with nearly three decades of experience, shares insights from her work supporting hospitalized children and families. As Assistant Vice President of Child and Family Services at Nemours Children’s Health, Jennifer highlights how empathy, communication, and advocacy create experiences that comfort and empower patients. Listeners will gain valuable lessons on what healthcare—and all organizations—can learn from Child Life Specialists in creating experiences that truly heal.

On this episode, our guest is Ken Powell. Ken Powell is the Chief Revenue Officer at K1x, a FinTech leader in AI-powered automation for alternative investment data. A seasoned global operator, he’s been a PE operating partner and held multiple CRO, CMO, and strategy roles across Fortune 200 firms, private equity, and high-growth SaaS companies. Ken is also the creator of Bend the Trend™, a framework to help individuals and organizations spot turning points sooner, see patterns others miss, and turn performance into lasting momentum.

This roundtable uncovers where operational inefficiencies are quietly destroying your customer experience — and what it’s costing you in loyalty, revenue, and internal time. We’ll explore real-world friction points in digital processes, VOC loops, and service delivery, and help you identify where to focus improvement for the biggest impact within operations management.

The Customer-Driven Leader, hosted by Dr. James H. Killian, spotlights practical, evidence-based ways leaders can turn customer obsession into growth without sacrificing employee experience. Each episode features a fast and focused conversation with business leaders and experts who align strategy, culture, and measurement to deliver superior EX and CX programs and business results. Listeners/Viewers can expect case examples and candid talk about how to avoid customer-derailing behaviors and strive to become Customer-Driven leaders, teams and cultures.

If your Patient Experience efforts feel stuck in continuous improvement loops - or don’t yet deliver the impact patients deserve or the Healthcare organisations desires - this webinar is for you. We’ll explore how healthcare providers and systems can go beyond service and journey refinement to design new value—for patients, caregivers, clinicians, and the organization.

SESSION DESCRIPTION Customer experience transformation hinges not just on new processes, but on a fundamental reset of organizational mindset. Yet in times of turbulence—be it mergers, political unrest, or economic shifts—employee engagement is often the first casualty. Training and onboarding should be energizers for belief and belonging, but when disengagement sets in, they risk becoming empty rituals. This session tackles the chicken-and-egg dilemma: how do you ignite an engaged CX mindset when disengagement already clouds the system? And can training truly transform culture—or does it simply echo it?

This session builds on the insights from the Roundtable, diving deeper into the paradox of employee engagement and CX mindset. Participants will explore practical frameworks for shifting disengaged mindsets, transforming training into belief-building moments, and reimagining onboarding as a lever for cultural change. Through expert-led sessions, collaborative breakouts, and real-time application, attendees will leave with actionable strategies to break the engagement-mindset loop and drive authentic CX transformation.

This roundtable explores how healthcare organizations can reframe Patient Experience from a largely continuous improvement and service driven discipline to one that is a true source of strategic and clinical value. Together, we’ll explore: Why "Best Practice" and Continuous Improvement aren’t enough to meet the rising expectations of patients and the need for Healthcare organisations to differentiate themselves. What works—and what doesn’t in real-world efforts to improve patient journeys, humanize care, and create value in complex systems. Why there is no single recipe for creating a patient-centered organization—and how different contexts demand bold, tailored solutions. A lively, unapologetically honest discussion that surfaces the good, the bad, and the deeply flawed efforts in PX—and uncovers the ideas that are not just new, but urgently needed. If you're ready to move beyond data heavy and insight light satisfaction surveys and see PX as a design opportunity for better care, stronger relationships, and a genuinely differentiated healthcare organization, then this session is for you.

This guide shows how storytelling playbooks turn journey data into emotionally compelling, action-driving narratives that align teams, engage executives, and accelerate CX transformation. This guide explores how organizations can develop and operationalize storytelling playbooks that breathe life into customer journeys. 3 Key Takeaways: Storytelling is a strategic CX tool—not just a soft skill—and when paired with journey data, it drives urgency, alignment, and enterprise-wide action. Storytelling playbooks bring consistency and structure to how customer stories are told, making it easier for cross-functional teams to communicate insights and influence decision-makers. Platforms like JourneyTrack scale storytelling by embedding voice-of-customer quotes, KPIs, and persona narratives directly into journeys—turning stories into sustained, measurable impact.

An A to Z guide to managing the customer experience across the customer experience, this online flip book is a treasure trove of great ideas and principles for effective experience management.

Empathy plays a key role in effective leadership, particularly in customer experience management. This presentation will explore how empathetic leadership provides a strong foundation for stronger relationships with both customers and employees, enhancing engagement, trust, and satisfaction. By integrating empathy into leadership practices, organizations can significantly improve their CX outcomes, employee well-being, and overall business performance.

In an era where customer expectations are higher than ever, AI is revolutionizing the way businesses deliver exceptional customer experiences. From hyper-personalized interactions to predictive insights and automation, AI is redefining customer journeys across industries. This keynote explores how businesses can harness AI to not only meet customer needs but anticipate them, ensuring a seamless, proactive, and emotionally intelligent approach to CX. Join me as we uncover how AI can transform your organization into a customer-centric powerhouse.

Using unique insights from a study of over 150 thousand calls, we will explore why the clear waters of your cloud contact centre may not be as fresh as you think.By the end of this session, the audience will:- Learn about various factors of cloud infrastructure and remote working models impact key experience metrics- Become familiar with CX observability and how it delivers CX risk score to help identify future action plans.

In the customer experience world and with the huge amount of data we explore the Experience Mining across the organization to know the priorities and major issues, and connect these to the ROI of CX actions and improvements. By the end of this session, users will know the following: 1. How to decide on the customer experience insights pillars between external and internal data sources 2. The measure what matters approach to ensure measuring the right metrics and how to present them to the right audience 3. Building the insights for the right audience with a multi-view data visualization 4. How to calculate the final impact on customer experience and link this with the ROI 5. The main sources of Customer Experience Insights and how to privilege each of these insights

We're such a contradiction. Humans. Our brains are the most complex organic structure in the universe, yet the lessons we should learn to help us get along are simple. Who knew that likability would be the thing that made you effective at influencing, selling, and leading in any role, but especially customer and employee experience? This short hands-on session will give its audience a visceral experience, which will help them appreciate why they would be willing to go the extra mile for someone in the Customer Experience world and be willing to adopt new behaviours and actions in the Employee Experience world.

CX leaders often struggle against internal misalignment, siloed execution, and a lack of leadership ownership. This session will highlight the most common failure points in an organization's journey to consumer centricity and introduce a diagnostic framework to help CX leaders quantify where their organization stands for its consumer, making it easier to secure leadership support and drive real change.

In today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, organizations face not only rapid technological and cultural shifts but also an overwhelming volume of information and misinformation. This keynote will equip leaders with tools to navigate this chaotic environment, build organizational agility, and foster resilience. Discover strategies to filter noise from valuable insights, make informed decisions, and empower teams to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. By embracing this new era, attendees will learn how to position their companies to not only survive but thrive in a world where clarity and adaptability are paramount.

In this session, prior research will be summarized concerning the characteristics of and how to identify each of the four leader types. This will include examples of leaders in the public eye who represent each of the four Customer-Leader types and key implications on financial performance of the organizations they lead. The session will conclude with two primary takeaways. The first key takeaway is an examination of assessment strategies to conduct an audit of organizational leaders. The second key takeaway will be an overview of a playbook designed to enhance customer-driven leadership behaviors and metrics that empower teams to deliver brand-differentiating customer experiences.

In today’s data-driven world, we are constantly receiving vast amounts of qualitative and quantitative customer feedback. While this information helps identify opportunities for improvement, organizations often risk losing sight of the customer’s voice when implementing solutions and process changes. In this session, I will share strategies to maximize the impact of customer feedback and ensure the voice of the customer remains central to experience improvement efforts. I will also highlight a key example from Advocate Health, demonstrating how we actively bring the patient perspective into the conversation.

Many organizations rely on internal teams and traditional R&D processes to drive innovation, often missing a crucial element: direct customer involvement. This session explores co-creation, a powerful approach where customers actively contribute to the development of services and products. By integrating customer insights early in the innovation process, businesses can enhance relevance, reduce failure risks, and build stronger brand loyalty. This presentation will showcase how co-creation can transform product and service development through collaboration, real-time feedback, and shared creativity. Attendees will discover strategies to engage customers as partners, explore real-world success stories, and gain actionable steps for implementing co-creation within their organizations.

In today’s fast-paced and customer-driven market, businesses can no longer rely on assumptions about what their customers want. Voice of the Customer (VoC) is the bridge between customer expectations and business decisions, providing real-time insights into behaviors, preferences, and pain points. Understanding how VoC influences consumer behavior allows organizations to anticipate needs, refine experiences, and create stronger connections with their customers. This session will explore how businesses can leverage VoC to decode consumer decision-making, influence purchasing behavior, and drive customer loyalty. By turning feedback into meaningful action, companies can stay ahead of the competition and deliver experiences that truly resonate with their customers.

In this panel discussion, the moderator, Aileen Day, asks questions of the session moderators about their perspectives on the themes covered in the conference.

PODCASTER Leslie Pagel’s Experience Heals podcast explores the critical role of experience in healthcare through insightful conversations with industry leaders, patients, and support professionals. As a data analyst and storyteller with deep expertise in the human experience of healthcare, Pagel uncovers diverse perspectives on how experience shapes outcomes, trust, and innovation. Each episode delves into real-world stories, offering valuable insights into improving patient care and the healthcare system as a whole through the power of lived experiences.‍

The AI tidal wave is crashing on us. How will companies use it to deliver a delightful experience? Delighting customers is a phrase that’s often subjective. Ask five people and you’ll get six different answers. This talk will share why customer delight is important, the patterns we have observed that enable delight to happen, and real-world stories of how teams have employed AI to deliver a delightful product experience.

In this session, we're diving into the powerful link between employee experience, motivation psychology, and retention — and how all of this impacts the customer experience. Here’s the deal: when employees are motivated, engaged, and satisfied, they’ll go above and beyond, not just for the company but for customers too. The key to exceptional CX starts with an empowered, motivated workforce. We’ll break down the science behind motivation, show how it connects to retention, and provide you with actionable strategies that will keep both your employees and customers coming back for more.

We will deep dive into the future of CX: 1. How standards and frameworks for SMEs are reshaping the global CX landscape. 2. The rise of microlearning and certifications to empower individuals. 3. Why scalability and structured approaches are crucial for CX innovation. 4. The game-changing role of AI in customer experience.

A challenger is someone who has the confidence, desire, and capability to push the boundaries of the status quo. In a world where most organizations are crippled by inertia, the ability to cultivate challengers is a rare superpower. Customer Service / CX environments are especially ripe for this type of disruption, but with an edifying twist. Introducing the "Servant Challenger" mentality! This session will provide guidance as we work to elevate service workers to their full potential.

With the rapid pace of technological change and increasing customer demands, customer experience has become a critical differentiator. Yet, few organizations have truly mastered it. This presentation explores the power of customer-centricity as the driving force behind exceptional customer experiences. We'll delve into the essence of customer-centricity, its crucial role in business success, and how leading brands have successfully embraced this mindset.

Discover how Causal & Generative AI are transforming Customer Experience Optimization. This session explores: - Uncovering key customer insights with Analytical and Causal AI - The role of Generative AI in Analytics & Strategy - Design and information management - AI Architecture ideas how these AI technologies drive measurable CX improvements and propel businesses forward to achieve competitive advantage with CX.

We will delve into the interplay between CX and EX, exploring why their fusion equals a comprehensive human experience. I dug deeper to find out why trust is the linchpin of the human experience, how great human societies were built, and examine its profound impact; we are living in a hyper-trust deficit world. It’s getting exponentially easier to connect us humans, but also exponentially harder to distill trust as machines and AI get thrown into the mix. Again, we must go long on #humanity and AI and not short on humanity or AI.

Human connection and events are the key to creating meaningful and genuine experiences that build lasting relationships with a brand’s existing and potential customer base. Successful brands are not only seen, but they are also felt. Our session will focus on utilizing XM-focused events to bring more impactful moments between brands and customers. This session will explore how events can bridge the gap between brand strategy and real-world experience. We’ll dive into the power of live, immersive, and emotionally charged experiences that not only engage but transform attendees into loyal, long-term customers and raving fans.

Many organizations struggle with organizational silos, which create barriers to effective teamwork and limit the ability to deliver a seamless customer experience. This session explores Cross-Functional Collaboration, focusing on breaking down silos and fostering alignment among teams to enhance customer success.

Customer-centricity is no longer an option but a critical business imperative. In an era where AI, hyper-personalisation, and digital transformation are reshaping customer expectations, companies that don’t evolve risk obsolescence. Understanding the holistic framework, a six-stage model that aligns leadership, culture, employee experience (EX), data, technology, and continuous improvement, all geared towards achieving excellence in customer experience (CX).

The Impacts of External Variables on Employee and Customer Experience and What We Can Do About It

SESSION DESCRIPTION Building on the industry challenges associated with employee experience and engagement, James addresses market conditions and the pressures that it puts on organizations in creating a customer-driven culture. Companies today are under immense pressure to differentiate themselves and their brands based on the customer experience (CX). And company leaders are faced with ever-increasing challenges to deliver exceptional EX and CX programs as a result. The session will focus on the impacts of high-pressure market conditions and their effects on leaders' abilities to create effective environments for their teams to deliver exceptional customer experiences. The presenter will discuss potential derailing CX leader behaviors (Customer-Avoidant & Customer-Tolerant Leadership) and aligning CX leader behaviors (Customer-Centric and Customer-Driven Leadership). This interactive session will explore: - Describing derailing and aligning CX leadership behaviors- Identifying positive and negative impacts of these behaviors on employee and customer experiences - Strategies to align cultural values that ensure better EX and CX environments for continued brand differentiation

SESSION DESCRIPTION Improving employee engagement and retention requires strong onboarding, continuous training, and empowerment strategies, especially in disruptive environments. Effective onboarding fosters long-term commitment, while retraining keeps employees adaptable. Understanding employee needs reduces attrition, and providing knowledge enhances service quality. A people-first approach ensures sustained engagement and organizational stability. Key takeaways include: - Strategic Onboarding Matters – A well-structured onboarding process builds long-term engagement and resilience.- Continuous Training Boosts Adaptability – Ongoing learning helps employees navigate change and stay engaged.- Retention Requires Understanding – Addressing employee needs and improving experiences reduces attrition.- Knowledge Drives Performance – Empowered employees provide better service and enhance customer satisfaction.

SESSION DESCRIPTION The session will capitalize on recent research that distinguishes four types of customer leaders: (1) Customer-Avoidant, (2) Customer-Tolerant, (3) Customer-Centric and (4) Customer-Driven. In this session, prior research will be summarized concerning the characteristics of and how to identify each of the four leader types. This will include examples of leaders in the public eye who represent each of the four Customer-Leader types and key implications on financial performance of the organizations they lead. The session will conclude with two primary takeaways. Key takeaways include: - An examination of assessment strategies to conduct an audit of organizational leaders. - An overview of a playbook designed to enhance customer-driven leadership behaviors and metrics that empower teams to deliver brand-differentiating customer experiences.‍

PODCAST GUEST: SPARKY WITTE Sparky has spent the last 20+ years designing programs to enhance experiences and influence behavior. At Live Neuron Labs, Sparky works with organizations like the American Heart Association, American Medical Association, Moderna, MIT Media Lab and others. He is passionate about behavior change for good, particularly in the areas of health, education and sustainability.

Who do you trust, your customer or your health score? In the age of digital CS tools and indicators for success, is it more reasonable to trust the scores or what your customers tell you? We will dive into health scores, what they mean, what they do not mean, and how you can drive success long-term. We will also touch on the impact of sentiment, AI, and how modern tools are impacting this space.

Addressing the industry challenge for Operational Efficiency and Process Improvement through Data and Insights, Nicholas 'Z' Zeisler discusses that while everybody is collecting Voice of the Customer (VoC) information, what they do with it is a whole different story. Some aren't analyzing it properly, and even those who do the necessary analysis aren't using the insights they have. In this session, he'll discuss how important Customer Insights is to your broader CX endeavors, and explore not only better methods of collecting and analyzing, but what you should do with those insights once you have them. Key session takeaways include addressing the following questions: Where does "VoC" fit into a larger CX enterprise?Why "VoC" isn't even really the full extent of a true Customer Insights endeavorHow using a more strategic approach can change how you "do" Customer Insights 

Chris and his guest, Daan van Rossum, share how the combined power of AI and Human Centered Design Thinking can help you. They talk about: - The mindsets required to navigate in our fast-changing world - Turning raw experience data into empathy-driven insights - Co-creating breakthrough ideas with your team and AI tools - Prototyping and testing faster than ever before

SPEAKER Nicholas "Z" Zeisler is a renowned fractional CXO and expert in process improvement and Voice of the Customer systems. With sharp wit and deep industry knowledge, Z is an engaging speaker who transforms customer experience strategies. His insights drive meaningful change, making him a sought-after leader in CX excellence.‍ SESSION DESCRIPTION Everybody's collecting Voice of the Customer (VoC) information, but what they do with it is a whole different story. Some aren't analyzing it properly, and even those who do the necessary analysis aren't using the insights they have. In this session we'll discuss how important Customer Insights is to your broader CX endeavors, and explore not only better methods of collecting and analyzing but what you should do with those insights once you have them. In this webinar, a companion to his March Roundtable, Nicholas 'Z' Zeisler addresses the following questions with a series of presentations and exercises: - Is your Customer Insights program tied to your overall CX strategy?- Is your overall CX strategy even tied to your Brand Promise?- Are you collecting Customer Insights properly and for the right reason?- And, how does keeping that "right reason" in perspective influence your Customer Insights programming?‍

Fostering employee engagement requires a culture of trust, recognition, and growth. Leaders must communicate openly, provide meaningful work, and support career development. Encouraging collaboration, valuing feedback, and promoting work-life balance enhance motivation. When employees feel heard, valued, and connected to a purpose, they become more committed, productive, and innovative.

The creativity in CX management often seems stifled by a reliance on traditional methods and legacy metrics. Many organizations stick to conventional strategies - such as standard customer surveys, scripted interactions, and established performance indicators - hoping these wijll yield positive results. However, without embracing innovative approaches, the industry risks stagnation. If companies persist with "business as usual" while consumer expectations evolve, we can expect a widening gap between customer needs and service delivery. In contrast, organizations that invest in creative, data-driven, and personalized CX strategies and emerging technologies like AI, real-time analytics, and immersive experiences-will likely set new standards and gain a competitive edge. The future of CX hinges on a willingness to experiment, iterate, and break away from the status quo, turning customer experience into a dynamic and engaging journey rather than a static, checkbox exercise.

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that empowers anyone to generate innovative ideas through empathy, collaboration, and iteration. IDEO’s David Kelley explains how this mindset shift can help individuals and organizations create solutions that are desirable, feasible, and viable

The article "Design Thinking 101" by Sarah Gibbons introduces design thinking as a user-centered, hands-on approach to problem-solving that fosters innovation and competitive advantage.

The article "Nine Pitfalls of Strategy Activation" by Stephanie Gioia identifies common challenges organizations face when transitioning from strategy development to execution

In the video, the speaker addresses how implementing Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) can enhance employee engagement. They explain that OKRs provide clear goals and align individual efforts with organizational objectives, fostering a sense of purpose and motivation among employees

This article emphasizes the critical role of employee engagement in successfully implementing organizational strategies.

In the video "Key Success Factors in a Strategic Transformation," McKinsey senior partner Kevin Laczkowski discusses that successful strategic transformations typically span two to three years and emphasizes the importance of clear objectives, strong leadership, and consistent communication to navigate the complexities of such initiatives

This video will provide a step-by-step guide to leading a design thinking workshop.

An empathy map is a tool used in design research to gain deeper insight into users' experiences, thoughts, and emotions. It consists of four quadrants—Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels—that help synthesize observations and inform user-centered design decisions.

Omnichannel customer experience ensures seamless and consistent interactions across multiple channels, including email, chat, social media, and in-store touchpoints. Unlike multichannel approaches, omnichannel integrates these interactions to enhance satisfaction, retention, and conversion.