Ep.25 - Your Culture Starts Every Morning - Crystal D'Cunha

Crystal D'Cunha is on a mission to ignite leaders, excite employees, and delight customers. As President and CEO of The Inside View Inc., she helps organizations hardwire customer experience into their culture. With award-winning programs and decades of leadership expertise, she equips teams to take CX from theory to action - starting with something as deceptively simple as the daily huddle.

In this episode, Crystal unpacks the emotional and structural DNA of a customer-centric company. She explains the difference between customer service and customer experience, why CX is not a department, and how small moments of delight can drive major business impact. From the power of language to real-world organizational transformation, this is a masterclass in experiential leadership.

Guest Bio

Crystal D'Cunha is an award-winning customer experience consultant, keynote speaker, and the visionary CEO of The Inside View Inc. Known for her energetic and hands-on approach, she helps companies integrate CX deeply into their leadership development and employee culture. Her Leadership Experience Excellence program won a Stevie Award, beating global giants like IBM and Pepsi.

Crystal is also the host of the Leaders Listen Up podcast and a seasoned advisor on embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into customer and employee journeys. With a practical philosophy of “ignite, excite, and delight,” she transforms organizations by aligning their leaders and teams around consistent, emotionally resonant customer experiences.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Crystal D'Cunha and her CX philosophy

01:22 Winning a Stevie Award for CX leadership training

06:52 Why CX is not a department

09:34 How eight-minute huddles shift culture

18:51 Customer service vs. customer experience

23:11 Coaching employees to drive better customer outcomes

29:12 A magical Hilton experience that cost almost nothing

38:14 The mindset shift leaders need for CX transformation

44:01 Who should own CX - and what to do when support is missing

52:29 Why many CX leaders are set up to fail

56:01 How to know your leadership team is truly ready

Jochem’s Profile - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochemvanderveer/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Crystal's Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystald1/overlay/about-this-profile/