All Things Considered CX with Bob Azman

Lee Cockerell retired as the Executive Vice President of Operations for the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, a position he held for ten years. His responsibilities encompassed a diverse mix of operations, which included 20 resort hotels with over 24,000 Guest rooms, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 5 golf courses, a shopping village & nighttime entertainment complex, the ESPN Sports Complex and the ancillary operations support functions. Lee joined the Disney organization in July 1990 as Director of Food and Beverage and Quality Assurance for the Disneyland Paris hotels. Prior to joining the Walt Disney World Co., he spent seventeen years in various executive positions with the Marriott Corporation and eight years with Hilton Hotels. Lee is the best-selling author of four books on leadership, management and world class customer service: 1) Creating Magic…10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney is now available in 21 languages; 2) The Customer Rules...The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service is currently available in 15 languages; 3) Time Management Magic…How to Get More Done Every Day; and 4) Career Magic…How to Stay on Track to Achieve a Stellar Career. Lee and his wife Priscilla reside in Orlando, Florida.  Lee enjoys teaching leadership, management, and service excellence seminars, traveling, dining out and most of all spending time with his three grandchildren, Jullian, Margot, and Tristan.

The podcast delves into Sirte Pihlaja's journey as a CX expert, emphasizing the importance of diverse career backgrounds. It explores using Lego for CX innovation, virtual teams in financial services, and the impact of Lego Serious Play beyond team building. The discussion highlights the importance of genuine customer experiences, employee well-being, and adapting to evolving customer needs during the pandemic.

Eryc Eyl is a business philosopher, keynote speaker, author, consultant, coach, storyteller, playwright, and DJ whose mission is to make work and business more humancentric. He holds an MA in Education from the University of Colorado, and a BA in English Literature and Film Studies from Vassar College, as well as accreditations and certifications in corporate culture, change management, and customer experience. Eryc believes work is more than just another four-letter word. He is the playwright of The Immunes and the author of Stop Engaging Employees: A Plea and a Plan for Humancentric Workplaces. Don’t forget! Eryc is providing a free ebook to our podcast listeners that explains the key principles of humancentric workplaces and businesses. Click on the link to access the ebook.  https://www.eryceyl.com/bob

This is the second episode in a series of podcasts with co-authors of our book Customer Experience 3 to discuss customer and employee experience in a post-pandemic world. Sandra Thompson, Serena Riley, Francesca Tempestini, and Marc Karschies join me for a lively discussion that will surely cause you to stop and think about where we are headed as we emerge from this pandemic. The global perspective these 4 authors bring to the podcast is truly inspiring for CX professionals working hard to create better experiences.  You won’t want to miss the debate about virtual work environments among my guests that will challenge your thinking on this important subject!

Gavin Scott is a Customer Experience expert. He has been delivering inspirational and entertaining seminars and workshops since 2009. He has over 20 years’ experience working in fast-paced market leading organisations, with key responsibilities ranging from managing tactical contact centre environments, to delivering forward thinking development interventions to all levels. Gavin has recently published his first book, “Finding Gold Dust” on how to create exceptional customer experiences. The book was launched in December 2020 and achieved “Number One Best Seller” status in three categories on Amazon, one of which was Customer Services. Gavin is a member of the CIPD and holds a Certificate in Training Practice as well as a degree in Business Management. He is also a member of the Professional Speakers Association and is a full member of this association. 

We have not one but 4 CX professionals joining me today to "Explode CX Myths".  Joanna Carr, Jessica Noble, Gustavo Imhof and Gregorio Uglioni, my co-authors of the book Customer Experience 3 join me for a lively discussion that generated a lot of discussion among my guests and will surely do the same for our listeners.  A truly global perspective - UK, Norway and the US - helps shape our view of CX myths that may not always turn out to be as they appear.  My guests don't hesitate to challenge the status quo!  

Anita Siassios is a highly respected and certified leader, with over 30 years’ experience working for Fortune’s top 20 Australian multinational organisations such as ANZ Banking Group, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank.  She is the founder of the award-winning, non-profit CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association) Melbourne Network where she has spearheaded CX in Australia. Her peripheral vision, research and experience in Privacy and Cyber Crime led to her establishing the Australian Affiliate of Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) – a non-profit association dedicated to advancing, recruiting, and promoting women and female graduates in the field of Cyber Security. Anita is also an active member of the Australian Marketing Association, SOCAP (Australian Customer Service Associations), IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) and British Psychological Society.

Jeff Sheehan is a customer experience (CX) practitioner, CX author, and an active member of the global CX community. He is a passionate customer advocate whose work improves operational excellence and profitability, customer intimacy, and growth using pragmatic solutions built on the pillars of strategy, people, process, and technology. With over 25 years of working directly with customers, his CX experience comes from service delivery, service sales, service management, and advisory management consulting roles. Jeff developed deep skill and expertise in leadership, CX strategic planning, customer service operations, sales, digital technology programs and projects, and the use of customer feedback data analytics. He acquired his depth of knowledge, skills, and accomplishments in customer engagement, working with various employers, solutions, industries, and clients.

Brad Smith has had the privilege of leading organizations in their customer centric transformation at Symantec, Yahoo!, and Sage as their CCO/CMO. Across his 20+ years of leadership Brad has led global support and service functions for Oracle, Openwave, and Verisign as well as small start-ups. Currently, Brad is the President & Chairman of the Board for the Consortium for Service Innovation and through the work of the Consortium, has helped 100’s of customer service organization innovate better business models to deliver deep value to their customers while better engaging their employees to grow their businesses. He is also one of their recognized Innovators. Brad is home based in Irvine CA and is Founder/President of Vector Business Navigation, Inc. – A customer experience / customer success Transformation Consulting Provider servicing global customers since 2015.

Passionate experience transformation professional and change agent. Sherpa for new and developing customer and employee-obsessed leaders. Thought leader and innovator for ways of engaging associates and customers. Spirited entrepreneur. Skilled in business benefits development and systematically embedding experience into an organization. Believe that brands who win choose to focus on human and emotional elements. Develops the hearts and minds of others. Firm executor in the ‘pay it forward' model. Writer, speaker and artist.