Explore every episode of the podcast CX Leadership Talks

Normally, CX Leadership Talks lands on a Monday. Not this week.

This special episode arrives on Tuesday, 6 October, because it is Global CX Day and Nienke Bloem and Ian Golding have something BIG to celebrate and reveal.

In this episode, Nienke is joined by long time CX colleague and friend Ian Golding. Together, they reflect on how the CX profession has developed, why leadership in Customer Experience deserves more recognition, and one question that has been on both their minds:

How do you actually prove the impact you have made as a CX leader?

Because knowing Customer Experience is one thing. Leading it is something else.

That question led to a secret project Nienke and Ian have been working on behind the scenes: CXLM, Customer Experience Leadership Master.

An accreditation designed to recognise experienced CX leaders for how they lead, influence, scale Customer Experience and deliver measurable impact. And very importantly, it has to be earned.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why CX leadership deserves its own recognition Leading Customer Experience transformation is very different from running a CX project. Nienke and Ian explore why experienced CX leaders should be able to demonstrate the impact of how they lead.
2. What CXLM is and what it is not CXLM is an earned accreditation based on your own leadership experience, evidence and results. It is not linked to completing a course or programme with Nienke or Ian.
3. How the accreditation process will work Applicants will need at least five years of CX experience and will provide a written application, references and a video presenting their leadership case. Nienke and Ian will assess applications independently against six criteria.
4. Why the accreditation has to be earned Knowing Nienke or Ian does not help. Neither does having trained with them. The intention is to build a robust and transparent process based on evidence, independent assessment, confidentiality and detailed feedback.
5. What happens next The waitlist opens today, on Global CX Day, followed by a founding cohort to test and strengthen the process. A readiness diagnostic is also being developed to help CX leaders decide whether they are ready to apply.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Celebrating Global CX Day and why this episode is on Tuesday 06:24 Getting into Customer Experience work 07:27 How Nienke and Ian first met 12:53 Why CX leadership deserves recognition 15:55 Introducing CXLM 18:20 Building a robust accreditation process 20:44 How CXLM candidates will be assessed 24:40 Who can apply and why knowing Nienke or Ian doesn’t matter 29:11 The waitlist and founding cohort 30:53 Developing the CXLM readiness diagnostic 33:41 Launching the secret project

Extra information:

Interested in CXLM?

Join the CXLM waitlist here: https://nienkebloem.typeform.com/CXLMWaitlist

People on the waitlist will be the first to hear about the development of the accreditation, the founding cohort and future opportunities to apply.

A small listening note: Nienke and Ian recorded this episode at the WTC at Schiphol, tucked away in a corner after spending the day working together on CXLM. So yes, you may hear a little real life Schiphol and workspace sound in the background. Consider it part of the atmosphere. 😉

About Nienke:

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.

She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who helps CX leaders strengthen their leadership, create more impact and make Customer Experience work.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. She is an author, host of CX Leadership Talks, a Recognized Training Partner of the CXPA and creator of CX leadership programs including the CX Masterclass and CX Leadership Masterminds.

For more info: go to www.nienkebloem.com or send her an email at nienke@nienkebloem.nl to spice up your CX Leadership.

How do you scale Customer Experience across 17 European affiliates when you cannot lead CX from headquarters alone? 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem speaks with Nicoline Valk, Department Manager Customer Experience at Daikin Europe. Nicoline shares how Daikin moved from a B2B focus towards a B2B2C approach and how she developed a centralized CX program that allows countries to take local ownership. 

At the heart of their conversation is omotenashi: the Japanese philosophy of genuinely taking care of customers, paying close attention and anticipating their needs. Translating that philosophy into a European CX approach requires a different kind of leadership. Nicoline explains how she shifted from steering operations to influencing, connecting and building bridges across countries, cultures and departments. 

Nienke experienced the strength of this network firsthand when she spoke at Daikin Europe’s CX Seminar Seminar. She was impressed by the energy, openness and genuine sense of community Nicoline and her team have created across the different affiliates. 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

• How to shift from operational leadership to leading through influence. 

• Why a strong internal network is essential when scaling CX across countries and cultures. 

• How consistent visibility keeps Customer Experience on the agenda and encourages others to take ownership. 

• How Daikin combines a centralized European framework with local customer insights and action. 

You’ll also hear how newsletters, monthly calls, affiliate meetings, customer visits and shared action plans help Daikin turn CX into an ongoing way of working. Nicoline reflects on her own leadership growth, the value of learning from other industries and the achievement she is proudest of: seeing countries embrace CX and move from customer feedback to action. 

If you are scaling CX, strengthening your internal network or wondering whether you are visible enough as a CX leader, this conversation offers plenty of practical insights and inspiration. 

A small heads-up before you press play: you may notice a few minor audio hiccups along the way. Luckily, the conversation is far too valuable to let those get in the way. 

  Timestamped overview 

00:00 Omotenashi, CX networks and visibility  04:40 Developing a CX strategy within a Japanese company  05:21 From operational excellence to CX leadership  08:12 Moving from B2B towards B2B2C  10:17 Starting with listening and building a European network  12:44 Working across 17 European affiliates  14:44 Lessons learned while building the CX program  15:59 Staying connected to customers  17:07 Building bridges across cultures and departments  19:19 Turning customer feedback into local action  21:37 Keeping the CX network visible and engaged  26:42 Leading through influence rather than hierarchy  27:50 Creating CX engagement with a small central team  30:50 Nicoline’s proudest CX achievement  32:55 Recommended books and learning from mistakes  34:33 Final reflections on CX leadership and visibility 

Extra information: 

Connect with Nicoline on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolinevalk/ 

Nicoline’s recommendations: 

Nicoline’s next read is The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle, a book that was recommended to her for its insights into successful teamwork, psychological safety, active listening and creating an environment in which people feel free to make mistakes. 

A book she already uses in her own work is The Diamond in the Rough by Steven Van Belleghem. She particularly recommends its practical concept of “friction hunting”: identifying small frustrations in the customer experience and taking concrete steps to resolve them. 

  About Nienke:      

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.       

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.      

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.       

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned.  

You say CX strategy matters. You say stakeholder management matters. You say you need time to think, create impact and move the organization forward.

But would your calendar agree?

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem CCXP explores one of the most underestimated tools in CX leadership: your calendar. Because especially in Customer Experience, it is very easy to become the lonely knot knitting it all together — jumping from meetings to projects, helping everybody, fixing what needs fixing and slowly losing the mental space to actually lead.

The question is not whether you are busy. Most CX leaders are.

The question is: does the way you spend your time reflect the CX leader you want to be and the strategic priorities you say matter?

Nienke introduces a simple way to look at your time through Rocks, Pebbles and Sand and challenges you to open your own calendar and see what it tells you about your leadership.

Your calendar reveals your real priorities Strategic priorities only become real when they receive time and attention. Look at your calendar: could somebody else see what your most important CX priorities are simply by looking at how you spend your week?

Why CX leaders get caught in the hamster wheel CX work easily expands. There are stakeholders to help, meetings to attend, customer issues to solve and plenty of “dirty work” that somebody needs to pick up. Before you know it, the strategic work gets squeezed into whatever time happens to be left.

Why you need mental space to lead Being constantly occupied is not the same as being effective. Strategic thinking requires space to connect the dots, look ahead, make choices and decide where your leadership is needed most.

How Rocks, Pebbles and Sand can help you make choices Your Rocks are the priorities that deserve protected space. Pebbles matter too, while Sand is all the activity that can quietly fill every available gap. Nienke invites you to look at your own calendar through this lens.

Protecting your calendar is leadership work Your calendar is not just an administrative tool. It is one of your most important CX leadership tools — because where you put your time determines where you can create impact.

00:02 Your calendar as an unexpected CX leadership tool 00:33 The lonely knot knitting it all together 01:16 Do your strategic priorities show up in your work? 06:35 Creating mental space for strategic thinking 09:06 What your calendar says about your time and attention 12:13 Your calendar as a CX leadership tool 13:46 Rocks, Pebbles and Sand 23:52 Protect your calendar — and your leadership

Want to put this episode into practice?

Download Nienke’s Rocks, Pebbles & Sand Worksheet and use it to look at where your time is really going:

https://www.nienkebloem.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2026/09/NB-CX-Rocks-Pebbles-Sand-Worksheet.pdf

Your challenge after listening: Open your calendar and look at the next two weeks.

If somebody who didn’t know you looked at your calendar, would they be able to tell what your most important strategic priorities are?

And if the answer is no… which Rock needs space first?

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who helps CX leaders strengthen their leadership, create more impact and make Customer Experience work.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. She is an author, host of CX Leadership Talks, a Recognized Training Partner of the CXPA and creator of CX leadership programs including the CX Masterclass and CX Leadership Masterminds.

For more info: go to www.nienkebloem.com or send her an email at nienke@nienkebloem.nl to spice up your CX Leadership.

There are four serious working months left in 2026. Your first instinct might be to look at the roadmap, the KPIs and everything that still needs to get done.

But what if, before going straight into execution mode, you did something completely different?

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem explores the power of dreaming out loud — not only about the future of Customer Experience in your organization, but also about the CX leader you want to become.

Drawing on her own dreams, from walking a pilgrimage and speaking on the main stage of the Global Speaker Summit to her ambition of taking the CX Leadership Masterminds around the world, Nienke challenges you to look beyond the end of 2026. Go three years ahead. Imagine it is August 2029. What has changed because you were there?

Because dreaming isn't the opposite of leadership. Dreaming is leadership work. You can't lead people towards a future you haven't dared to imagine.

Dream about the impact, not the projects Forget your current roadmap for a moment. Nienke challenges you to imagine the future state of CX in your organization: what are customers experiencing differently, what has changed for employees and what measurable impact have you and your team created?

Define the CX leader you want to become Your organizational CX dream is only half of the story. Who do you want to be as a CX leader three years from now? What are you known for, which rooms are you invited into, what authority have you built and what work are you no longer doing?

Why saying your dream out loud matters A dream that stays in your head is easy to edit, shrink or forget. Once you give it words and share it with others, people can see opportunities, make connections and sometimes even help make it happen.

Turn dreaming into movement Positive thinking alone is not enough. Nienke introduces the idea of mental contrasting: first imagine the future you really want, then ask what is standing between you and that future — and decide what you are going to do about it.

Choose one move before the end of 2026 You don't need a giant three-year action plan. Choose one action for your organizational CX dream and one for your own leadership dream that will move you a little closer to August 2029.

00:00 Encouraging long-term dreaming 05:53 Dreaming as leadership in CX 08:31 CX leader's future impact vision 13:05 Dreaming big and building authority 15:34 Pursuing dreams and taking action 19:39 Planning international expansion 22:35 Deciding when to say yes or no

In the episode, Nienke refers to research on vision in leadership and the work of psychologist Gabriele Oettingen on mental contrasting: dreaming about a desired future, then identifying the obstacles standing between you and that future and translating those into action.

Nienke also shares one of her own dreams out loud: taking the CX Leadership Masterminds Bootcamp on a global roadshow, bringing CX leaders together in several international locations.

Want to explore your own next step as a CX leader with Nienke? You can book a half hour call here.

Your challenge after listening: Take a piece of paper and answer these two questions:

1. What do you dream to have an impact on as a CX leader? What is the future state you want to create?
2. Who do you dream of becoming as a CX leader? What is your personal leadership future state?

Then ask yourself: What is one thing I can do before the end of 2026 that moves each dream closer?

And most importantly: say it out loud.

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who helps CX leaders strengthen their leadership, create more impact and make Customer Experience work.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. She is an author, host of CX Leadership Talks, a Recognized Training Partner of the CXPA and creator of CX leadership programs including the CX Masterclass and CX Leadership Masterminds.

For more info: go to www.nienkebloem.com or send her an email at nienke@nienkebloem.nl to spice up your CX Leadership.

What if we spend too much time in CX fixing what is broken?

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem shares three insights from Marcus Buckingham’s book Design Love In and explores what they mean for Customer Experience leaders.

This is not just a book review. It is about what the book made her rethink about positive customer moments, purpose in business and the role CX leaders can play in bringing more Love into organizations.

Why you should study the 5s We are trained to analyze complaints, detractors and low scores. But what can we learn from the moments customers and employees truly love? And how can we create more of them?

Why purpose and emotion belong in business strategy Beyond targets, KPIs and ROI: what do you actually want customers and employees to experience because your organization exists?

Why love is a CX leadership topic CX leaders can bring this conversation into the organization through stories, leadership conversations, book clubs or even a small secret movement.

00:00 Importance of purpose in business 06:30 Focusing on positive customer moments 10:24 Adding emotion to business strategy 12:31 Personal motivations for pilgrimage 17:48 Advocating CX within organizations 19:56 Organizing a company book club 23:22 Gratitude for book recommendations

The book discussed in this episode is Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business by Marcus Buckingham.

Your challenge after listening: find one 5 in your organization. A moment customers or employees genuinely love. Study why it works — and see what you can make bigger.

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who helps CX leaders strengthen their leadership, create more impact and make Customer Experience work.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. She is an author, host of CX Leadership Talks, a Recognized Training Partner of the CXPA and creator of CX leadership programs including the CX Masterclass and CX Leadership Masterminds.

For more info: go to www.nienkebloem.com or send her an email at nienke@nienkebloem.nl to spice up your CX Leadership. 

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks with Nienke Bloem! Today, we dive into a thought-provoking challenge every CX leader must face: Would they miss you if your CX team disappeared tomorrow? Drawing inspiration from a recent Qualtrics event, Nienke Bloem explores the true business impact of CX teams and introduces the crucial "budget cut test." Are you and your team seen as a must-have driving results, or just a nice-to-have delivering activities?

With real-world examples and actionable self-assessment questions, this episode will empower you to prove your value, connect your CX work directly to business outcomes and ensure your seat at the table - even when tough budget decisions loom. Join Nienke Bloem for a candid, energizing conversation to help you sharpen your CX leadership and make your impact truly indispensable! Want to get more information about the ANI model? You can take a sneak peek here or listen to this episode in which Nienke takes a deep dive into this model.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 The budget cut test and CX leadership 06:05 Importance of context in CX data 06:53 Evolving CX teams beyond sentiment 11:55 Measuring impact from workshops 13:54 Assessing Customer Experience impact 17:30 Discussing business leadership challenges 20:24 Seasonal farewell from the southern hemisphere

About Nienke:

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the Customer Experience Professionals Association and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks, recorded from the sun-soaked island of Texel during an intense European heatwave.     In this special solo episode, Nienke Bloem CCXP dives deep into the ANI model — her new CX leadership philosophy that will transform the way you look at customer experience leadership. 🤩    Discover the three layers of the ANI model and learn how to grow your CX leadership from the inside out. 

Three key takeaways for CX leaders: 

• Authority starts with you: Building both internal confidence and external credibility is foundational for driving CX transformation. It's not just how you see yourself, but how others perceive your influence and expertise.   

• Lead with a clear narrative: Having the right leadership instruments - like a compelling change story, a strategic roadmap, and a business case - helps translate insight into organizational influence and direction.   

• Impact means delivering measurable value: True CX leadership delivers results for both customers and the business. Embedding CX in culture, tracking outcomes, and holding yourself accountable are essential steps to driving sustainable success. 

Packed with practical insights, personal stories, and actionable strategies, this episode is perfect for anyone ready to become the captain of their own CX ship. 

Curious about the full ANI model, I created a visual overview for you here.  

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Masterminds cohort for leadership growth  04:44 Building internal and external authority  07:41 Authority and personal growth program  13:16 Guiding CX with leadership skills  17:22 Scaling Customer Experience (CX) methods  19:19 Strategizing for company impact  23:47 Sharing my big idea journey    About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.  

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.  

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the Customer Experience Professionals Association and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks with Nienke Bloem.

In this episode, Nienke introduces ANI: her new CX leadership philosophy built around three elements every CX leader needs to thrive: Authority, Narrative and Impact.

After spending months interviewing CX leaders and reflecting on the future of the profession, she discovered a surprising pattern.

Most CX leaders do not struggle with customer experience.

They struggle with leadership.

The conversations were not about journey mapping, Voice of the Customer or CX strategy. They were about stakeholder buy-in, budget, urgency, visibility and impact.

In this episode, Nienke shares the story behind ANI, the surprising inspiration that led to the model, and why she believes leadership may become the most important differentiator in the future of customer experience.

This episode is personal, reflective and an invitation to think differently about your role as a CX leader.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why many CX challenges are actually leadership challenges • The story behind ANI and its three elements: Authority, Narrative and Impact • Why trust, influence and movement matter more than ever for CX leaders • How the best CX leaders turn ideas into organizational impact • Why leadership may be the future of customer experience

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Reflecting on personal and career future

05:34 Exploring the future of CX leadership

10:52 Leadership and CX strategy development

12:17 Aligning leadership with impact

16:02 CX Leadership Bootcamp launch

Extra information:

Curious about the ANI model and the future of CX leadership? Click here for the visual of the model.

Take a look at the ANI model and learn more about the upcoming CX Leadership Masterminds Bootcamp, click here to plan a half hour exploration call.

About Nienke: 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books. 

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the Customer Experience Professionals Association and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks with Nienke Bloem. 

In this episode, we tackle one of the biggest blind spots in CX leadership: stakeholder management. 

Because most CX leaders are strong in CX management. They know journey mapping, VoC, dashboards and improvement projects. But influencing senior stakeholders strategically? Building alliances? Creating organizational movement? That is where many CX leaders still play far too operational. 

Nienke shares personal stories from her own leadership journey, including a painful lesson from her time at KPN, and explains why executives do not buy activities… they buy confidence. 

This episode is practical, honest and packed with ideas to help you become more strategic in how you build influence, authority and momentum for Customer Experience inside your organization. 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

• Why many CX leaders unintentionally operate too tactically in stakeholder management 
• Why executives buy confidence instead of activities 
• How to use the Mendelow Matrix more strategically 
• Why relational authority is critical for CX leadership 
• Practical ways to engage stakeholders with more impact  

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Customer experience leadership insights  05:43 Reflecting on CX leadership challenges  08:07 Focusing on relational authority  10:09 Planning effective leadership discussions  13:53 Engaging with stakeholders  19:10 Developing strategic CX leadership  20:21 Wrapping up and goodbyes 

Extra information: 

Download the free Strategic Stakeholder Management Playbook for CX Leaders here.  

About Nienke: 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books. 

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the Customer Experience Professionals Association and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Newsletter to stay tuned. 

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders who want to spice up their leadership.

In this personal and inspiring solo episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP dives into one of the most defining visibility lessons of her career, sparked by an unforgettable encounter with Queen Máxima.

Discover how one highly visible moment unexpectedly changed the trajectory of Nienke’s CX leadership journey and why visibility plays such a crucial role in building authority, influence and impact inside organizations.

Together, we explore why so many brilliant CX leaders stay invisible for too long, how visibility strengthens leadership and why remembered leadership matters when driving customer centric change.

Get ready for Five practical tips, fresh leadership insights and honest reflections on visibility, authority and impact in the world of CX leadership.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Reflecting on a career-defining moment04:37 Starting Women in Financial Services06:47 Meeting royalty at the event11:43 Women in financial services conference15:18 Highlighting invisible leaders in CX16:25 Discussing CX leadership insights19:45 Exploring Herminia Ibarra’s leadership insights23:35 Navigating strategic conversations26:43 Discussing the ANI model32:21 Volunteering for speaking opportunities35:37 Attending a Harvard live event37:14 Becoming a CX authority

Extra information:

If you are a Dutch-speaking woman in the Netherlands and want to strengthen your strategic visibility, stakeholder influence and authority, have a look at Stratego for CX Women.

This fall, Nienke launches the renewed CX Leadership Bootcamp in the Netherlands, focused on Authority, Narrative and Impact for CX leaders who want to increase their influence and business impact.

And yes… next year it goes global 😊. To make your appointment, click here!

Connect with Nienke on LinkedIn or visit her website for more information and upcoming programs. www.nienkebloem.com

About Nienke:

Nienke Bloem is a global Customer Experience (CX) thought leader, keynote speaker and educator.

She helps CX leaders move from doing customer experience to leading it by building strong CX strategies, crafting compelling CX Stories and driving measurable business impact. Spicing up CX Leadership 😊

Nienke is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and a Recognized Training Provider of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she combines business strategy, leadership and customer experience to help organizations turn CX into real results.

Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned or visit her website for more information!

Her mission is simple: Make Customer Experience Work. And yes, she always wears her signature blue dress 😊

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders who want to spice up their leadership. 

In this inspiring episode, your host Nienke Bloem dives into an incredibly valuable conversation with global keynote speaker, educator, and "burger lady" Sally Foley-Lewis. Together, they explore the true power - and challenges - of leading from the middle.

Discover why the best is in the middle, how to influence without formal authority, and how to proceed until apprehended.   Get ready for practical tips, fresh insights, and a healthy dose of CX leadership inspiration! 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Introducing Sally Foley-Lewis  06:15 Food as a universal concept  09:46 Discussing AI impact on organizations  14:16 Empowering middle managers  18:01 Importance of creating CX strategy  19:45 Navigating stakeholder management and authority  23:09 Importance of clear communication  26:15 Leading from the middle  30:15 Thinking strategically as a leader  32:32 Building strong internal networks  37:26 Importance of receiving feedback  40:20 Building professional networks  44:52 Connecting and collaborating with others  45:35 Show closing and contact info 

Extra information:  Connect with Sally on LinkedIn or visit her website.   Sally's book recommendations: 

• The Best is in the Middle by Sally Foley-Lewis 

• Managing oneself by Peter F. Drucker 

 Here you can find the survey Sally invites you to fill in. 

About Nienke:  Nienke Bloem is a global Customer Experience (CX) thought leader, keynote speaker, and educator. 

She helps CX leaders move from doing customer experience to leading it by building strong CX strategies, crafting compelling CX Stories, and driving measurable business impact. Spicing up CX Leadership 

Nienke is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and a Recognized Training Provider of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA). 

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she combines business strategy, leadership, and customer experience to help organizations turn CX into real results. 

Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned or visit her website  for more information! 

Her mission is simple: Make Customer Experience Work. And yes, she always wears her signature blue dress 😊

Do you know how to use every presentation to actually move people? Not just inform them or update them, but make them remember, feel something, and take action.

Because every time you step into a room, you have that opportunity as a CX leader. To create clarity, build energy, and influence decisions and direction.

And yet, most presentations don’t land. They don’t change anything. Not because the content is wrong, but because the design is. We start with slides, data, and content instead of starting with intent.

In this episode of #CXLeadershipTalks, Nienke Bloem CCXP takes you into one of the most underestimated leadership skills in customer experience: how to prepare your presentations so they create real impact.

The good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated. It starts by answering four simple, powerful questions!

Grounded in research on memory, decision-making, and behavior, and built on her experience working with hundreds of CX professionals, this episode shows you a simple but powerful shift.

From intention to presenting information and creating movement.

So you don’t just share CX. You strategize CX and Lead it.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Do you know how to move people with your presentation 02:00 Why most presentations don’t create impact 04:00 Presentations as a CX leadership moment 06:00 The shift from content to intent 08:00 The four questions that change everything

10:00 Question 1: Who is your audience 13:00 Question 2: What do you want them to remember 16:00 Question 3: What do you want them to feel 19:00 Question 4: What do you want them to do

22:00 Why “any questions?” kills your impact 24:00 Closing: From presenting CX to leading CX

Extra information:

Want to receive the CX Presentation Playbook with the four questions and a practical checklist?

You can download it here. You’ll receive the playbook and will also receive Nienke’s weekly CX Leadership updates.

And of course, never end your presentation with a Thank You Slide, watch her incredible valuable Youtube Video here.

About Nienke

Nienke Bloem is a global Customer Experience (CX) thought leader, keynote speaker, and educator.

She helps CX leaders move from doing customer experience to leading it by building strong CX strategies, crafting compelling CX Stories, and driving measurable business impact. Spicing up CX Leadership

Nienke is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP), Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), and a Recognized Training Provider of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).

With over 20 years of corporate experience, she combines business strategy, leadership, and customer experience to help organizations turn CX into real results.

Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned or visit www.nienkebloem.com for more information!

Her mission is simple: Make Customer Experience Work. And yes, she always wears her signature blue dress 😊

What does it really take to win four International CX Awards, amongst which three GOLD?

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem sits down with Irene van Hoorn, CX Leader of the Year and Brand Experience Transformation Lead at Eneco.

Irene shares how she moved from marketing and product roles to building and professionalizing CX as a discipline, and ultimately winning three Gold and one Bronze at the International CX Awards.

This is not a trophy story. It’s a leadership story.

About building authority without formal power. About scaling CX in a complex organization. About trusting the process. And about daring to say: “Screw it. Let’s do it.”

If you are wondering whether you are “ready” to step up, take visibility, or go for recognition? This episode is for you.

Because imposter thinking is common. But leadership is personal, not positional.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to build authority before you have formal power
• What it really takes to professionalize CX at scale
• Why external recognition strengthens internal credibility
• How to approach awards strategically and win
• The mindset shift that separates hesitation from momentum

Trust the process. Choose wisely. And if you’re in it — be in it to win it.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Welcome Irene – introducing the CX Leader of the Year 03:00 From marketing to professionalizing CX at Eneco 08:00 Managing CX vs. truly leading CX 12:00 Building authority without formal power 18:30 Trust the process in complex transformations 24:00 Why go for international awards in the first place? 29:00 The internal shift once the team decided to compete 33:00 Behind the scenes of the awards application process 41:00 Winning Bronze and three Gold awards 48:00 What changed internally after winning 52:00 Advice for CX leaders doubting themselves

Extra information:

Connect with Irene on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/irenevanhoorn/

Interested in the International CX Awards? After we taped the episode, the date changed to November 5th.

Visit: https://internationalcxaward.com/home

Recommended by Irene: Watch the award finalist presentations via the Awards International platform and review the detailed jury feedback report if you participate.

About Nienke:    

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.     

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.    

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.     

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

In this episode, Nienke Bloem takes you behind the scenes of one of the biggest moments in her speaking career. Standing backstage at the Global Speaker Summit, about to deliver the closing keynote. A moment filled with excitement and doubt.

And it led to a powerful realization.

Because that exact same feeling shows up for CX leaders every single day.

Not on a stage.

But in leadership meetings, boardrooms, and stakeholder conversations.

That moment where you think: Should I say something?

In this episode, Nienke combines her personal experience with insights from psychology, including Identity Theory from Peter Burke and Self Efficacy Theory from Albert Bandura, to explain what is really happening in that moment.

This is not just about confidence. This is about identity.

And about how you step into your role as a CX leader before you fully feel ready.

This episode will help you move from doing CX to truly leading CX.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN

• Why the Should I moment is not doubt, but a signal of leadership
• How Identity Theory explains the internal picture you already have of yourself as a CX leader
• Why the gap between your identity and your behavior creates tension and how to use
• How Self Efficacy Theory shows that confidence is built through action, not before it
• Three practical ways to start acting like the CX leader you already know you can be

TIMESTAMPED OVERVIEW

00:00 "From Hesitation to Leadership"

05:49 "Leadership and Doubt Moments"

09:22 "Crafting Your Leadership Identity"

10:37 "ANI Model for Strategic Leadership"

13:49 "Identifying Ideal Self Moments"

19:13 "Transforming Doubts Into Impact"

21:26 "Free CX Strategy Webinar"

24:37 "Global Leadership Greetings"

READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?

Nienke is hosting a series of free webinars in April on CX Story and CX Strategy. Book it HERE:

https://www.nienkebloem.nl/en/cx-educatie/webinar-create-your-best-cx-story-ever/

In these sessions, you will

1. Define your CX Story and what you stand for as a leader
2. Shape your CX Strategy and turn that into direction and action
3. Receive a practical AI prompt to create two draft CX strategies when you join live

ABOUT NIENKE

Nienke Bloem CCXP is often called the Customer Experience expert in the blue dress.

She is a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who inspires leaders and organizations to spice up their customer experience leadership and create real business impact.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, Nienke speaks the business language of CX transformation. Through her keynotes, education programs and mentoring she helps CX leaders become more strategic, influential and effective in driving customer-centric change.

She is the host of the CX Leadership Talks podcast, creator of the CX Story Blueprint, and a Recognized Training Partner of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).

Her programs, including the CX Masterclass, CX Leadership Masterminds, and CX Story Sprint, help CX professionals strengthen their authority, align strategy and turn customer experience into measurable business results.

Feel free to reach out nienke@nienkebloem.nl and more on www.nienkebloem.com

In this new episode of CX Leadership Talks Host Nienke Bloem CCXP introduces the CX Leadership Energy Matrix. A simple quadrant tool that helps you decide where to focus your time and energy as a CX leader.

The model maps your activities based on two dimensions: business impact and personal energy. By looking at your work through this lens, you can make more strategic choices about where your leadership truly makes a difference.

You’ll discover the four zones of the matrix, the Sweet Spot, the Playground, the Strategic Duty Zone, and the Energy Drain, and why managing your energy is just as important as managing your time.

Click here to see the visual of the model

00:00 Welcome to CX Leadership Talks and recording from Sydney02:00 Discovering the value–energy model from Taki Moore04:00 The reality of CX leadership: endless improvement opportunities07:30 Why leadership energy matters more than working longer hours08:00 Research insights from Harvard Business Review on energy management11:00 Introducing the CX Leadership Energy Matrix13:00 The CX Leadership Sweet Spot: high value and high energy16:00 The CX Playground: high energy but limited impact17:00 The Strategic Duty Zone: important but draining work18:30 The CX Energy Drain: low value and low energy activities20:00 How to evaluate your own calendar using the matrix21:30 Three reflection questions for CX leaders23:00 Why your energy fuels CX transformation

Nienke Bloem CCXP is often called the Customer Experience expert in the blue dress.

She is a global CX thought leader, educator and keynote speaker who inspires leaders and organizations to spice up their customer experience leadership and create real business impact.

With over 20 years of corporate experience, Nienke speaks the business language of CX transformation. Through her keynotes, education programs and mentoring she helps CX leaders become more strategic, influential and effective in driving customer-centric change.

She is the host of the CX Leadership Talks podcast, creator of the CX Story Blueprint, and a Recognized Training Partner of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA).

Her programs, including the CX Masterclass, CX Leadership Masterminds, and CX Story Sprint, help CX professionals strengthen their authority, align strategy and turn customer experience into measurable business results.

Feel free to reach out nienke@nienkebloem.nl and more on www.nienkebloem.com

Imposter syndrome does not destroy your competence.  It erodes your authority. 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem dives into the psychology behind imposter syndrome and connects it directly to the three authority dimensions every CX leader needs: Personal, Positional and Relational Authority. 

Drawing on research and the widely known model of Dr. Valerie Young, Nienke explores the five competence types – The Perfectionist, The Expert, The Natural Genius, The Soloist and The Superperson – and shows how each of them quietly weakens your leadership influence. 

This episode is about understanding your internal competence rules and deliberately strengthening your authority so you can lead with confidence and impact. 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

1. Why imposter syndrome is an authority gap, not a competence gap.  You will understand how the five competence types undermine your Personal, Positional and Relational Authority – even when your results are strong.
2. How your specific competence type shows up in your CX leadership behavior. You will recognize how perfectionism delays visibility, how the expert underclaims impact, how the soloist weakens relationships, and how these patterns limit your influence.
3. Three concrete authority actions you can take immediately. You will learn how to stop waiting to feel ready, claim one result publicly and upgrade one strategic relationship – and which action fits best depending on your imposter pattern. 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Imposter syndrome and the authority gap  02:00 Research origins and systemic roots  06:00 Dr. Valerie Young’s five competence types  11:00 CX leadership as a breeding ground for imposter thinking  14:30 Personal Authority and Trusted Influence  24:30 Positional Authority and Formal Influence  33:50 Relational Authority and Credible Power  35:45 Three authority actions to move the needle  42:00 Choosing your authority move 

Do you want to receive the CX Authority worksheet? Reach out to nienke@nienkebloem.nl and just ask for it 😊. 

Do you want to learn how to be a better CX Storyteller and scaler of your message? We have a new one day CX training: CX Storytelling, the first time will be in Dutch. You can read all about it here.  

About Nienke:      Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.      

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.     

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.      

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

CX leaders are great at content. But CX rarely scales because the message doesn’t.

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem dives into why communication is not a soft skill, but a core CX leadership capability. She explores how CX leaders can move from one-off presentations and workshops to a repeatable, multi-channel communication rhythm that creates real organisational impact.

This episode is about turning your CX story into a movement - not a moment.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• why one great CX presentation is never enough
• the false assumption that “clarity leads to alignment”
• how CX leaders get stuck in one-to-one communication
• what scaling a message really means (and what it doesn’t)
• why repetition creates stability, not boredom
• how communication patterns predict transformation success
• how to design a CX communication drumbeat that sticks

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Scaling leadership communication impact 06:29 Continuous communication drives transformation 10:00 Creative CX communication strategies 11:19 Strategizing CX through content 17:13 CX Storytelling program launch 19:55 Consistency signals stability 24:51 CX Leadership through storytelling 25:32 Scaling your message effectively

Want to learn more about CX stories, this is the link to the episode "From CX Story Blueprint to impact: Crafting your CX leadership change narrative". Do you want to learn how to be a better CX Storyteller and scaler of your message? We have a new one day CX training: CX Storytelling, the first time will be in Dutch. You can read all about it here. 

About Nienke:     Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.     

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.    

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.     

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem is joined by James O’Connor, one of the early architects of customer experience as a professional discipline. 

James brings more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of customer experience, strategy, operations and technology. He was one of the first CX advisors at Forrester, where he worked closely with CX leaders and executive teams across global organisations. Later, he continued his work in advanced analytics and customer strategy at Bain & Company. 

In this conversation, Nienke and James dive deep into a topic many CX leaders struggle with: technology. Not tools for the sake of tools, but how technology can truly accelerate CX leadership, business impact and decision-making. 

They talk openly about why CX technology so often disappoints, why imperfect technology sometimes works better than “Ferraris”, and what CX leaders should focus on if they want technology to actually deliver value. 

This is a practical, honest and strategic episode for CX leaders who want to move beyond dashboards, vendors and hype, and start using technology as a real leadership accelerator. 

Timestamped overview  00:00 Mentorship that transforms CX leadership  05:01 Journey into Customer Experience  07:53 Strategizing CX with accountability  11:26 Progress over perfection  15:02 Why CX leaders need technology  18:10 Misaligned initiatives and technology use  22:04 Good enough tools deliver  23:27 AI catalyst for business insights  29:00 Driving business impact collaboratively  32:32 Understanding tech’s business value  36:50 Importance of an operating model  39:16 Building a strong core  41:55 Prioritize people over tools  46:17 Accelerating impact using existing resources  48:27 Maximizing existing resources effectively 

Books mentioned in this episode 

• Endurance by Alfred Lansing
• The Martian by Andy Weir 

Video’s on the Future of CX Leadership  Nienke gave her insights on the future of CX in a video serie: 5 Shifts for CX leaders – the future of CX leadership. You can find them here.

Connect with James  You can connect with James on LinkedIn. 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a fellow CX leader and let Nienke know what your biggest takeaway was. 

About Nienke:     

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.      

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.     

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.      

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

This first episode of 2026 is an invitation for CX leaders to pause, reflect and look ahead. 

In this episode, Nienke Bloem CCXP explores why CX leadership is entering a new phase and why 2026 asks something different from those leading customer experience in complex organizations. Instead of jumping to tools or quick fixes, she starts with the real challenges CX leaders face today, from lacking strategic mandate and struggling to scale CX, to feeling constantly pulled into operational firefighting. 

From there, Nienke introduces the big CX theme for 2026 and shares a clear, practical model that helps CX leaders reflect on their role at three levels: strategic, tactical and operational. With personal stories, concrete examples and a powerful lighthouse metaphor, she shows how CX leaders can move from being busy to being intentional, from reacting to steering. 

This episode is for you if you want to lead CX with more clarity, confidence and impact in 2026, without losing the joy and playfulness of the work. 

By the end of this episode, you won’t have a long to-do list.  You’ll have one honest question to answer: 

Are you ready for the next level? 

Timestamped overview:  00:00 2026 Theme for CX leaders  03:09 CX leadership theme unveiled  09:27 Strengthening CX leadership strategy 14:32 Scaling Customer Experience challenges 15:39 Scaling CX for growth 20:22 Intentionality in leadership and action 25:05 Self-assessment for CX improvement 28:20 Scaling methodologies and customer journeys  30:27 Streamlining education and Customer Experience  33:22 Strategic thinking and leadership habits  36:42 Focusing energy on growth levels  39:24 Leading the next CX chapter Extra information:   You can read the blog with additional information here.

About Nienke:     Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.     

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.    

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.     

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

How do you want to lead in 2026? 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem helps CX leaders move from intention to direction. Not by creating a long to-do list, but by making conscious, strategic choices about where to focus. 

With 2026 themed as Strategizing CX, this episode is an invitation to slow down, zoom out, and design your year with clarity. Nienke guides you through five must-win battles every CX leader should define for themselves: impact and results, strategy vision and purpose, engagement and cultural change, personal growth and development, and work-life balance and well-being. 

This is not a quick listen. It’s a working session. You’ll be encouraged to grab a journal, think bigger than you normally do in CX, and translate ambition into concrete focus. Along the way, Nienke shares personal examples, lessons from CX leaders she mentors, and practical questions to help you decide what truly matters and what can wait. 

The episode closes with a powerful exercise: writing a letter to yourself from the end of 2026, already successful. 

If you want to lead CX more strategically, align your work with what really matters in your organization, and still protect your energy and joy, this episode is for you. 

Press play, take your time, and start shaping your 2026 with intention. 

Timestamped overview:  00:00 Strategic success in CX  05:51 Aligning goals and defining success  07:20 Prioritizing CX projects for impact  12:17 Building a strong CX strategy  13:33 Strategy to execution challenges  19:00 Strategizing CX engagement  20:31 Culture shift and behavioral change  25:21 Commit to growth opportunities  29:39 Prioritize strategic time planning  31:28 Habits for wellness and focus  35:23 Future success and CX impact  37:51 Strategizing CX and leadership 

About Nienke:     Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.     

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.    

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.     

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

Welcome to a brand new episode of the CX Leadership Talks podcast, hosted by Nienke Bloem! In this very special "Reflection edition for 2025”, Nienke Bloem invites you to slow down, look back, and take stock of your year as a CX leader. She guides you through a thoughtful self-audit, encouraging you to pause, journal, and dig deep into five essential areas: impact and results, strategy and vision, engagement and cultural change, personal growth, and work-life balance. 

Drawing on her years of experience mentoring and educating hundreds of CX professionals, Nienke Bloem shares her own reflections and the successes (and lessons) of the leaders she’s worked with.     This episode is packed with practical questions, inspiring stories, and actionable insights that will help you understand where you’ve thrived, where you can improve, and how to set the stage for an even more impactful 2026. 

So grab your headphones, settle into your favorite spot, and get ready for an honest, energizing reflection session designed to elevate your CX leadership journey! 

Timestamped overview:  00:00 Self-audit for future growth  05:14 Defining success with metrics  08:19 Ranking results: direct vs. Indirect  11:11 Impact measurement and benefit tracking  15:58 Crafting an effective CX strategy  20:15 Strategic planning and reflection  21:42 Strategic success in CX leadership  25:09 Leadership and collaboration reflections  30:21 Success and personal growth  34:30 CX leadership and growth insights  38:05 Reflecting on stress and balance  41:19 Balancing work, life, and inspiration  45:32 Self-generated energy management  48:06 Finding my leadership sweet spot  50:03 Carrying forward purposeful habits 

Extra information:   Download your free PDF with all 44 reflection questions here.

About Nienke:   

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.    

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.   

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders who want to spice up their leadership. 

In this episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP connects with Cairo Marsh, founder of Relativ, an experience agency based in Tokyo. Together, they explore why branding alone isn’t enough in today’s world and introduce the powerful concept of “brand being”: how a brand shows up in every experience, online and offline. 

Cairo Marsh shares practical strategies for aligning different departments around shared customer goals, the importance of employee incentives and culture, and how CX leaders can leverage moments of belonging to drive loyalty and connection. You’ll also hear insights on balancing quantitative and qualitative research, the necessity of customer experience strategy, and lessons from global and Japanese brands. 

Grab your favorite drink and get ready for inspiration and actionable tips to elevate your CX leadership! 

Timestamped overview:  00:00 Brand being and belonging  05:33 Branding agencies and broken promises  06:57 Marketing for today and tomorrow  10:57 Thin slicing customer experience  13:47 Overcoming Fragmentation in Teams  18:37 Unified customer engagement platform design  21:58 Prioritizing customers to align goals  25:47 Balancing data and insight  30:00 Defining strategy to stand out  33:47 Authentic leadership and expectations  36:16 Japan's experience design challenge  39:08 Belonging over basic needs  40:50 Building belonging through connection  45:38 Unreasonable hospitality insights 

Extra information:   Connect with Cairo on LinkedIn   You can find the information about relativ* here    You can find Cairo's book recommendation here

About Nienke:   

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.    

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.   

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks!

In this episode, Nienke Bloem CCXP takes you to the International CX Awards in London, where she hosted an evening with more than 450 CX professionals from over 50 countries. Across all those conversations, one theme stood out: the real challenge in CX is leadership engagement.

Not tools. Not dashboards. But leadership behavior.

Nienke shares why so many leaders believe they are customer centric while their behavior tells a different story, explains the confronting Bain 80–20 gap, and shows how the Aha moment becomes the starting point for real transformation. She also shares a powerful example of a Dutch energy company where leaders personally solve customer complaints and what happens when leaders actually meet customers.

In this episode you’ll learn: • Why leadership behavior is the true engine of customer centricity • How the Dunning Kruger effect and the 80–20 gap show blind spots in leadership • What happens when leaders step in, meet customers, and make customer centricity a habit

Nienke closes with insights from her new keynote We only win when everyone is in, where customer centric leadership becomes a real team sport.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Leadership Drives Customer Experience Success

03:56 Customer Centricity: Challenging Perceptions

09:45 Customer-Centric Leadership Insights

12:19 Leaders Solving Complaints Personally

14:49 Leadership Growth Through Story Sharing

19:50 "True Customer-Centric Leadership"

24:07 "Leadership Behavior Shapes Impact"

25:26 "Greetings from CX Awards"

Explore working together: If you want to find out whether Nienke’s new keynote We only win when everyone is in is the right fit for your leadership event or 2026 plans, send an email to nienke@nienkebloem.nl to plan an exploration call. Or look her up at nienkebloem.com

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem CSP CCXP is known as the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. She is a global CX thought leader, keynote speaker and educator with over 20 years of corporate experience. She is author of two CX books, creator of the CX Game and a Recognized Training Partner of the CXPA. Nienke is on a mission to make Customer Experience work through strategy, behavior and leadership. And helping you spice up your CX 😊

Welcome to a brand new episode of CX Leadership Talks! 

In this episode, Nienke Bloem CCXP shares a personal story from her time at KPN that completely changed how she looked at leadership. A Valentine’s Day blog, a bold email to the CEO, and one big aha moment led her to realise that real CX leadership starts when we stop judging and start joining. 

Too often, CX leaders complain that management “doesn’t get it.” But our job isn’t to criticize leaders, it’s to help them lead. Nienke talks about how to bridge that leadership gap and become a trusted partner instead of a frustrated observer. 

You’ll learn three practical ways to lead your leaders:  • Help them make decisions by bringing options, not just problems  • Help them connect with customers by organising and guiding their first experiences  • Help them as humans by showing care and curiosity 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Valentine's Day customer service story 

04:13 Leaders ignoring customer stories 

10:03 Mindset shift for better leadership 

11:50 Elevating CX leadership mindset 

14:56 Facilitating decisions through preparation 

18:48 Practical planning for board visits 

22:53 Connecting leaders with customers 

25:19 CX Leadership masterminds 2026 

Listen now and discover how to lead your leaders, build bridges instead of walls, and make Customer Experience work through true collaboration. 

Don’t just manage CX. Lead it. 

About Nienke:    

If this episode hits home, there are two ways to go further.  Book Nienke’s new keynote We only win when everyone is in for your next leadership event.  Or, if you’re Dutch and ready to grow as a CX leader, join the CX Leadership Masterminds 2026, the eight-month journey to strengthen your CX strategy, story, and impact. 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.     

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.  

Welcome to a brand new episode of CX Leadership Talks! 

What if CX leadership was more about heart than KPIs? In this fresh, feel-good episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP explores what happens when we swap frameworks and dashboards for belief, curiosity and connection, inspired by none other than Ted Lasso. 

From her sunny spot in the south of France, Nienke shares how a cheerful TV coach can teach us five timeless lessons about leadership, culture and courage. Because let’s be honest, too many CX leaders focus on metrics when what really moves people is meaning. 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke breaks down five Ted Lasso leadership lessons that every CX leader can use to bring more heart into their work: 

1. Be a goldfish, let go faster and lead lighter. 
2. Believe in your team, courage grows from trust.
3. Be curious, not judgmental, curiosity opens doors.
4. Find your biscuits, build connection through consistency and care.
5. Laugh at yourself, authenticity beats perfection every time. 

This episode is about leading with heart, humour and humanity. Nienke invites you to bring a little more Lasso energy into your CX leadership, to believe before you measure, to connect before you control, and to make customer experience work with joy. 

🎧 Listen now and discover which of the five Ted Lasso lessons will spice up your leadership next. 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Ted Lasso leadership insights  05:42 Customer Experience lessons from Ted  08:13 Be a goldfish  11:34 Believe in your team  14:30 Be curious, not judgmental  18:05 Building loyalty through gestures  20:54 Learn from mistakes  23:39 Building Customer-Centric leadership 

About Nienke:   

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.    

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.   

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

Welcome to a brand new episode of CX Leadership Talks!

Too many CX leaders are hired to create change… yet end up playing it safe. Organizations reward dashboards, quick wins, and staying in the background. But as your host: Nienke Bloem reminds her listeners, CX is not about management, it is about leadership. 

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke shares the five areas where CX leaders play it too safe, and the bold leadership shifts they need to make instead. She explains how leaders can move from being reporters to becoming strategic business partners, from project explainers to storytellers with one strong CX narrative, from short-term fixers to transformational leaders, from the soft zone to technology-driven impact, and from being invisible to becoming visible strategic connectors. 

This episode is about stepping out of the slippers of the expert or manager and into the shoes of a true CX leader. Nienke invites her audience to spice up their leadership, follow their joy, and ride the wave of awesomeness. 

In this episode you will learn: 

• Why playing it safe is the biggest trap for CX leaders 

• The 5 safe zones that keep leaders small 

• What it looks like to shift from management to true leadership 

• Why joy, courage and visibility matter more than ever 

Nienke makes it clear: CX is too important to play it safe. It is time to stop limiting yourself, step into your leadership shoes, and lead like you mean it. 

🎧 Listen now and discover which of the five areas resonates most with you. 

Timestamped overview:    00:00 CX Leadership podcast challenges  05:06 Step out of safe leadership  08:40 From reporter to strategic partner  12:41 From projects to transformation  14:05 Tech-driven impact with AI & data  18:02 Becoming a strategic connector  21:18 Join secret email list 

About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.   

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.   

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, Nienke Bloem CCXP MBA explores the fascinating concept of thin slicing,  the psychological phenomenon that shows how just a few seconds of behavior can reveal the bigger truth.

From leaders canceling contact center visits to technicians arriving late, from the reviews customers leave online to the culture that lives inside organizations, thin slices are everywhere. And they matter.

Drawing on research by Nalini Ambady, Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, and her own stories from corporate life, Nienke shows how thin slicing can be used in two powerful ways:

1. Driving culture change and leadership interventions, making behavior visible and discussable.
2. Understanding customer feedback and VOC data, treating reviews and complaints as slices of the bigger customer experience.

You’ll learn:

• Why behavior is the real evidence of your strategy.
• How small slices of action build or break trust.
• Practical tips for using thin slicing as a CX leader.

Because in the end, behavior is the evidence. Every thin slice reveals what’s really important, far louder than any strategy document or polished story.

🎧 Tune in for stories, science, and practical actions you can take to grow your CX leadership.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Thin slicing and tech issues

05:51 Accuracy of thin-slice judgments

09:25 Unseen importance: Plankton effect

11:38 Thin slicing: Judging whole from parts

13:50 Customers are evaluating companies

18:24 Aligning internal culture with CX

21:02 Leadership by example in CX

25:13 Cultural reflection in Customer feedback

27:06 Distrust and control realization

31:03 Strategy webinar dates correction

Free learning opportunity: Join one of Nienke’s upcoming Strategy on a Page webinars:

• English: Friday, October 3 at 10:00 AM (Amsterdam time)
• Dutch: Monday, October 6 at 12:00 noon (Amsterdam time)

Both sessions will be recorded, but attending live gives you the chance to ask your own questions and interact. Plus, if you attend live, you’ll get a practical AI prompt so you can start building your SOAP right away.

Register here

About Nienke: 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.  

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books. 

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.  

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

The future of customer experience isn’t 10 years away, it’s happening right now. In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP sits down with Bart Verouden, CCXP, Senior Manager Innovation & Business Development at Accenture, Lean Black Belt, and lifelong learner.

Bart is part of the team behind Accenture Song’s Life Trends Report, a yearly study that combines global research, expert insights, and real human stories. Normally, Nienke is a little skeptical of “trend reports,” but when she first saw Bart present this one, she was blown away. It’s sharp, relevant, and deeply practical for CX leaders.

Together, we dive into the five Life Trends for 2025:

1. The cost of hesitation – how online mistrust is shaping customer behavior
2. The parent trap – why raising kids in a digital world is now a shared responsibility
3. The impatience economy – speed, trust, and the rise of bite-sized influence
4. The dignity of work – why employee experience directly defines customer experience
5. Social media rewilding – finding balance between digital convenience and real-life connection

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why these trends matter for CX leaders right now
• How to recognize them inside your own organization
• Practical examples of companies getting it right (and wrong)
• The simple but powerful role of empathy and trust in staying relevant

If you want to understand how customer expectations are shifting, and what you can do as a leader to prepare, this episode is for you.

Timestamped overview:

00:00 Future of CX & Employee Experience 06:04 Career journey in Customer Experience 07:43 Dutch CX professional collaboration 12:57 Online hesitation due to misinformation 17:04 Ecosystem collaboration for digital trust 17:41 Dutch lab cyber hack exposes data 23:27 Limited access for young users 24:08 Gaming ethics vs. Functionality 30:24 Importance of speed in service delivery 34:16 Restaurant choice and experience 35:44 Empowering employee autonomy 39:50 Blending digital and in-store experiences 42:50 Building a chatbot: A personal journey 44:25 DIY multilingual chatbot success 47:57 Global trends insights

Extra information: 

Connect with Bart on LinkedIn  You can find the five life trends of Accenture Song here.  Book recommendation: Beyond Employee Engagement by Kristina G. Vaneva 

About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.   

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.   

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

Too many CX strategies are either far too complex… or don’t exist at all. That’s why in this episode, your host Nienke Bloem, CX educator and speaker, takes you on a journey into one of the most powerful tools you can have as a CX leader: your Strategy on a Page (SOAP).

Your Strategy on a Page is the bridge between vision and execution. Without it, your CX story risks staying a dream. With it, you have a clear, shareable, actionable plan that guides your team and inspires your organization.

In this episode, you’ll learn: ✅ Why SOAP is the third essential element of your CX Story. ✅ The 5 research-backed advantages of having a one-page strategy. ✅ Real examples of SOAP setups, from 2 pillars to 5 must-win battles. ✅ 10 possible elements you can include in your own SOAP. ✅ A challenge: how to make sure your strategy drives direct customer impact, not just internal alignment.

You’ll also hear stories from Nienke’s own leadership journey and client cases that bring SOAP to life, plus practical tips to make your strategy visual, memorable, and usable every single day.

Timestamped overview: 00:00 Podcast introduction 05:05 Webinar announcement 09:39 Executive strategy and CX alignment 13:19 Strategic execution through visual simplicity 16:02 Clarity drives action 20:04 DIY CX Story framework 22:36 Building customer-centric mindsets 27:20 Strategic vision through self-thinking 30:17 Visualize your strategic path 31:20 Strategy as bridge to success Free learning opportunity: Want to create your own Strategy on a Page? Join one of Nienke’s upcoming Strategy on a Page webinars:

• English: Friday, October 3 at 10:00 AM (Amsterdam time)
• Dutch: Monday, October 6 at 12:00 noon (Amsterdam time)

Both sessions will be recorded, but attending live gives you the chance to ask your own questions and interact. Plus, if you attend live, you’ll get a practical AI prompt so you can start building your SOAP right away.

👉 Register here

About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.   

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.   

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

In this final episode before summer, Nienke shares her Power of ONE, a refreshing take on CX leadership that skips the frameworks and dives into behavior, trust, and real connection. 

You’ll get: 

• 3 CX micro-missions
• 9 practical actions (yes, totally doable!)
• A summer challenge: pick one each week and go for it 

Backed by insights from Harvard Business on how trust is built through small, authentic actions, this episode is a must-listen for CX leaders who want to lead with heart and make real impact through the little things. 

No budget required. No approval needed. Just action. 

Whether you’re still working or already easing into the holiday spirit, this episode will inspire you to keep CX human, purposeful, and powerful - one small step at a time. 

Listen now and start your summer ripple. 

Time-stamped overview: 

00:00 Summer CX Leadership episode  05:34 Engage one customer directly  08:15 Encouraging recognition and openness  10:48 Start meetings with Customer stories  13:43 Micro actions: Power of one 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Harvard Business Insight: Good Leadership Starts with Trust 

About Nienke  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.     

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.    

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.     

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.  

Enjoyed the episode?  

Leave a quick rating or review in your favorite podcast app and share this episode with a fellow CX leader who’s ready to spice up their influence!  

Nienke will be back with fresh CX energy on Monday, August 25. Until then, keep it simple, keep it human, and start small. 

This episode is in Dutch 🇳🇱

Hey there! Normally, this podcast is in English – but for this special episode, we’re switching to Dutch. Why? Because the conversation needed to be raw, real and relevant for the Dutch-speaking women in CX and customer service leadership roles. Of course I am helping you out, this is the link to a blog with the insights in English

In deze aflevering spreek ik met Elisa de Groot, expert op het gebied van vrouwelijk leiderschap en mede-oprichter van InTouch Female Leadership & Career Academy. Samen duiken we in een onderwerp dat zó belangrijk is: hoe speel je als vrouw het spel in organisaties slim? Zodat je meer invloed hebt, meer plezier ervaart én de erkenning krijgt die je verdient.

We hebben het over:

• de ongeschreven spelregels in organisaties
• hoe je je ambitie uitspreekt zonder arrogant over te komen
• wat je kunt doen als je collega wél promotie maakt en jij niet
• én waarom het tijd is voor jouw Tadaaa-schrift

En natuurlijk hoor je alles over de bijzondere masterclass Stratego voor Vrouwen, die we samen organiseren op 18 november. Dit is hét programma voor vrouwelijke CX- en serviceleiders die strategischer willen leren handelen – op een manier die bij ze past.

🎧 Dus: zet je koptelefoon op, laat je inspireren en ontdek hoe jij je eigen spel slimmer kunt gaan spelen.

Tijdlijnoverzicht:

[00:00:00] – Welkom & introductie [00:00:42] – Opmerking voor de Engelse luisteraar [00:03:06] – Start van het gesprek met Elisa [00:03:26] – Achtergrond van Elisa [00:05:15] – Betrokkenheid bij diversiteit & masterclasses [00:06:42] – Vrouwen in CX [00:07:41] – Frustraties en uitdagingen [00:10:35] – Het masculiene spel [00:11:30] – Het spel veranderen [00:13:15] – De behoefte aan authenticiteit [00:13:56] – Slimmer werken, niet harder [00:16:25] – Problemen in het vakgebied aanpakken [00:19:22] – Persoonlijke verhalen en inzichten [00:20:42] – Purpose-driven CX [00:27:56] – Leiderschapsmodellen in CX [00:29:27] – Masculiene en feminiene leiderschapsstijlen [00:31:19] – Vaardigheden en denkwijzen [00:35:02] – Empowerment en potentieel [00:35:45] – Persoonlijk succesverhaal (Elisa) [00:38:51] – Klassieke fouten en groei [00:40:02] – Imposter syndroom in CX [00:43:24] – Zelfacceptatie en authenticiteit [00:45:15] – Inclusieve blik [00:46:40] – Afsluiting

Bronnen & links:

Stratego voor CX Vrouwen

Linkedin Elisa de Groot

Boekentip: Jacinda Ardern, de Nieuwe Macht

Over Nienke: 

Nienke Bloem wordt vaak de Customer Experience spreker in de blauwe jurk genoemd. Ze is een wereldwijde CX thought leader, opleider en keynote spreker die haar publiek inspireert met best practices en bewezen methode; Customer Experience is haar tweede natuur. Ze schreef twee boeken over het vak.

Haar tweedaagse Customer Experience Masterclass staat bekend als hét programma om je voor te bereiden op je CCXP-certificering. Ze is dé expert waar CX-leiders naartoe gaan als ze hun leiderschap willen versterken en concrete resultaten willen behalen met hun Customer Experience-transformatie. Sinds 2020 host ze het CX Leadership Masterminds-programma, waarin ze leiders helpt hun leiderschap te verrijken en een boeiend CX-verhaal neer te zetten, inclusief een sterke CX-strategie.

Met meer dan twintig jaar ervaring in het bedrijfsleven spreekt ze de taal van de organisatie. Haar keynotes en CX-opleidingen zijn inspirerend én praktisch toepasbaar. Ze is een van de weinige Recognized Training Partners van de CXPA en haar missie is helder: Customer Experience laten werken en helpen bij het behalen van concrete bedrijfsresultaten. Abonneer je op haar wekelijkse CX Greetz om up-to-date te blijven.

Vond je deze aflevering waardevol? Laat een korte review of beoordeling achter in je favoriete podcast-app en deel de aflevering met een CX-leider die zijn of haar invloed een flinke boost wil geven!

Ever felt your brilliant CX roadmap hit a brick wall of internal resistance? In this solo episode, your host Nienke Bloem reveals why influence inside your organization depends on two human signals - warmth and competence - and how you can dial up both to become the Lovable Star colleagues trust and senior leaders follow.  

Inspired by a mountain-top holiday encounter with a servant-hearted hotel owner and a candid leadership lesson from HEMA CEO Saskia Egas Reparaz, Nienke distills the science into 9 practical tips (3 for warmth, 3 for competence, 3 for everyone). 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why warmth beats raw skill as the first gateway to trust - and how the warmth/ competence matrix works (Fiske & Cuddy) 

• The four leadership quadrants and the trap of being a “Competent Jerk” 

• How a sommelier-turned-hotel-owner models visible, servant leadership - plus a real-world boardroom example from the CEO of HEMA 

• 3 ways to ramp up warmth when you’re seen as distant 

• 3 ways to boost competence when you’re liked but not taken seriously 

• 3 universal moves every CX leader can start this week to spice up influence across silos 

• A simple self-audit to locate yourself on the matrix and pick the right next habit 

  Time-stamped overview 

[00:00:00] - [00:01:32] Introduction: Why warmth beats competence 

[00:01:32] - [00:02:54] About the podcast & host 

[00:02:54] - [00:05:11] The science of warmth and competence 

[00:05:11] - [00:07:30] The warmth & competence model 

[00:07:30] - [00:09:34] Four leadership quadrants 

[00:09:34] - [00:11:47] Why the Matrix matters for CX leaders 

[00:11:47] - [00:14:32] Real-world example: The Dolomite hotel 

[00:14:32] - [00:15:56] Leadership reflection & practical application 

[00:15:56] - [00:19:07] Tips to grow warmth 

[00:19:07] - [00:24:43] Learning from warm leaders: Hema’s CEO 

[00:24:43] - [00:28:23] Tips to grow competence 

[00:28:23] - [00:29:50] Recap of action steps 

[00:29:50] - [00:31:19] Three universal tips for all leaders 

[00:31:19] - [00:32:48] Conclusion & invitation 

[00:32:48] - End credits 

Resources & links 

• Warmth–Competence research: Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick (2007); Cuddy, Kohut & Neffinger (2013) 

• Nienke wrote a blog about this topic with an interesting model, you can read it here. 

About Nienke 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.    

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.   

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.    

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

Enjoyed the episode? 

Leave a quick rating or review in your favorite podcast app and share this episode with a fellow CX leader who’s ready to spice up their influence! 

Welcome back to CX Leadership Talks! In a refreshing role reversal, today Nienke Bloem - your host - takes the guest seat, joining host Adam Dorrell for a conversation you don’t want to miss. Known for her infectious energy and practical approach to driving real change, Nienke opens up about what it really means to “spice up” customer experience - hint: it starts with leadership. 

Together, Adam and Nienke cut through CX industry jargon and get real about the challenges of building a customer-centric culture, balancing strategy with fast, practical action, and learning to love tough customer feedback. Nienke shares colorful stories from her career journey - from small island beginnings in Texel to leading CX for telecom giant KPN - and introduces refreshing concepts like “truth makers” vs. “truth seekers” and the art of “friction hunting.” 

This episode is packed with hands-on leadership tips, memorable metaphors (ever heard of CX cosplay or fire prevention in CX?), and candid discussions on building true authority and resilience as a CX leader. Whether you’re looking to energize your CX strategy or need inspiration to face tough boardroom conversations, this conversation delivers insights you can act on right away. 

Tune in for Nienke’s spicy perspectives and practical advice, and learn how to bring more heart - and action - into your customer experience leadership. 

Timestamped overview:  

00:00 Enhancing leadership for impact 

05:04 Early risers' varied workday 

09:19 Truth makers vs. truth seekers 

12:34 Truth makers triumph over seekers 

16:10 Slow processes in Customer Experience 

17:56 Pilgrimage as strategic journey 

23:30 Customer-Centric strategy execution 

27:25 Urgent need for improved CX 

29:13 Engage, don't convince, in CX 

32:54 Prioritize understanding, avoid judgement 

35:21 CX leadership strategies & stories 

39:37 Costly advertising and low conversion rates 

41:55 Mastering NPS for CX leaders 

46:26 From conflict to connection 

47:44 CX Program improvement suggestion 

Extra information:  

Connect with Adam on LinkedIn.

Booktip: Winning on Purpose  

About Nienke:  

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.   

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.  

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.   

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

Welcome to a fresh episode of CX Leadership Talks, hosted by Nienke Bloem - the international customer experience expert known for her practical wisdom and signature blue dress! In this special “back to basics” episode, Nienke dives deep into the essentials of making your customers come back for more. You’ll get an insider’s look at her new CX Boomerang model - a simple yet powerful framework designed to help you create experiences that are effective, easy, enjoyable, and truly memorable. 

Blending  

1. the famous CX model by Forester
2. timeless research from Daniel Kahneman and 
3. the EPIC moments framework of Chip and Dan Heath, 

Nienke shares actionable insights and memorable stories from business and everyday life alike. Whether you’re a seasoned CX leader or just starting your journey, you’ll discover practical strategies to build long-lasting loyalty and real business value by delivering unforgettable moments throughout your customer journey. 

Tune in for inspiration, practical ideas you can use today, and a reminder that even the smallest memorable touch can boomerang back as loyalty, advocacy, and growth for your business. Get ready to be inspired to make CX work - for you, your team, and your customers! 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Creating memorable CX 

04:28 Enhancing customer journeys moments 

08:47 Refocusing on CX fundamentals 

11:11 Creating effortless, enjoyable, memorable experiences 

17:02 Memorable CX moments 

18:47 IKEA's simple checkout experience 

23:57 Applying the Boomerang model to journeys 

26:19 Client loyalty in veterinary services 

30:16 Dutch approach to customer loyalty 

31:08 Enhancing client experience 

36:08 Creating memorable business moments 

39:38 Thoughtful gestures and kindness practices 

44:32 Enhancing customer experience reflection 

46:50 Creating memorable customer experiences 

Extra information: 

Video Daniel Kahneman – Experience vs Memory of Experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgRlrBl-7Yg 

One page summary of The Power of Moments EPIC model: https://www.scribd.com/document/472290032/heathbrothers-power-moments-1-page-summary-epic 

About Nienke: 

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.  

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books. 

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.  

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

You’re probably expecting to hear Nienke’s familiar voice in this episode - but not today. Surprise! This episode was not recorded by Nienke. In fact… it wasn’t recorded by a human at all.

While Nienke was in Singapore, diving deep into all things Artificial Intelligence - from chatbots to content creation, from productivity boosters to playful creativity - something unexpected happened. AI got its hands on her book CX is a Pilgrimage… and decided to make a podcast about it.

Meet Notbook LM: the AI behind this unusual episode. It read the book, processed the CX philosophy, and crafted an audio experience all on its own.

No, it doesn’t sound like Nienke. Yes, it talks about her ideas. And yes - it might just blow your mind a little.

Curious to hear how AI interprets a CX journey? Hit play and enjoy this one-of-a-kind experiment.

Let the CX pilgrimage continue - in a totally new voice.

Timestamped overview

00:00 Fear of change: Can you?

04:04 Road map to potential

06:32 Choose your CX toolkit wisely

12:42 Fostering a culture of safety

13:58 Colleague's support transformed struggle

17:29 Prioritize self-care and joy About Nienke:

Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

Welcome to a new solo episode of CX Leadership Talks! Today, Nienke Bloem CCXP dives into a topic that can transform your CX leadership journey: mentorship.

With over 53 CX leaders mentored since 2020 through her Masterminds and individual mentoring programs, Nienke shares why having a mentor is not a luxury, but a real accelerator for your success as a CX leader, expert, or consultant.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why mentoring isn’t about fixing you - it’s about expanding you
• What can go wrong when you don't have a mentor
• How a mentor gives you fresh perspectives, strategic direction, and real accountability
• The 10 powerful elements a CX mentor can bring to your leadership journey
• The difference between internal and external mentors and why Nienke loves working with external mentors
• Common misconceptions about mentoring (and why it’s not just for struggling leaders)
• How mentoring can help you dream bigger, grow faster, and lead stronger

Are you ready to grow your CX leadership impact? If you're curious about what mentoring with Nienke might look like, feel free to send us an email at nienke@nienkebloem.nl and we'll be happy to tell you all about it.

Time stamped overview:

00:00 Mentorship for CX leaders

06:20 Power of mentorship

09:52 Guiding mentees in CX strategy

10:57 Accountability and overcoming procrastination

15:37 Value of real-life mentorship

17:15 Role models inspire bigger dreams

21:51 Seek mentorship for leadership growth

23:46 Share your episode review

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

In this eye-opening episode, Nienke Bloem talks with organizational consultant and founder of Met Klanten, Sarah van der Wiel, about how systems thinking can transform the way we approach customer experience.

Sarah shares her unique blend of expertise - from CX and behavioral design to organizational anthropology and systemic work - and introduces us to her newest method: Customer Constellations.

Together, they explore:

• Why customers are not outside the system, but part of it
• How to recognize deeper, systemic root causes behind recurring customer pain points
• What language, power dynamics, and organizational history have to do with CX
• Why slowing down might be the smartest move CX leaders can make
• How to create lasting change that actually sticks

If you've ever felt like you're fixing the same issues over and over again, this episode is a must-listen.

Time stamped overview:

00:00 Emotional connection with banks

05:53 Trends in cultural and behavioral design

09:27 Customers shape the ecosystem

12:59 Reflecting on a 11-year-old event

15:34 Breaking Customer System Silos

17:36 Cultivating curiosity through feedback

23:04 Humanizing Customer Experience transformation

26:29 CX leadership & narrative change

30:11 Dutch childcare benefits scandal

31:22 Fall in love with problems

35:09 Systemic leadership literature challenges

37:25 Launch of Customer constellations

Resources mentioned: 🔗 You can connect with Sarah here  🌐 Learn more here 

Dutch: Barbara Hoogendoorn books

English: Els van Steijn – The fountain

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

In episode 50 of the CX Leadership Talks podcast, Nienke Bloem celebrates this milestone moment by taking you on a personal and powerful journey through her CX education experiences.

She shares the lowlight that started it all - a disappointing CX course in London - and how that frustration became the spark to build her own CX training programs. From there, she reflects on seven key learning experiences that shaped her leadership, including:

✨ A behind-the-scenes tour at Zappos and their legendary employee culture ✨ Learning CX magic at the Disney Institute (yes, there were Minnie ears!) ✨ Earning two diplomas from Harvard Business School Online ✨ The value of being part of an international mastermind that fuels strategy and accountability

This episode is a celebration of growth, resilience, and the power of investing in yourself. If you're a CX leader or aspiring to become one, you’ll walk away with fresh insights and a renewed belief in lifelong learning.

🎧 Hit play and discover what these experiences taught Nienke and what they can teach you too.

Timestamped overview

04:08 Disappointing CX training experience

08:19 Thin slicing concept explained

12:16 Commitment in blended learning

16:36 Networking and mastermind importance

18:06 Mastermind connections for CX leaders

21:01 Design thinking and growth

Resources mentioned:

Download the free e-zine with my 27 Zappos learnings here.

For more info about the CX Leadership Masterminds program, visit Nienke's website here.

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

Title: #49 Stop being the Best-Kept secret in your company - Make your CX Story stick

Welcome back, my CX friends! In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, I'm diving into the art of crafting unforgettable customer experience stories that truly stick and leave a lasting impact.

Drawing inspiration from one of my favorite books, "Made to Stick" by Dan and Chip Heath, I'll be sharing six transformative elements to take your CX narrative to the next level.

From simplicity to surprise, concreteness to credibility, and more, we'll explore how to make your message memorable and drive change in your organization.

Plus, I'll tell you about my upcoming webinars where you can work with me to refine your CX story and make it truly stick.

Whether you're a seasoned CX pro or just starting out, this episode is packed with insights and practical tips to spice up your leadership and storytelling skills.

Tune in and let's transform your CX communication together!

In this episode, you’ll learn how to make your CX story Stick, by using the SUCCES formula of the Heath brothers:

✅ Simple – Find the sharpest core message (no more 43-slide decks!) ✅ Unexpected – Grab attention by flipping the script ✅ Concrete – Ditch vague buzzwords; bring true client stories to the table ✅ Credible – Back it up with real numbers and support from senior leaders ✅ Emotional – Data informs, but emotion moves ✅ Stories – Because stories are how people remember and act

CX Leaders, this is for YOU if: ✔️ You’re tired of repeating yourself ✔️ You want people to take action after your presentations ✔️ You’re ready to spice up your leadership with a story that spreads

📅 And don’t miss this: Join Nienke’s free 1-hour First Aid CX Story Webinar to test and upgrade your own story using her CX Story Blueprint.

🧡 March 25 (NL) – Dutch edition 💙 March 26 (INT) – International edition 🧡 March 27 (BONUS) – Extra session!

📩 Register here

Time stamped overview

00:00 Creating stickiness in Customer Experience

03:22 Webinar: Enhance Your CX Story

07:20 Unexpected low reviews shock customers

12:11 Creating emotional connections through context

14:47 Integrating success elements into stories

18:28 Join my webinar next week

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem CCXP is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.  

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books. 

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs.

Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.  

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

And register for her webinars this last week of March 2025:

🧡 March 25 (NL) – Dutch edition 💙 March 26 (INT) – International edition 🧡 March 27 (BONUS) – Extra session!

📩 Register here

Are you constantly tweaking your CX message for different audiences? Do leaders, employees and stakeholders hear different versions of what CX means in your organization? If so, you might be diluting your impact instead of strengthening it.

In this episode of CX Leadership Talks, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP shares why the best CX leaders don’t change their story every time, but instead have ONE clear, repeatable CX story that aligns teams, secures leadership buy-in, and drives action.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• The #1 mistake CX leaders make with their messaging.
• Why having multiple CX stories creates confusion and weakens impact.
• The four essential elements of a strong, repeatable CX story.
• How to adapt your story for different audiences without changing the core message.
• How to get your entire team to reinforce the same story for a true CX ripple effect.

Episode challenge: Take a look at the last few CX presentations or messages you’ve shared. Are they consistent? Does your team use the same key message when talking about CX? If not, it’s time to create and align around ONE CX story!

Join the CX Story webinars on March 25 & 26! Want hands-on guidance to craft your ONE powerful CX story? Register now for my upcoming CX Story Webinars and learn how to make your CX message stick and spread across your organization.

Time stamped overview

00:00 Consistent messaging is key

03:19 One CX Story, One Strategy

08:53 Consistency in CX Storytelling

11:53 Neglecting Customer Service issues

13:39 Urgent CX Storytelling strategy

17:31 Fixing frictions with three pillars

20:39 Tailored call to action strategies

24:05 Effective call to action strategies

26:50 Crafting a powerful CX Story

About Nienke:  Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.  

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books. 

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.  

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

In this week's episode of CX Leadership Talks, host Nienke Bloem dives into a critical challenge for CX leaders: how to create a true sense of urgency around customer experience (CX). Without urgency, even the best CX strategies can stall.

Through her journey with KPN and her work with clients, Nienke shares how organizations - commercial or governmental - can prioritize CX more effectively. She introduces the "CX Time Trap", explaining why CX is often seen as important but not urgent, and provides a mini-formula to help leaders break through this perception. By aligning data with emotion and business goals, CX professionals can drive real action.

But how do you master this skill? Join Nienke’s exclusive webinars on March 25th and 26th! In these live sessions, she will guide you in crafting compelling CX stories that inspire action and align with business priorities. Don't miss this opportunity to refine your urgency narrative and strengthen your CX leadership.

Secure your spot here.

See you there! 

Timestamped overview

00:00 Creating urgency in Customer Experience

05:03 Customer urgency and CX solutions

10:21 Linking CX to business success

12:27 Customer Experience: Why now?

14:32 Overcoming government agency plateau

17:43 Rock the CX world!

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders that want to spice up their leadership.

In this week’s special edition, your host, Nienke Bloem CCXP, introduces her innovative CLEAR method designed to help CX leaders make complex customer experience concepts clear. Nienke tackles one of the biggest frustrations in the industry: how to make sure that stakeholders truly understand and act on CX concepts and methods.

Discover how to transform abstract ideas into actionable insights through concrete examples, simple language, and inspiring stories. This episode is packed with practical tools and a challenge to elevate your communication skills, ensuring that your CX strategies are clear and impactful. Don’t miss out on this journey to make CX easy and memorable for your colleagues

🔑 CLEAR stands for: 🔵 C – Concrete (Avoid vague statements. Make it real with examples.) 🔵 L – Literal (Use simple, everyday language—not jargon.) 🔵 E – Example-Driven (Show, don’t tell. Use real stories and comparisons.) 🔵 A – Actionable (Give people something specific to do.) 🔵 R – Repeatable (If people can’t repeat it, they won’t remember it.)

Timestamped Overview:

00:00 Enhancing CX Leadership Strategies

04:27 "Making Customer Experience Work"

08:03 Creating Urgency in Customer Experience

11:26 Concrete Customer Feedback Process

15:20 Importance of Example-Driven Communication

18:13 Clarifying Leadership Ambassador Roles

20:13 "Importance of Repeating CX Stories"

24:25 Simplifying Leadership Communication

26:41 "Communicate Better: Join Our Webinars"

And that wraps up this episode of CX Leadership Talks! I hope you’re feeling inspired to apply the CLEAR method and make customer experience concepts truly stick.

Want to dive even deeper into CX leadership and sharpen your communication skills? Join my upcoming webinars, where I’ll be sharing even more actionable strategies to simplify CX and drive real impact in your organization.

Secure your spot now through this LINK and start making CX crystal clear for everyone in your organization!  See you there!

Resources Mentioned: Podcast episode #13 : Avoid these 5 mistakes inyour CX Storytelling journey!

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders that want to spice up their leadership.

In this latest episode, your host Nienke Bloem CCXP sits down with Pauline Bruyel, Customer Experience Manager at Levi9. They delve into the unique world of IT services and discuss how Levi9 stands out by maintaining a relentless focus on customer centricity, even in challenging times. Discover how Pauline bridges the gap between tech teams and business needs, and learn about the innovative strategies Levi9 employs to ensure their solutions are both functional and delightful for end-users.

With engaging examples from Pauline's own journey from archaeology to CX management, this episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone looking to elevate their customer experience game, especially within the B2B sector. Tune in for an inspiring conversation that sheds light on the importance of understanding the end customer and the role of leadership in shaping customer-centric cultures.

Timestamped Overview

00:00 From archaeology to IT: A people-centric journey 05:54 Customer focus as strategic pillar 09:13 Customer-centric solution development 10:48 Scalable development methodologies 16:13 Misconceptions in customer focus 17:27 Customer understanding fuels success 22:15 Resolving customer feedback challenges 26:24 Customer focus and training initiative 28:30 Creative good luck gift ideas 30:30 Surprise your customer ideas 34:22 Enhancing total experience 37:43 Creative customer feedback utilization 43:03 Great CX leadership insights

Resources Mentioned:

• Connect with Pauline Bruyel through Linked-In.
• Click here for more information on Levi9
• Book recommendation for Steven van Belleghem ‘Diamond in the Rough’

Podcast Episode with Steven van Belleghem on his book ‘Diamond in the Rough’

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

Welcome back to CX Leadership Talks! The podcast for CX leaders eager to elevate their leadership game.

In this engaging episode, your host Nienke Bloem dives into the complex yet fascinating world of the Dunning Kruger effect and its impact on customer experience leadership.

Discover how overconfident leaders may unknowingly harm CX efforts and learn the essential strategies to recognize and combat this cognitive bias. Nienke shares insightful red flags, real-life stories, and actionable steps to help organizations mirror reality, highlight best in class, and encourage self-reflection.

Whether you're looking to drive meaningful CX transformation or simply become a more self-aware leader, this episode is a must-listen for all CX professionals. Tune in, share with fellow leaders, and keep spicing up your leadership journey!

Timestamped Overview

00:00 Customer assumptions over reality 05:49 Customer first commitment lacking 09:17 Overconfident leaders harm performance 12:41 Encouraging self-reflective leadership 13:39 Customer-centric leadership strategies 16:43 Transformative leadership and insights

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

Join me for an inspiring conversation with Robert Vels, CX leader at the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and a key advocate for customer-centricity within the Dutch government. In this episode, we dive into how Robert is leveraging CX to rebuild trust in public services, streamline operations, and drive meaningful change.

Together, we explore:

• The role of CX in fostering trust and improving government services.
• How Robert led the development of a government-wide CX maturity model and metrics framework.
• The importance of building a thriving CX community across public sector organizations.
• Practical leadership lessons on staying focused, making CX actionable, and ensuring the journey is both impactful and enjoyable.

Robert shares his vision for embedding CX at the strategic level in government, the challenges of navigating political cycles, and his innovative approach to fostering a culture of customer-centricity. Whether you’re in the public or private sector, this episode is packed with valuable insights to elevate your CX leadership.

Timestamped Overview:

00:00 Loss of trust in government impacts services.

05:01 Debate over government using "clients" or "customers."

09:34 2023 Government collaboration, slower progress compared to commercial.

12:10 Efforts to grow CX in Netherlands government.

16:13 Inspired by White House focus on CX strategy.

19:16 Current model improves customer journey mapping effectiveness.

23:19 Shared practice enhances customer experience professionalism.

24:01 Created CX community in government with 900 members.

27:59 Senior management visits customers regularly, enhancing culture.

31:44 A confused mind says no, impacts leadership.

36:29 Robert's LinkedIn in show notes.

Resources Mentioned:

• Connect with Robert Vels on LinkedIn.
• Learn about the CX community. When you register you will have access to the relevant documents. If that doesn't work, people can email Robert at robert.vels@rvo.nl.

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

In this insightful episode of CX Leadership Talks, hosts Nienke Bloem and Mia Liljeberg dive into the transformative role of AI in business and customer experience. Mia, a digital leadership expert, shares her experiences and expertise on the ethical, holistic, and human-centric approaches to AI implementation.

Key topics discussed:

• AI's multifaceted role: Discover how AI can enhance productivity and personalization, and understand its potential in reshaping business intelligence for predictions.
• AI & customer personas: Explore how tools like ChatGPT can be leveraged to create detailed customer personas, elevating personalized services.
• AI for frontline operations: Discuss the democratization of AI and its impact on frontline efficiency, onboarding, and innovation.
• Balance of challenge and skill: Understand the flow model and how AI can maintain this balance to make tasks more engaging for employees.
• AI in change management: Mia emphasizes the importance of effective change management when integrating AI to ensure safe transitions for employees.
• Addressing misconceptions: Break down myths around AI’s impact on personal intelligence and the notion that it reduces the personal touch in customer interactions.
• AI ethics and responsibility: Highlight the importance of ethical and sustainable AI use, emphasizing a 360-degree perspective for responsible operations.

Mia’s global perspective - having traveled through multiple Asian countries - enriches her discussion on digital leadership in a rapidly evolving AI landscape. The episode underscores the importance of curiosity, continuous learning, and engaging in team discussions to navigate AI's evolving role in business. Whether you're interested in AI's impact on customer experience or the future of digital leadership, this episode offers valuable insights for leaders and innovators alike.

Tune in to discover how AI can empower your leadership and transform your customer experience strategies in this rapidly advancing digital age.

Timestamped overview

00:00 Focus on change management from human perspective.

04:32 AI supports limitless possibilities, enabling dreams.

08:02 Personalization involves predicting preferences using information.

12:08 AI enhances intelligence by revealing blind spots.

15:08 Make AI accessible for front desk empowerment.

16:55 Flow model optimizes challenge to maintain engagement.

20:42 Prioritize employee acceptance and safe AI integration.

25:26 Focus on systemic and human growth drivers matrix.

28:36 Enhancing contact centers with AI for FAQs.

33:44 AI can amplify bias; ethical usage crucial.

35:12 Consider impact on stakeholders for better decisions.

39:51 Curiosity about others' motives guides my perspective.

42:37 Grateful for sharing wisdom; linking LinkedIn profile.

Mia’s recommendations

The fearless organization, by Amy Edmonson.

Connect with Mia on LinkedIn.

About Nienke: Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress. 

She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.

Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations. 

With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results. Subscribe to her weekly CX Greetz to stay tuned. 

Welcome to CX Leadership Talks, the podcast for customer experience leaders who are driving change, delivering results, and finding balance in their professional and personal lives.

In this final episode of 2024—and the 41st episode of this podcast—we’re turning our attention to the future. Join Nienke Bloem, global CX speaker and mentor, as she guides you through a powerful planning process to make 2025 your best year yet.

With her signature mix of practical insights, thought-provoking questions, and a touch of humor, Nienke will help you set meaningful goals, identify the steps to achieve them, and align your CX leadership vision with your organization’s strategy. You’ll explore five “must-win battles” for the year ahead: impact and results, strategy and purpose, engagement and cultural change, personal growth and development, and work-life balance.

This isn’t just about setting resolutions—it’s about creating a clear, actionable plan to elevate your leadership and deliver measurable outcomes. So, grab a journal, get comfortable, and let’s dive into designing your path to success in 2025.

As always, I’d love to hear from you—what’s your boldest goal for the year ahead? Let’s connect and make it happen together!

Timestamped Overview

00:00 Intentional year planning clarifies goals, fulfills desires.

06:01 Chase challenging goals that excite and frighten.

09:57 Improved customer journey boosted satisfaction and referrals.

11:01 Impact realized; plan and tools needed next.

16:22 Focus on customer experience, strategy, and urgency.

20:59 Embed CX cultural shifts for deeper organizational change.

23:01 Customers enhance leadership and engagement in 2025.

26:10 Develop leadership, enhance CX skills, seek growth.

30:29 Prioritize work-life balance to prevent burnout.

32:39 Activities to inspire and prioritize health, fitness.

37:02 Focus on key projects and goal visualization.

38:42 Guiding you to enhance your leadership skills.

Want to grow as a CX Leader? Contact Nienke Bloem via her website or LinkedIn. She is a CX expert, global speaker and educator and can provide you with the guidance and support you need to succeed in CX leadership. More on Nienke’s education portfolio.

Welcome to CX Leadership Talks, the podcast for customer experience leaders who are driving change, delivering results, and striving for balance in their professional and personal lives. 

In this special year-end episode, we take a reflective journey through 2024. Join Nienke Bloem, global CX speaker and educator, as she guides you through five key lenses to evaluate your year: impact and results, strategy and purpose, engagement and cultural change, personal growth and development, and work-life balance. 

Through thoughtful prompts, practical insights, and personal anecdotes, this episode will help you uncover your proudest achievements, biggest learnings, and areas for growth. To deepen your reflection, download the free PDF with 17 questions covering topics like impact, strategy, personal growth, and work-life balance. Whether you're a seasoned CX professional or a rising leader in your organization, this is your chance to pause, reflect, and celebrate the year you’ve had - before stepping into 2025 with renewed focus and energy.

Grab your favorite journal, clear your mind, and let’s dive in! And please let me know your biggest insight from the reflection process! 

Timestamped overview: 

00:00 Explore customer experience, personal development, and well-being. 

05:11 Evaluate metrics and achievements for key projects. 

09:27 Measure goals, inputs, and impacts for success. 

11:43 Is your CX strategy aligned and future-proof? 

14:54 Purpose ties ESG goals to customer experience. 

20:40 Focusing on engagement, cultural change, customer experience. 

25:25 Personal education enhances leadership through diverse experiences. 

26:56 Reflecting on personal growth, networking, and values alignment. 

30:14 Work-life balance, stress management, and inspiration reflection. 

35:17 Year described as vibrant, challenging, and pink. 

37:32 Who energized you most; biggest 2024 challenge? 

42:21 Reflection episode; envisioning goals for 2025 planning.  

Want to grow as a CX Leader? Contact Nienke Bloem via her website or LinkedIn. She is a CX expert, global speaker and educator and can provide you with the guidance and support you need to succeed in CX leadership. More on Nienke’s education portfolio.

Welcome to another episode of CX Leadership Talks with your host, Nienke Bloem. In this episode, Nienke delves into the critical topic of budget management for customer experience (CX) leaders. Emphasizing that a solid budget is essential for impactful results, Nienke offers insights on how CX leaders can navigate the budgeting process effectively to ensure success in their initiatives.

Key highlights include:

• Understanding budget needs: Nienke stresses the importance of anticipating budget requirements not just for the coming year, but for the next three years. This strategic foresight can help position CX leaders to secure necessary funding.
• Identifying opportunities for budget collaboration: Explore potential collaborations within the organization, such as customer service projects, digital transformation initiatives, innovation, employee engagement, and leadership development programs, where shared budgets can amplify customer-centric efforts.
• Securing budget: Learn how to frame budget proposals by aligning with organizational priorities and demonstrating the business value of CX initiatives. Nienke also discusses the importance of understanding internal processes and leveraging storytelling to make the case for funding.
• Avoiding common pitfalls: Nienke highlights common mistakes CX leaders make, such as not aligning with company goals or failing to follow up proactively on budget proposals.

Listeners are encouraged to assess their current budget situations, seek out allies within their organizations, and take actionable steps to enhance their CX leadership. Whether you're facing challenges or have budget left to allocate, Nienke invites you to reach out for support and collaboration.

Join Nienke in spicing up your leadership and making 2025 the most impactful year yet for your customer experience initiatives!

Timestamped overview

00:00 Explore CX leadership strategies.

03:14 Team size and budget impact organizational success.

06:40 Focus on customer service and CX improvement projects.

10:48 Employee engagement aligns with customer experience goals.

14:33 Understand and navigate budgeting process for success.

17:04 Align CX projects with company goals strategically.

20:55 Spice up CX leadership; take action now.

Extra: Ten questions you can have a conversation about with your CX team or CX peers based on this podcast:

1. Why is having a budget crucial for achieving impactful results in your role as a CX leader?
2. How can you identify and utilize leftover HR budget for both personal and organizational development initiatives?
3. What are the two main elements of budget you should focus on, and why are they crucial for achieving impact in your CX leadership?
4. How can you strategically plan for budget requirements not just for the next year but for the upcoming three years?
5. Where are potential collaboration opportunities within your organization that could provide additional budget for CX initiatives?
6. How can you tailor your budget pitch to align with the priorities and decision-making criteria of your organization's leadership?
7. Why is it important to align your CX projects with broader company goals such as digital transformation and innovation?
8. How can you leverage allies within your organization to tap into shared budgets, and can you think of examples where such collaborations might occur?
9. What are some potential pitfalls you might encounter during the budgeting process, and how can you avoid them?
10. What actions can you take immediately to assess and improve your current budget strategies in your role as a CX leader?

Want to grow as a CX Leader? Contact Nienke Bloem via her website or LinkedIn. She is a CX expert, global speaker and educator and can provide you with the guidance and support you need to succeed in CX leadership. More on Nienke’s education portfolio.

Welcome to a new episode of CX Leadership Talks! In this episode, host Nienke Bloem is thrilled to welcome David Wachs, the visionary CEO and founder of Handwrytten. David is on a mission to revolutionize personalized communication by blending the timeless art of handwritten notes with the power of cutting-edge technology. Handwrytten's unique approach is making waves in the customer experience space, enabling businesses to send real, heartfelt notes at scale - using an incredible AI-driven process that brings back the charm of personal touch in a digital age. 

David's journey as an entrepreneur is inspiring. Before founding Handwrytten, he built and sold Cellit, a leading mobile messaging company. His deep expertise in engineering and his passion for creating meaningful connections have established him as a respected leader in the CX community. In this episode, he'll share invaluable insights on how to elevate customer relationships by merging automation with sincerity. 

And there's more! David will reveal an intriguing case study from a snack box company that used Handwrytten's unique service as a win-back strategy, turning customer dissatisfaction into loyalty. This episode is packed with golden nuggets on how to leverage technology for genuine, human connections. So stick around - you won't want to miss this eye-opening conversation on the future of personalized customer experience! 

About Davis Wachs (visit his LinkedIn profile here) 

David Wachs is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Handwrytten. 

Before Handwrytten, David founded Cellit, a pioneering mobile marketing platform recognized as a top player in mobile CRM. Cellit served high-profile clients like Abercrombie & Fitch and Pizza Hut and was ranked #262 on the Inc. 500 list. It was acquired by HelloWorld in 2012. 

David is a frequent speaker on messaging technology and has been featured in outlets like The Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY. He also writes a column for Inc. Magazine titled "Stepping Away from the Day to Day." 

Time Stamped Overview: 

00:00 Entrepreneur transforming outreach: text messaging to handwritten notes.  04:17 Wanted meaningful connection; wrote authentic handwritten notes.  09:55 Wide application, $50+ client value crucial.  12:07 Handwritten notes boost appreciation and response rates.  14:31 ID helps organize appointments and rescheduling efficiently.  19:45 Strategically use handwritten notes to enhance relationships.  23:37 Automated handwritten notes personalize luxury house purchases.  24:28 Ensuring consistent customer experience using automation.  29:32 Automated note-writing using AI and ChatGPT.  33:06 API warns but doesn't prevent capitalization issues.  36:23 Handwritten notes enhance customer experience, brand connection.  39:52 CX leaders should engage directly with customers. 

David’s recommendations: 

1. Do you have a grip on your business, or does your business have a grip on you? My book suggestion for you is Traction.
2. Visit the site of Handwrytten

Want to grow as a CX Leader? Contact Nienke Bloem via her website . She is a CX expert, global speaker and educator and can provide you with the guidance and support you need to succeed in CX leadership. More on Nienke’s education portfolio.