John B. Hanson jumped on the CX bus for a journey to Heroic success - which may not be where you think it is. Listen in and play along for thought-provoking content and your chance to win prizes!

My navigator Adrian Swinscoe says there's a huge difference between "Customer Experience" and "A Customer's Experience."  Hop on the bus and listen to his explanation...

James Dodkins says most customer surveys are boring, impersonal, unrealistic, and lack relevance.  Hop on the CX bus to learn more and don't miss your chance to win in this month's trivia.

Joseph announces the "rebrand" and "relaunch" of his Livestream series and how it will be shared as Season 2 of Are We There Yet?  Season 1 extracted interviews Joseph did in late 2020 and early 2021 and placed them in the "Are we there Yet" podcast series.  In this episode, Joseph outlines the format for the podcast and asks three trivia questions/riddles.  The first person to correctly answer each question at joseph@josephmichelli.com will receive a signed copy of one of Joseph's books.  Thanks for hopping on the CX bus.

This week’s guest is Shep Hyken. Shep is a customer service and experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. His articles have been read in hundreds of publications, and he is the author of Moments of Magic®, The Loyal Customer, The Cult of the Customer, The Amazement Revolution, Amaze Every Customer Every Time, Be Amazing or Go Home and The Convenience Revolution. He is also the creator of The Customer Focus™, a customer service training program that helps clients develop a customer service culture and loyalty mindset. (Now available as an online/web-based training program!) In 1983 Shep founded Shepard Presentations and since then has worked with hundreds of clients ranging from Fortune 100 size organizations to companies with less than 50 employees. Some of his clients include American Airlines, AAA, Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, AETNA, Abbott Laboratories, American Express – and that’s just a few of the A’s! For more, visit https://hyken.com. Originally streamed live on Thursday, July 29, 2021.

This week’s guest is Christine McHugh, who brings her executive leadership experience to consult and coach on strategic planning, operations, culture and talent development within customer-centered service industries. Christine works with clients and companies at a pivotal moment—when they're ready for help and perspective from an experienced executive. Successful clients see this partnership and the business growth as a learning opportunity. Leaders and teams are set-up to succeed long-term. She has a book, "From Barista to Boardroom," which is part autobiography and part business memoir available at booksellers now. For more visit, https://www.christinemchughconsulting.com.

My guest this week is Joe Pine. Joe and his partner James H. Gilmore re-released in hardcover The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money featuring an all-new Preview to their best-selling 1999 book The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage. The book demonstrates how goods and services are no longer enough; what companies must offer today are experiences – memorable events that engage each customer in an inherently personal way. Joe Pine has addressed the World Economic Forum, the original TED conference, and the Consumer Electronics Show. A former Visiting Scholar with the MIT Design Lab, he is currently a Lecturer with the Columbia University School of Professional Studies and has also taught at Penn State, Duke Corporate Education, the University of Minnesota, UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, and the Harvard Design School. He serves on the editorial boards of Strategy & Leadership and Strategic Direction and is a Senior Fellow with both the Design Futures Council and the European Centre for the Experience Economy, which he co-founded. Joe is co-founder of Strategic Horizons which offers the tools, experiences, and education to explore and master today’s economic marketplace. For more information, visit https://strategichorizons.com. Originally broadcast as a video live stream on July 1, 2021.

This week’s guest is Dr. Byron L. Ernest. Dr. Ernest is the Director of Educator Development & Partnerships at Noble Education Initiative and is charged with developing teacher leadership and certification programs as well as college and university partnerships. Dr. Ernest developed NEI’s 3-D Leadership Program. The 3-D Leadership Program is designed to discover great talent within participating schools and develop this talent to become the next generation of great teachers and leaders. Dr. Ernest is an avid blogger, with his thoughts on education and leadership being found at www.byronernest.wordpress.com. Additionally, he tweets often on matters of education and leadership. Dr. Ernest can be followed on Twitter at @ByronErnest. Originally live streamed on May 27, 2021.

Unpacking the paradoxes of the way humans think is Dr. Rebecca Heiss’ life work. Her research has been designated “transformative” by the National Science Foundation. She taught at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics and later was recruited to be among the founding faculty members to develop a startup school to nurture entrepreneurial minds and approach learning through impact. She is the founder and CEO of Icueity, a continuous 360 review app providing users ongoing fearless feedback and challenging them to grow in self-awareness. Her latest book Instinct is a roadmap that anyone can use to finally stop living on autopilot, improve productivity and happiness, and consciously craft a better life. For more about Rebecca, visit https://rebeccaheiss.com​. Originally recorded as a video Livestream on Thursday, May 6, 2021.

This week’s guest is Chris Recinos. Chris has climbed the ladder as a front-line nurse, nurse practitioner, nurse faculty, nurse leader, chief nurse executive and nurse entrepreneur. She went from being a teen mom living in foster care to a Chief Nurse Executive with a PhD in her 30s and learned how to manage a business while raising a family. For more visit, https://nurseleadernetwork.com. Originally aired on Thursday, April 29, 2021, as a video Livestream.

Micah Solomon is a hands-on customer service consultant, trainer and training designer, keynote speaker, and one of the world's leading experts on customer service, company culture, and the customer experience. Termed “the world's #1 customer service turnaround expert” by Inc. Magazine, he’s been named by The Financial Post as “The New Guru of Customer Service Excellence.” A bestselling author, Micah’s five books have been translated in more than a half-dozen languages and are the recipients of multiple awards. Micah is also a Senior Contributor to Forbes where he covers the subjects of customer service, the customer experience, and company culture, and his expertise has been featured in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, and, repeatedly, in the Harvard Business Review. For more about Micah, visit https://micahsolomon.com​. Originally published as a video Livestream on Thursday, April 22, 2021.

This week’s guest is Samantha Burns. Sam is the Founder and Director of Brilliance and is an international client success co-creator with more than 20 years’ executive experience in customer success-related accountabilities. She has an MBA cum laude in customer loyalty from Surrey University, UK. Plus, a BA Degree in psychology and communications. Sam is dedicated to helping companies all over the world succeed by focusing on their customers’ success. Brilliance believes in business “doing well by doing good.” For more about Brilliance, visit https://brilliancecx.com​.

Gary Bagley is the Executive Director of New York Cares, New York City’s largest provider of volunteer-led social services programs, and the biggest affiliate of Points of Light, the global organization dedicated to volunteer service. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Points of Light and the New York State Commission on National and Community Service. Gary led New York Cares in garnering The New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Award for Overall Management Excellence and the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. Originally published on Thursday, April 8, 2021, as a video Livestream.

Joseph discusses research from Accenture and Bain & Co. regarding shifts in consumer behavior emerging from the pandemic. For example, he explores how people want to feel less anxious and more connected. How are you addressing the changing wants, needs, and desires of those you serve! Originally recorded as a live stream on March 25, 2021.

This week my guest is Eric Farone. Eric is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director at Bovine Metropolis. Eric has been teaching improv to groups in Colorado since 1993 and online since March 2020. For over 25 years he has been a director, teaching improvisation to some of Denver’s top improv groups, such as ‘NERTS’, ‘Mouse Couch’, ‘Dungeon Cave’, ‘MooCrew’ and ‘The SansScript Players’. He has directed, hosted and played in “On The Spot” since 2000 and in "On The Spot Online". After 30 years, Eric still loves teaching groups to play. He really enjoys Improv Adventures because he gets to see family and friends laugh together during in these trying times "People laugh so much when they improvise, and I do too." For more about Eric and Bovine Metropolis, visit https://www.bovinemetropolis.com​. Originally aired as a video Livestream on Thursday, March 11, 2021.

Joseph Michelli explores the increased importance of emotional value creation for employee and customer experiences. He also offers ways to differentiate your brand through your emotional value delivery. **Originally recorded as a Livestream on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

This week's guest is Tracy Grammer. Tracy rose to acclaim in the late 1990s as half of the legendary folk duo Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer. Following Carter’s death in 2002, Grammer continued to perform, building a devoted following as an interpreter, multi-instrumentalist, storyteller, and champion of Carter’s legacy. Tracy Grammer is among contemporary folk music's most beloved artists. Renowned for her pure voice, deft guitar and violin work, and incantatory storytelling, Grammer has recorded and performed with Joan Baez and Mary Chapin Carpenter, headlined several of the nation's top folk festivals, including Philadelphia Folk Festival and Falcon Ridge, and enjoyed 12 consecutive years as one of folk radio's 50 top-played artists, both solo and with the late Dave Carter. For more about Tracy, visit https://www.tracygrammer.com​. Originally aired as a video Livestream on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021.

This week's guest is Suzanne Tulien. Suzanne is a Brand Clarity Expert, author, and speaker specializing in identifying, defining, and aligning her clients to their distinctive brand value positioning through her proprietary process, to achieve extreme clarity on her clients’ differentiation, master consistencies to build trust and create “on-brand” actions and behaviors from the inside out. She is the author of three books: Brand DNA, Personal Brand Clarity, and The 6 Myths of Small Business Branding. She speaks, trains, and consults internationally. For more about Suzanne, visit www.BrandAscension.com. This episode originally aired as a video live stream on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021.

This week's guest is Brad Montgomery. Brad teaches people how to use emotional & social to boost performance, creativity, innovation & profits. He turns typical meetings into transformational events using, the power of encouragement. Other speakers TALK about happiness. But Brad SHOWS them how to harness the power of happiness in hands-on experiences that they’ll remember and implement. For more about Brad, visit https://www.bradmontgomery.com​. Originally aired as a video live stream on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021.

Sarah is the author of The Space Between Us: How Jesus Teaches Us to Live Together When Politics and Religion Pull Us Apart. She has worked in the Children’s Ministry of North Point Community Church just outside Atlanta, student ministry at DASH Student Ministry, and ReThink Group. Sarah is a writer and editor for the student curriculum and been a contributing writer to the Orange Parents blog since 2012. For more information about Sarah B. Anderson, visit https://sarahbanderson.com/home/ This episode originally aired as a live video stream on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021.