The Experience Edge Ep. 44 - Doing CX right - Stacy Sherman
In this episode of The Experience Edge, Jochem van der Veer sits down with CX thought leader Stacy Sherman to unpack what it really means to “do CX right.” Stacy draws on her 25+ years of leadership at brands like Verizon, AT&T, Schindler, and more, and shares hard-won lessons in aligning culture, accountability, and cross‑functional execution. Their conversation weaves from the pitfalls of siloed thinking and unmet promise gaps to the art of embedding delight and meaningfully leveraging AI and data in the service of experience.
Listeners will come away with a richer understanding of why “customer experience is an inside job,” how to design journeys that bridge internal organization and external expectations, and how to pilot and scale CX initiatives that truly matter to both customers and the business.
Guest Bio
Stacy Sherman is an award‑winning CX strategist, author, speaker, and educator with more than 25 years of leadership in brands such as Verizon, AT&T, Schindler, LiveOps, BPO, and Wilton Brands. She holds an MBA and is the voice behind the Doing CXRite podcast. Stacy helps organizations move beyond superficial CX initiatives toward deeply aligned, cross‑functional execution that drives retention, brand advocacy, and meaningful experiences.
Takeaways
- CX is everyone’s responsibility, no matter the function, every role influences the customer experience.
- Siloed organizations kill consistency, conflicting metrics, goals, and disconnected systems lead to broken promises.
- “Inside job” mindset, true customer experience begins internally (culture, training, alignment), not just on the front line.
- Discretionary effort matters, small acts (like helping a customer move goods in the rain) create emotional highs and lasting memory.
- Blend human + tech, don’t replace one with the other, AI and automation should empower employees, not bypass them.
- Data is only useful if actionable, voice of customer + voice of employee feedback must translate into prioritized action.
- Pilot first, scale second, start small, prove value, then expand.
- Alignment & measurement across teams, linking CX metrics to business goals ensures cross‑functional buy‑in.
- Close the loop, daily, feedback must flow to the right teams and customers need to see that something happens.
- Design journeys holistically, consider internal and external touchpoints, handovers, and “pass-over zones” between teams.
- Leadership orchestration is essential, one “conductor” or team is needed to keep cross-functional alignment moving.
- Respect content, context & timing, don’t over‑delight everywhere; choose where delight is meaningful and sustainable.
Chapters
00:00 Intro banter, setting the stage
01:59 Guest formal introduction
03:21 Why CX is often practiced poorly
05:32 Silo issues & misalignment
10:13 “CX is an inside job”
12:46 Discretionary acts that delight
16:25 Bridging online and offline friction
18:18 Designing vs validating experiences
21:03 Moments of emotional delight
24:00 Embedding CX metrics across teams
26:58 Pilot programs & scaling
28:48 Beyond journey mapping
32:11 Orchestration & central leadership
38:42 AI’s role in experience
44:15 Removing silos & consistency
47:42 Where to inject journey thinking
50:09 Scaling feedback loops
53:46 Leadership & execution
55:38 Closing and how to reach Stacy
LinkedIn / Links
Follow Jochem van der Veer
Follow Stacy Sherman
Stacy’s website: https://doingcxright.com/
Stacy’s podcast: Doing CXRite