Dive into the complete episode list for The CX Live!. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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Title
Pub. Date
Duration
The CX Live! Episode 88: The EBC-as-a-Service: How Design and Innovation Turn Challenges into Opportunities
19 Aug 2025
01:23:00
In our latest episode, John Morley, Principal of John Morley Co and CEP Innovation Coach with GoProBriefings.com, shares how EBCs/CEPs are the ultimate innovation engines within organizations, driving new value through fresh insights. From his years managing the EMC EBC Program and work in Design and Innovation, John outlines numerous ways to position and deliver EBC-as-a-Service, seen as a business and the complete value differentiator it is.
Highlights
Design Thinking - desirable, feasible, viable
Value Proposition Canvas - customer wants to achieve, what’s in their way?
“Brokering” experiences - framework designed within EMC Program
EBC-as-a-Business - program intention, business model canvas, innovation
EBCs/CEPs are Innovators - new value from new insights (example: VCE)
John helps forward-looking leaders and organizations rapidly realize exponential value through the investments they have already made – in their existing people and resources. He focuses on generating net new value by looking beyond problems to reimagine the impact we can create when we reframe challenges as opportunities. John’s expertise lies in being an intrapreneur and program leader, where he leverages his skills in innovation, design, data science, and AI to resolve complex challenges. He credits what he works on now to the skills and the relationships he learned to value and grow while working in CEPs.
The CX Live! Episode 87: How Data-Driven Reporting Enables Program Expansion with Mary Stratton
23 Jul 2025
01:00:19
In our latest episode, Mary Stratton, Senior Manager of CXO Experiences at Rubrik, shares how she set her vision for her small program and through data-driven reporting solidified executive support and expanded her program. From setting clear parameters like requiring VP-level and above attendees, and requests be tied to SFDC Opportunities, to developing an all inclusive reporting dashboard to address executive level care-abouts, she has been laser focused on improving deal closure and driving pipeline. Mary partnered with Marketing Operations to build this dashboard using data from multiple platform tools which helped justify her HQ center upgrade and the addition of a new team member. She also highlights her latest adventure of taking on executive meetings at trade shows and conferences as well as ‘EBCs on the Road’. Mary is an inspiration in our industry and happy to meet with those who seek her council on demonstrating value through reporting.
Highlights
Rubrik’s CXO Experiences - 3 modalities
Briefing Program
Meetings at Industry Shows / Events
EBCs on the Road
Challenges faced while launching the Briefing Program
Build network, connect with resources
Leadership buy-in
Build trust, create sales champions
Building Executive Support
Critical: Articulate your program's impact on the business
Using tools/integrations: BriefingSource, Salesforce, Tableau
How to collect data needed for Reports
Leverage Briefing Management Platform
Work with Marketing Ops Team
What metrics to build into Dashboard to showcase impact
Address Marketing and Sales organizations careabouts
Target metrics for C Level Personages: CEO, CRO, CSO, etc.
Individual win rate percentage for opps using briefings vs not
Account Type Breakdown (existing customers vs prospects vs partners)
Having led the Rubrik Executive Briefing Program for more than 2 years by herself, Mary has worked extremely hard to build upon the foundational aspects she inherited when joining the company in 2022. From finishing an ‘in-progress’ physical Center to rebuilding a program that was dormant for more than a year, she’s demonstrated the value that her executives and sales team have come to rely on to support them in closing more business.
Prior to Rubrik, Mary cut her teeth in the briefing world at the Rackspace Technology and AppDynamics Briefing Programs where she learned from strong mentors about the importance of both the strategic and tactical aspects of managing a program and reporting on every metric possible. Today, Mary has expanded her program to support global briefings beyond her Palo Alto headquarters and has added executive meetings at top tier tradeshows/conferences to her plate. She is married and mom to 3.5 year old twins.
The CX Live! Episode 86: Think Different: New Approaches to Spark Change in Your Briefing Design with Bram Jonker
12 Jun 2025
01:05:12
In our latest episode, Bram Jonker, Principal Evangelist at Miro challenges program teams to think differently and offers a number of new approaches for designing memorable experiences that allow customers to feel safe, heard, and want to build a long term relationship. From inviting external thought leaders to engage with customers and assigning specific roles to internal attendees, to employing an abundance mindset and implementing AI to support more effective facilitation, teams can truly focus on, listen to and delight their customers.
Highlights
The Role of the EBC - visitors feel safe, heard and come back
Not Repeating the Same Process - think differently, plan for unique return visits
Making the most of Opportunities with Customers - empathy, listening
Gather Feedback After Briefing - search for ways to improve, constantly innovate
Invite External Thought Leaders - spark change, drive impact
Building Trust with Account Team - MDC facilitation, specific roles for each attendee
Employ AI in all Briefings - AI for admin functions, facilitator focuses on customers
Abundance Mindset - shift from limitations of scarcity mindset, set bar higher
'Hug Your Customers' - authentic moments to show you care
Bram’s focus is on cultivating collaborative relationships with key executives from leading multinational corporations to define the future of work. He engages with industry thought leaders to co-author thought leadership articles and deliver impactful presentations to diverse audiences. Additionally, Bram collaborates closely with Miro’s Account Executives, leveraging his network to expand their market presence and support the sales cycle effectively.
With a background in the consulting sector, Bram developed his skills over seven years at Deloitte, where he led teams dedicated to Technology and Innovation both internally and in collaboration with customers. Furthermore, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to found and successfully exit three data analytics companies within the healthcare domain.
Bram’s passion lies in driving change through innovative approaches to work and the strategic implementation of disruptive technologies for digital transformation within large enterprises. He is dedicated to building enduring partnerships and leveraging insights to help organizations differentiate and thrive in competitive markets. One of his key strengths is his ability to translate marketing visions and strategies into actionable plans that deliver tangible results.
The CX Live! Episode 85: How Bad Math Allows for Creativity, Collaboration and Retaining Your Culture with Traylor Woodall
08 May 2025
00:49:20
In our latest episode, Traylor Woodall, CEO and Founder of Fivestone Studios, shares how working in the film and TV world has informed unique approaches to working with clients in the briefing world and beyond. He ‘opens the kimono’ on how supporting creativity and collaboration helps to establish and maintain a unique culture that makes space for artists to grow and thrive - what he calls ‘Bad Math - the power of 1+1 = 3’. Traylor is very honest about the transition that he is making as CEO, to not be the center of every decision while continuing to live the company’s values, celebrating team members inside and outside of work, and listening to everyone’s ideas.
Highlights
Space for artists to grow and become ‘creative warriors’
Learnings from motion packages for TV networks, ad agencies and large brands
Approaches to creativity and collaboration with clients
Storytelling - the narrative thread
Motion Design - transform static assets into motion toolkits
Brevity - tell the story with simplicity and focus
Culture that embraces creativity and collaboration
A space for ‘Bad Math’, where 1+1 = 3
Supporting your team
Manage client expectations
Talk about life outside of work
Unlimited PTO
Rhythms of connection
Honoring your team outside the company
Protect the culture
Repeatable processes that don’t rely on the CEO
Weekly direct 1:1s with all leadership
Demonstrate good culture in public
Resources
Experiences outside the briefing world can provide fresh approaches when working on EBC projects
Traylor is a lifelong storyteller, artist, musician, and experience creator. His journey began with a traditional degree in graphic design, but during a college internship he discovered a passion for motion graphics. Fast forward many years later, Traylor now serves as the CEO and Founder of Fivestone Studios, an integrated production company that blends design, technology and storytelling to create visually rich narratives across a wide range of channels.
At Traylor’s core lies his steadfast belief in the power of creative culture and collaboration. He’s always on the hunt for Bad Math - the power of 1+1=3. Even after 25+ years in the industry, Traylor lives for the moment when a creative idea comes together that is greater than the sum of any one individual’s ability or effort.
The CX Live! Episode 84: Staying Connected & Inspired in a Noisy World with Pete Riddell
09 Apr 2025
01:03:25
In our first episode, post the GACEP Spring Conference, Pete Riddell, Executive Creative Director with Derse, shares his gift for human storytelling while offering key ways to stay connected and inspired in today’s noisy world. It’s no surprise that Pete’s moving LinkedIn posts were the ‘inspiration’ for this conversation. From helping us to be more mindful of where we focus our energy and creating opportunities for ‘conversational jazz’ with kindred spirits, to how we center ourselves and take a moment before we respond or participate with others, Pete showcases the joy of savoring connectedness by turning people into storytellers. Be curious, listen, contribute positively to our society, make kind gestures, lift others up, make lasting memories… so many Peteisms.
Highlights
Connection: Check in with friends - how are you doing (daily rating 1 to 10)
Inspiration: practice conversational jazz with kindred spirits - who to reach out to
Being better stewards of our time - unsubscribe from social apps
Remind ourselves of memories - scroll through personal photos instead
Centering ourselves: Being mindful in the moment - doing smallest of things
When you think of friends and family: reach out, text, call, send hand-written note
We have agency to choose how we respond or participate
Humble pebbles to put on the scale - contribute in this noisy world
Curiosity - ask questions that turn people into storytellers
Pete is the beating heart of Derse’s Customer Experience & Storytelling team. Their mission: to help Derse’s clients tell their best stories … as engagingly as possible. Pete has remained a perpetual student while growing Derse’s experiential practice over his 20+ years. His work includes novel engagement strategies on behalf of IHG, Charles Schwab and Cencora while spanning a broad range of industries, including healthcare, tech, automotive, financial services and hospitality (among others).
A gifted writer, storyteller and thought leader, Pete has presented, authored content and facilitated workshops at ExhibitorLive!, ABPM (now GACEP), HCEA Connect, Event Tech (now EMS), and also with/for Derse clients. He and the CX team love sharing inspiration and trends with clients and kindred spirits in this Golden Age of experience design.
The CX Live! Episode 83: How Transformative Facilitation Elevates Briefing Programs with Jack Griffin & Ellen Barnes-Pfiffner
05 Mar 2025
01:13:20
In this episode, Jack Griffin, CEO & Certified Coach, Light Up Ventures and Ellen Barnes-Pfiffner, Principal & Consultant, EBP Business Consulting highlight the power of Transformative Facilitation. Our conversation was rich with statistical data, step by step approaches, industry trends and real-life program examples that illustrate the art of facilitation and how it elevates ROI.
Highlights
Why Transformative Facilitation and How It Affects ROI
Addressing Cognitive Overload
Briefing Professionals Becoming 'Pilots'
Start by Understanding the ‘Who'
The Science of 1st Impressions
Working with Executives - The Rule of 3
Trends - Beyond Directing the Flow of Conversation
As CEO of this award-winning leadership development firm, Jack is on a mission to illuminate tech leaders through story development. He is also the author of Luminary, a #1 Best Selling book about communication for technical professionals. As a certified executive coach and leadership consultant, his expertise is dedicated to guiding ambitious leaders and their organizations toward transformative growth.
As the Principal of EBP Business Consulting, Ellen is a highly skilled business executive with experience spanning sales, marketing, organizational development and corporate training. She utilizes her extensive experience to benchmark briefing programs, implementing plans to develop best in class briefing practices.
The CX Live! Episode 82: Well-Rounded Experiences: What Centers Can Learn from Museums, Theme Parks and Other Destinations with Chad Hutson & Tim Kail
05 Feb 2025
01:10:20
In this episode, Chad Hutson, Chief Strategy Officer, and Tim Kail, Executive Creative Director, both of Dimensional Innovations, explore how experience-based destinations provide unique avenues for storytelling and creating memories that last. Employing ideas from these sources, managing budgets to achieve client objectives and testing future technologies are ways they encourage customer-facing programs to create well-rounded experiences for a variety of audiences.
Chad helps to develop and execute the strategic direction of the organization. Previously, as co-founder and CEO of specialized creative agency Leviathan, Chad led overall operations, business development and strategy for the organization, which was acquired by Envoy in 2017.
His day to day is learning as much as possible about a wide array of business categories, and working hard to reflect back some nugget of undiscovered truth that will help them connect with their audiences in a meaningful way. Prior to DI, Tim co-founded Rockbox, a strategic video content agency.
The CX Live! Episode 81: Connections Evolved: The Why Behind ABPM Becoming the Global Association of Customer Engagement Professionals with Elizabeth Simpson
14 Jan 2025
00:50:08
Happy New Year! What a fantastic way to start 2025…with some amazing news! Elizabeth Simpson, President of the Global Association of Customer Engagement Professionals (GACEP, formerly ABPM), shares everything you want to know about why the decision was made to make this significant change after 30 years as the ABPM. We discussed this evolution including the ‘aha moments’ that the universe kept sending to confirm this was the right path. Elizabeth tells multiple stories about discussions with members, the Advisory Board and the European Leadership Council that helped inform the decision, as well as the necessary steps and the timeline for the transition. She also reinforces who the GACEP will continue to support at its core and which roles may naturally join the community over time. This trusted community remains essential in supporting programs to achieve their vision and provide valuable guidance, best practices and insights from real-world experiences.
Highlights
The impetus for changing the association's name to GACEP
Clear ‘Aha’ moments leading to the change
The process for change: confirming the new name
GACEP = Global Association of Customer Engagement Professionals
Who the GACEP will continue to serve
Who we still are at our core
Who we will welcome:
CAB Teams
Executive Sponsor Program Teams
Customer Insight Teams
Customer Reference Teams
Who we are not (few to many)
How to pronounce GACEP > G-ACE-P
Symbolism of the new GACEP logo
The complete change will take time, please let us know if you find any locations or documents where the change from ABPM to GACEP has not been made
Elizabeth has been with the association for nearly 25 years and took on the role of President in 2018. She works closely with Briefing and Customer Engagement Program teams to understand their challenges and opportunities, then works with the Global Association of Customer Engagement Professionals (formerly ABPM) team to provide the support, resources, and connections that will help GACEP members be successful now and in the future.
The CX Live! Episode 80: How to Make Connections and Build a Strong Network with Sharon Gewirtzman
02 Dec 2024
00:45:18
In our year-end episode, Sharon Gewirtzman, Founder of TheCreativebySharon, shares her insights and expertise for becoming a ‘Super Connector’ - a career path dedicated to facilitating valuable introductions. From her time managing Visitor Centers to building trust with customers within the Amdocs and Palo Alto Networks briefing programs, Sharon is following her lifelong passion for connecting people and offering tools to help others do the same. She reviews the principles of intentional networking and techniques to be more effective including icebreakers to kickstart meaningful conversations and a connection tracker to assist in follow up activities. Key takeaways include learning how networking can be a joyous experience and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who have a positive mindset, who lift you up and bring you to long term relationships. The perfect listen for this holiday season!
Highlights
Definition, Benefits and Steps to become a ‘Super Connector’
The Power of Networking
Sharon’s Term: ‘Principles of Intentional Networking’
Approach to Networking is a ‘Mindset’
True human interaction, not just on smartphones
Generation Z Networking Workshop - coming in January
Tools to Step Up Your Networking Game
Ice Breakers for Meaningful Conversations - many different scenarios
Networking Connections Tracker - the key is Follow Up!
Key Takeaway: start meaningful conversations and not just collect business cards
Networking can be a joyous experience
Surround yourself with people who have a positive mindset and lift you up
Truly listen with curiosity and develop your mental brain database
As a seasoned connector, Sharon specializes in bringing people together. She fosters invaluable connections between individuals and brands, propelling growth and opportunity. With a passion for opening doors and nurturing relationships, she serves as both a Connector and Executive Advisor, guiding aspiring entrepreneurs towards their ideal goals.
What distinguishes Sharon is that she thrives in a global environment, infusing each interaction with boundless energy and innovative thinking. Her forte lies in seamlessly merging her expertise in event coordination, sales process management, and project oversight to craft unforgettable customer and client experiences.
With over a decade of hands-on experience steering customer engagements for top-tier technology firms including Amdocs and Palo Alto Networks, Sharon has honed her ability to cultivate enduring client partnerships and deliver exceptional production value across on-site, hybrid, and virtual events.
Sharon’s diverse background in graphic and web design, art history, and digital marketing adds a layer of creativity and ingenuity to every endeavor. She is continuously driven by a thirst for knowledge, a commitment to surpassing expectations, and a collaborative spirit that fuels success within cross-functional teams.
The CX Live! Episode 79: From Rattlesnakes to Results: Crafting Change in EBCs with People, Processes and Projects with Keeley Lundquist
08 Nov 2024
00:55:10
In this episode, Keeley Lundquist, Founder and Executive Consultant of Lime Group LLC, and Executive Briefing Center Expert/Transformation Leader, formerly of IBM, shares impactful approaches for effectively managing change within organizations. From her ‘Integrated Success Framework’ that focuses on people, processes and projects, to the power of design thinking, Keeley illustrates how briefing professionals can remain agile and address barrier points to drive continuous innovation and transformation. She also introduces our audience to the powerful 5 stage ADKAR model from Prosci for overcoming resistance, ensuring team members are ready to adapt to change.
Highlights
Rattlesnakes - Meet People Where They Are, Build Trust
How Organizations Manage Change - Flywheel vs. Pinball
Design Thinking in EBCs - Collaborative Problem-Solving with Customers
Integrated Success Framework - People, Processes, and Projects
Overcoming Resistance to Change - Introducing ADKAR
Barrier Points - Address the Emotional and Motivational Aspects Early
Future of EBCs - Continuous Innovation and Transformation
Keeley Lundquist Founder and Executive Consultant, Lime Group LLC Executive Briefing Center Expert and Transformation Leader, formerly of IBM
Keeley brings over two decades of expertise in driving strategic change, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness through her consultancy. Keeley’s credentials include Lean Six Sigma and Prosci Change Management, and she’s currently leading a Learning & Development change initiative with a Fortune 100 company. During her 25+ years at IBM, Keeley specialized in EBC transformation, leveraging her expertise in change management, project management, and process improvement.
Over her 25-year career, Keeley spent more than 20 years in the Executive Briefing Center environment, taking on a variety of impactful roles. She began in a Client Enablement role, later transitioning to a position focused on marketing and communications. As a Client Experience Leader at IBM’s Global Solution Center in Dallas, Keeley led efforts to update the physical space and digital content, ultimately earning the center the prestigious ABPM World Class Center Award in 2015. In her final role with IBM, Keeley led Talent Transformation within the Innovation Studio program where she developed a skill strategy for a 250-pers
The CX Live! Episode 78: Mindset of Influence: Think Your Way into a New Way of Acting, Act Your Way into a New Way of Thinking with Naomi Price
08 Oct 2024
00:52:55
In this third episode of our mini-series related to ‘Mindset’, Naomi Price, SVP Global Accounts with Vantage Partners, offers insightful use cases and relevant stories along with step-by-step methodologies to shift our mindset for greater influence in our daily interactions. From coaching discussion leaders to engage at a deeper level with their customers, to preparing for powerful opportunities to speak with executive leadership, her guidance can support feeling more prepared, being more authentic in our engagements and to truly be present when these opportunities are presented to us.
Highlights
Customer-Focused Mindset: From “Me” to “Them”
Mindset Mantra: Think Your Way into a New Way of Acting, Act Your Way into a New Way of Thinking
Mindset for Influence: Internally, Externally and those presenting on your behalf
Shift from thinking about speaking with audiences as “Exposure” to “Visibility” where you are more in control of your own personal brand
The 3 Step Presenting Mantra
Self-Coaching Worksheet Example: “How do I want to be perceived?”
Addressing Difficult Questions: Understanding the Why first
Methodologies for Response: Fact or Feeling and Align-Respond-Maintain
Naomi is an internationally recognized expert in the art and science of business communication, moment of truth messaging, and high stakes communication consulting. Her commitment to her clients and professional partners has earned the trust of an extensive global network.
Naomi is an ABPM Solution Partner Advisory Board Member. Her first ABPM Conference was in the spring of 2006, with long time solution partner, Mandel Communications. When the owners of Mandel retired in December of 2022, Vantage Partners made it possible for Naomi and the best of Mandel’s trainers from around the world to continue doing the work they love, with and for people they value. Her portfolio of capabilities has expanded dramatically, thanks to Vantage’s consulting and training solutions (including sales and account management academies, negotiation skills training, new product launch consulting, and strategic deal coaching).
A travel and adventure junkie, Naomi has ridden her bicycle across New Zealand, fly fished in Argentina, and hiked in Bhutan. She is an avid rugby fan and just returned from supporting the USA mens’ and women’s Rugby 7s teams at the Olympics in Paris.
The CX Live! Episode 77: The Role of Branded Merchandise in the Customer Journey with Crissy Manwaring
05 Sep 2024
01:00:00
In this episode, Crissy Manwaring, New Business Development Manager with Robertson Marketing, calls on those crafting meaningful experiences to incorporate branded merchandise earlier in their strategic planning process and to recognize the impact that a well chosen artifact has far into the future. From defining more concrete goals to exploring new approaches for selection and delivery, we need to understand that the psychological elements of gifting and human engagement matters. Planning for multi-sensory interactions and employing the latest technology to simplify how and when customers engage can transform relationships by triggering powerful recall moments. For our customers and internal teams, being more intentional about this aspect of engagement could open a whole new way of elevating experiences.
Highlights
The purpose of branded merchandise including sensory engagement
Impactful approaches for appropriate merchandise selection and distribution
Setting an anchor at the emotional peak of an experience - triggers recall
The power of anticipation - the message and when you give gifts matters
Partnerships thrive or fail based on logistics - digital experiences that make building a true promotional program possible for even managers of small briefing programs
Strategies for internal audiences - identification, appreciation, recognition, and motivation
Meaningful brand artifacts live on - authenticity is key, full custom/scarcity
“It’s the message that makes the merch matter – and it’s the merch that makes the message stick!”
Crissy has nothing to do with the manufacturing or distribution of these shirts from Splunk but LOVES the case study and the evidence that they provide for the power of promotions:
Crissy collaborates with her clients to get them noticed, believed, and remembered through effective use of promotional products. Leveraging 25 years of experience in advertising, marketing, and branded merchandise consulting in addition to a bachelors in English Communication, and Masters in Business Administration. Her graduate education emphasized global marketing, experience design, and service design.
Crissy helps her clients select the right product to communicate their message, and the right technology to deliver an exemplary customer experience. Her specialties include: promotional marketing, campaign design, branding and identity, logo design, promotions, advertising, creative thinking, sourcing, product design and development, tag-lines, presentation for maximum impact, print and promotion.
The CX Live! Episode 76: Maximizing Synergies Across Customer Programs with Kelly DeRoche and Jocelyn Domabyl
05 Aug 2024
01:18:49
In our latest episode of the CX Live! Podcast, Jocelyn Domabyl, Strategic Program Manager & Global Discussion Leader Bureau Lead at Dell Technologies, and Kelly DeRoche, Speakers Bureau & Strategic Engagements Lead at Google Cloud, highlight the importance of building relationships with other customer facing programs teams. From account tiering and aligning with the sales cycle to leveraging stakeholder overlap, memorable touch points across the customer journey maintain consistent messaging and offer customization where possible. Both also share examples of maximizing synergies across briefing and events teams.
Highlights
Customer facing programs boost customer loyalty, advocacy and satisfaction
Value of long-term relationships with customers across programs
Storytelling - more cohesive customer journey across teams
Guest Thought Leaders Kelly DeRoche Speakers Bureau & Strategic Engagements Lead, Google Cloud Kelly is responsible for building and growing the Speakers Bureau program at Google. With this work, she’s scaling executive engagements by recruiting and supporting a community of thought leaders and experts from across Google to speak with customers on 100s of topic areas. In addition to Executive Briefings, Kelly works with Customer Programs like Executive Sponsorship and Customer Advisory Boards to create unique executive engagement strategies for top customers. Kelly is engaged in the ABPM community as a frequent Session Leader, Tour Host, World Class Award winner and now as a member of the ABPM Advisory Board. Kelly spent most of her life in Boston and now resides in San Francisco.
Jocelyn Domabyl Strategic Program Manager & Global Discussion Leader Bureau Lead, Dell Technologies Jocelyn spearheads the strategy for recruiting, maintaining, and supporting a community of 2,500 Discussion Leaders who engage with customers on over 200 topic areas during Executive Briefings and other events. She has a proven track record of orchestrating diverse projects, building business frameworks, streamlining operations, and mentoring teams to foster professional growth and strategic alignment. Jocelyn is active
The CX Live! Episode 75: Putting Your Program on the Path to Excellence with Ellen Barnes Pfiffner
09 Jul 2024
00:58:12
In this, our diamond episode, Ellen Barnes Pfiffner, Consultant with EBP Consulting, examines a multitude of approaches for putting our programs on the path to achieving excellence. From identifying the key indicators for evaluating our programs, to the steps to follow and the tools to invest in, Ellen encourages us to work toward our greater vision. Setting quarterly team meetings to review our vision and goals as well as holding an annual team review of how we are aligned to the ABPM World Class Characteristics supports the idea of continuous improvement being a mindset and excellence being a daily commitment. While the goal is to create memorable experiences, Ellen illustrates how teams must optimize across the board for efficiency and effectiveness.
Highlights
Identifying key indicators for evaluating your program
Complaints, corporate consolidation, new executive management, etc.
Excellence = Continuous Improvement… it's a mindset!
Make it memorable… optimizing for efficiency and effectiveness
Referencing the ABPM World Class Characteristics and other steps to evaluate our program
Annual team WCC review; reviewing vision, goals and project plan quarterly
The value of comprehensive benchmarking
Process and year over year outcomes
Most effective tools to implore when evaluating or re-evaluating a program
ABPM resources, The CXLive! Podcasts, A Scheduling Tool with Reporting
Advisory Boards, Submission for ABPM World Class Awards and more
Ellen is a Management Consultant with over 25 years of business experience spanning sales, marketing, operations, customer experience and training. She advises and coaches briefing programs globally on how to achieve their goals, increase revenue, and how to be best in class.
Ellen is well-known in our briefing community and is a frequent session leader at ABPM Conferences, Fall Workshops events and provides ABPM Core Competency courses via webinars. She is an ABPM Advisory Board member emeritus and received the ABPM “Hero Award” at the 2021 Spring Conference for her tireless work to provide valuable information and resources to our entire community as soon as the pandemic hit and throughout 2020. She served on the ABPM Hybrid Taskforce and has been deeply involved in the evolution of the ABPM World Class characteristics.
The CX Live! Episode 74: Addressing Our Stress - From Depletion to Renewal with Shlomi Haster
04 Jun 2024
01:01:00
In this second episode of our mini-series exploring the power of a positive mindset, Shlomi Haster, Growth Mindset Expert, Speaker, Podcaster and Stress Management Specialist, shares his powerful techniques for recognizing and shifting our mindset related to stress. From challenging our default mindset and inner critic, to focusing our energy to harness stress for positive outcomes, Shlomi guides us to identify our own unique stress, our common predictable stressors and levels of our stress signals. He’s created a "Stress Management Workbook for The CX Live! Podcast Listeners" that includes a “My Stress Profile” and “3-step Mindset Change Method for Real Time Stress Management” to help us live a more fulfilling life.
Highlights
Defining Stress - specific vs chronic, our core beliefs and their impact
Changing our Mindset Related to Stress - “peak performance”, harnessing energy to cope, our “default mindset”
Shlomi Haster Growth Mindset Expert, Speaker, Podcaster and Stress Management Specialist, Mindset.org.il As a passionate advocate for personal and professional growth, Shlomi finds joy in witnessing individuals flourish, develop, and achieve success. This deep-rooted passion led him to the intersection of organizational Learning and Development (L&D) and personal growth mindset. With a BA in Human Behavior and an MA in Organizational Science, Shlomi has worked in startup and high-tech environments for 15 years, primarily in Learning & Development functions.
For 5 years, Shlomi has hosted one of Israel's leading podcasts, called "Mindset," featuring experts in their field, encompassing various aspects of personal and professional development. He is a HeartMath Building Personal Resilience (BPR) coach, trained to help individuals develop emotional resilience and stress management skills.
The CX Live! Episode 73: The Benefits of Connected Balance for Briefing Professionals with Kathy Sebuck
05 May 2024
01:14:07
In this episode, Kathy Sebuck, Founder & CEO of Marchitecture, shares perspectives for coping with stress, change and uncertainty to ensure our long term wellbeing. She provides compelling reasons and methods for examining our personal core values, implementing growth mindset tools, and employing positive intelligence tools among others to bring balance to our lives which is reflected in our personal and professional endeavors.
Highlights
The 4 Cs - Briefing World Takeaways
Community, Connection, Collaboration, Communication
Perspectives for coping with change and uncertainty
Ancient Wisdom/ History, Growth Mindset Tools, Personal Development, Conscious Leadership
How to set boundaries, focus on strengths, know our job is not our value
The “Connected Balance Experience”
Core Values, Your body’s intuitive guidance system (HeartMath and Neuroscience), Transformational Presence, Positive Intelligence Tools
Remember the Golden Rule - kindness, gratitude, positivity
Kathy is an award-winning strategic thinker, entrepreneurial leader, athlete, author, public speaker, and Fractional CMO with over 25 years of corporate tech sales and marketing leadership expertise working for Fortune 500 enterprise software companies in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors such including Sun Microsystems, Verisign, Microsoft, Citrix, SAP, and Amazon Web Services.
For 10 years she physically built and managed corporate briefing center programs at Sun Microsystems and Verisign. In 2019 she launched Marchitecture and offers services rooted in conscious leadership, growth mindset tools, and proven marketing communications best practices to build successful business strategies using storytelling. Her heart-centered approach is grounded in the neuroscience of HeartMath and a term she created called “
The CX Live! Episode 72: Beyond "Wow Factor", What is an "Immersive" Experience? with Mark Coxon & Joe Whitesides of AVI-SPL
29 Mar 2024
01:03:30
In this episode, Mark Coxon, Director of Business Development and Joe Whitesides, Director of Experience Technology, both of the XTG Division of AVI-SPL, delve deep into the psychology of attracting, educating, entertaining and moving your audience to take action. It’s very clear that their backgrounds in the areas of behavioral psychology drive their passionate approach to creating impactful spaces and experiences. From examining what is 'Wow Factor’ and the need to prepare our audience for messaging, to studying how to create truly immersive experiences, we discuss ways of stacking senses like understanding vision and auditory more deeply, plus exploring techniques like coding memories, the newness of content, contrast of scale and transporting via the narrative just to name a few. Get ready!
Highlights
Examining “Wow Factor”
A World of Overstimulation
Sensory Resetting
Preparing for the Message
Interrupt for Attention to Drive Action
Providing Less Choices
Using Novelty and Scale
Peripheral Vision vs Foveal Vision
Stacking Senses
Newness of Content
Contrast of Scale
Appeal to the Senses
Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) - Coding Memories
Mark Coxon Director of Business Development, XTG Division of AVI-SPL Mark has been in the technology industry for the last 23 years and has a wide variety of experience in the design and implementation of workplace technology. Mark’s current role with XTG involves supporting conversations around the future of work and executive briefing center programs with some of the world’s largest companies. Although Mark has a deep technical background, his real passion is working at the intersection of physical space, behavioral psychology, and technology design to create real impact. Mark writes for several trade publications and is a regular guest on several podcasts and industry panels. He also teaches a workplace technology workshop for AVIXA (Audio Visual and Integrated Experience Association) on Creating the New Connection Center.
Joe Whitesides Director of Experience Technology, XTG Division of AVI-SPL Joe has over 25 years of experience in the AV industry serving as systems designer, executive manager, and consultant. Joe works with clients in a variety of markets, including experiential environments, associations, large law firms, banking, defense contracting, and federal government. As a leader, Joe has worked to develop teams and improve processes from sales to installation, while striving to provide industry-leading customer service. As Director of Experience Technology, Joe leads a team designing systems for Corporate Experience and Briefing Centers, working on international projects. Joe maintains certifications from a variety of manufacturers and industry partners (including CTS-D
The CX Live! Episode 71: New Approaches to Ideate, Build and Measure Interactive Spaces with Brittany Bell of Deep Local and James Chester of Gumband
05 Mar 2024
01:25:08
In this episode Brittany Bell, Managing Director at Deeplocal, and James Chester, Managing Director at Gumband, share the unique ways that briefing programs can develop more memorable in person experiences. From initial discovery and ideation sessions to how to engineer spaces that evolve over time, it’s the ability to measure the impact of these spaces by tracking actual utilization that briefing teams need to understand.
Highlights
A different approach to the Ideation Process - bring Creatives and Engineers together from the start
Key principles of “showing, not telling” and the concept of learning through play
Keeping experiences focused on a singular message using levels known as “Wading, Swimming, Diving”
Future proofing with technology - ensuring spaces can evolve over time
Applying an integrated approach for platform control and measurement
Being prepared for Day 2 - the concept of installation as the starting line
Strategies for working with partners - collaboration, communication, and transparency
Gathering stakeholder voices, and keeping the process on track via roles, not people
The importance of playtesting and prototyping in the build phase - why testing design assumptions pays off
A 6 step Process - from “concepting” to “install and wrap-up”
Gumband design - flexible and modular to integrate numerous technologies
Measurements including collecting, storing and displaying data on both passive and active engagements helping to determine future content strategies
Brittany Bell Managing Director, Deeplocal Brittany Bell is the Managing Director of Deeplocal, an award-winning creative technology and experience design company. She has nearly a decade of experience in project management, interactive exhibit design, integrated marketing strategies, consumer insights, brand communications, customer experience, and events.
At Deeplocal, she works with brands to create permanent interactive spaces that evoke playfulness, and build emotional connections and loyalty with their customers. As a forward-thinking business leader, she has the ability to distill complex ideas into easily understandable content and project plans. She excels at motivating large, cross-functional groups to align around a single goal and balancing multiple deadlines while maintaining an organized, yet creative, approach.
James Chester Managing Director, Gumband James Chester is the Managing Director for Gumband, an award-winning SaaS platform that allows brands to control and measure their interactive environments in real time from anywhere. With his expertise spanning architectural design, marketing and tech, he has worked on multi-million dollar building and development projects, and led the digital transformation of Samsung's global media business at Starcom.
In 2021, he oversaw the launch of Gumband as a product division out of Deeplocal. Since then, Gumband has powered experiential activations and spaces for global tech and retail brands.
Clients: Google, Stripe, Meta, TikTok, Museum of the Future, Activision, Linkedin, Spotify, Netflix, etc
The CX Live! Episode 70: How to Prioritize Your Team and Community to Build a Better Program with Jackie Haywood
04 Feb 2024
01:02:12
In this episode, Jackie Haywood, former Director of the Aetna Customer Center, shares about her experience developing and managing the briefing program while staying focused on building an environment that prioritizes team and community. She reveals the guiding principles that she implemented to build a strong team while advising how today’s program leads can expand their reach and pay it forward. From Advisory Boards and Speakers Bureaus to the Voice of the Customer, Jackie highlights ways to build both internal and external community partnerships to help programs evolve and grow.
“Never underestimate opportunities that could come from very unexpected places (i.e. serve on a committee, give an opinion, be part of a project)...It could influence your future career. As managers, we must be willing to do whatever it takes to support your team for success! Never stop supporting each other and always stay in touch with your network.”
Highlights
An overview of Aetna, creating the Aetna Customer Center and team
The importance of Executive Support and being flexible
Expand your program and space to external community initiatives
The Aetna Customer Center program differentiators and best practices
Guiding principles for building a strong and motivated team
Advice for EBC Program Directors to Pay it Forward
Expanding team member roles to align with interests and strengths
Strategies to build support from the internal Aetna Community: Advisory Boards, Speakers Bureau, Voice of the Customer
Impactful contributions that leave a legacy
How to transfer skills learned in briefing programs to our future careers
This blog contains inspiring posts on a variety of topics, each with universal life lessons that are both relevant and relatable.
Guest Thought Leader
Jackie Haywood Former Director of the Aetna Customer Center In her 35 years with Aetna, Jackie held multiple positions including Implementation Manager in National Accounts Sales Support before moving to the Aetna Customer Center first as the Operations Manager and then promoted to the team’s Director.
Jackie managed the proposal and building process for the new Aetna Corporate Executive Briefing Center. She was responsible for all aspects of managing the Center and team, including program development, staff, budget, marketing initiatives, internal & external communications, sales, training & experiential display elements.
Jackie assembled a diverse team representing external suppliers & business partners from various professional disciplines (content writers, exhibit designers, media, construction, audio-visual) as well as company-wide business leaders and subject matter experts. She determined program specifications, design requirements, overall content and business objectives for the Center, which was the first of its kind in the healthcare industry and was LEED Silver-certified upon completion.
The CX Live! Episode 69: Managing and Growing Your Global Multi-Site Program with Ricken Patel
08 Jan 2024
01:04:25
In this episode, Ricken Patel, Senior Leader, Global CXC, with Cisco goes into great detail about expansion of the Cisco Experience Centers, including new models for recently opened centers in Atlanta and Paris. He also focuses on how Cisco has applied strategies related to each of the ABPM world class characteristics (Management, Operations, Branding/Experience and Analytics) to create a more globally unified team that moves together, celebrates together and learns together.
“Democratize and evangelize your data - being more open with our data has allowed us to build tighter relationships, get access to the right people, and even get some funding out of it. The more people know about what you’re doing and bringing to the table, the better off you’ll be.”
Highlights
The Cisco Global CXC Program defined including locations, team member roles, demos and onsite requirements
How to fast track the build and launch of a new regional center while implementing a new service model
The importance of referencing the ABPM World Class Characteristics
Management
Functional organization
Communication
Move Together
Celebrate Together
Learn Together
Embracing so called “Rogue Centers”
Operations
Vision - how to set priorities according to your “North Star”
Tools & Resources - driving strategy through consistency
Processes - Common vs Local
Branding / Experience
Consistent branding across locations
Daily communications to provide consistent experiences
Analytics
The motto of “share all data!”
Curating self-service dashboards by personae
Partner with “sister teams” for executive insights
Lessons Learned including ‘Be extremely curious’, ‘Right-size advice and best practices’ and ‘Democratize and evangelize your data’!
Ricken Patel Senior Leader, Global CXC, Cisco Ricken is responsible for the Global Cisco Experience Center program. He and his team are accountable for helping their sellers execute high level engagements across all 11 CXC locations. The team’s purpose is to connect their customers and partners with the best of Cisco.
Ricken graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering and immediately began working for CIsco. His entire professional career has been with Cisco including a number of interesting and challenging roles within the Sales organization.
Having attended ABPM conferences since 2019, Ricken presented his first session at the ABPM Fall Workshops in San Diego this past October.
The CX Live! Episode 68: 2023 Year in Review with Jaxlyn Werner
04 Dec 2023
00:19:53
In this episode, my daughter, Jaxlyn Werner, and I review the highlights of our 2023 season providing key nuggets and resources from this year’s amazing interviewees. We introduce our 5th season which will start in January 2024 to include more conversations with global briefing industry leaders who are changing and elevating our profession with their creativity and willingness to think outside the box.
Highlights:
A review of all 11 episodes of our 2023 thought leader interviews
Key topics of interest provided in each episode
Important resources referenced by our interviewees
A look ahead to our 5th season of The CXLive! Podcast
Artist, Entrepreneur, Honor Student, Tinker, Athlete and a leader for our next-generation, Artveva
Jax just turned 12 and is currently in 6th grade at the same middle school I attended! She loves math and science and is on the Principal’s Honor Roll. She loves the arts including musical theater. She recently won 1st place in 2 drawing categories in 5th grade and has created a number of painting series including one for Ukraine relief efforts last year. Her creativity is showcased in her pop up Art Booth where she sells her paintings, bracelets, stress balls and more. She plans to start her own Etsy site very soon called Artveva.
Jax has a mechanical mind like her dad. She’s so curious, taking things apart and figuring out how to put them back together. Thank goodness she also has a scheduling mind like me. She is very athletic having been involved in dance, gymnastics, tennis, basketball, and volleyball over the years, now focusing on her latest passion: Karate.
Jax stays informed about what is going on in the world and is defining her own voice. Needless to say, we are very proud of her and are so excited for the next steps in her journey.
And her journey to the briefing world was an obvious one. Already a veteran of ABPM events, Jax attended her first ABPM Spring Conference in 2012 in Boston at 6 months old. Many of you may remember meeting her there and seeing her again at Solution Partner Showcase events when held in Santa Clara before we moved home to Redding, CA in 2016. And of course, I couldn’t resist sharing photos of her in opening slides when teaching ABPM sessions. Thank you to so many of you for your care and interest in her life over the years.
The CXLive! Episode 67: A Journey from Briefing Program Manager to Global Event Consultant with Rebecca Bucher
30 Oct 2023
00:51:20
In this episode, Rebecca Bucher, Senior Director, Global Accounts with HelmsBriscoe, takes us along her journey from her days managing the Xerox Briefing Program to working with the ABPM team and ultimately defining a new career consulting for global events. She shares key elements that everyone leading event teams, including those briefing programs who have taken on event teams, should know when negotiating contracts for hotels, AV, transportation, and other services. Rebecca specifically addresses how important it is to look for and uncover hidden costs when negotiating on her clients’ behalf.
Highlights:
Rebecca’s career with Xerox where she held many different positions
The road to managing the Xerox Briefing Program
Her introduction to and ongoing relationship with the ABPM Team
How to leverage the power of global players to address clients’ needs
Specific event elements Group Business clients should know when looking to secure hotels, AV, transportation and other services
Rebecca worked for Xerox Corporation for more than 20 years and held numerous positions including Manager of their Briefing Program. She has been an active member of ABPM since 2000 participating in every conference, hosting Tour Day in their NYC Center, and also served on the ABPM Advisory Board.
Today, Rebecca is an associate with HelmsBriscoe, the global leader in meetings procurement. In this role, she offers an easy and cost-free alternative to the time-consuming and costly aspects of finding and contracting a hotel for group events. Rebecca has received their President’s Club Award 11 times. And, the ABPM staff relies on Rebecca to find, negotiate and contract hotel locations for all their conferences.
The CX Live! Episode 66: Strategies to Build/Grow Your Briefing Team and Program Offerings with Procore
29 Sep 2023
01:16:37
In this episode, members of the Procore briefing team including Jessica Gass, Simone Sterling and Cheyanne Faulkner share the story of how they envisioned, built, grew and continue to expand their APEX briefing program and its offerings. From the importance of understanding their unique audience to the organic evolution of a program that the whole company believes in and is proud to participate in, this is a success story that inspires!
Highlights:
How the Procore briefing program began in 2020
Stages in the evolution of APEX, the Procore briefing program
The gift of Executive Buy-in and Sponsorship
Knowing the Construction industry and creating unique “white glove” Procore experiences
Expansion to internal, external and industry relevant engagements
The power of Processes, Tools, and Solution Partners
The Procore team’s vision for the coming years including international growth and formalizing the Executive Event program
Jessica Gass Senior Manager, Field and Executive Marketing, Procore Jess currently manages the briefing program as well as field marketing and other executive event programs at Procore. Her previous experience includes roles in field marketing at BMC and Cloudera as well as some Marketing generalist roles at early stage startups that were acquired into those companies. Her early career included concierge work at the Hyatt and an overnight bellman role at the Four Seasons which really spurred her interest in delighting people and not really ever being able to say no (which has been both a blessing and a curse - her team can attest).
Simone Sterling Executive Program Marketing Associate Member, Procore After graduating with a sports marketing background. She has pursued her roles in events over the last 10 years in nonprofit events, sports events, tradeshows and now executive events.
Cheyanne Faulkner Executive Event Program Associate Member, Procore With her early roles at WeWork and Zendesk in marketing events and hospitality, Cheyanne has always had a passion for making people feel welcome and connected ever since she was a kid. Cheyanne’s first time interaction with ABPM was at the Boston 2023 conference!
The CX Live! Episode 65: Elevating Customer Conversations Through Dynamic Delivery with Corey Hansen
28 Jun 2023
00:59:20
In this episode, Corey Hansen, Dynamic Delivery Coach and Trainer with GoProBriefings.com offers our Executives and discussion leaders specific strategies and frameworks for building confidence in their delivery while customizing their content. From understanding Dynamics and Foundational Principles, to implementing the 4-A Way of Dynamic Delivery, Corey provides proven techniques to elevate conversations with our customers.
Highlights:
Similarities of “performances” on the theatrical stage and the corporate stage
Understanding Dynamics: Physical space, people, macro and micro levels
Foundational Principles including clearing the distraction and getting to action
Implementing the 4-A Way of Dynamic Delivery model (reference graphic): Audience, Atmosphere, Action, Actor
Content guidance for Discussion Leaders: “Expectations Set, Expectations Met”
The Importance of being prepared, not “winging it” and not ‘prejudging”
Corey blends strategies and techniques from theatrical and corporate stages to help briefing professionals deliver their most confident and engaging performances. Corey earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting at UC San Diego then earned membership in actors’ unions. Following his passion for teaching, Corey served as Professor of Acting at the University of Washington Graduate School of Drama.
While at Sprint, Corey held management positions in multiple disciplines including expanding roles in the Executive Briefing Program as Solution Demonstration Manager, Briefing Consultant, and General Manager of the award-winning Sprint Executive Briefing Program, selected as ABPM Program of the Year in 2014. Following Sprint’s merger with T-Mobile, Corey served as Senior Manager of the Executive Briefing Program.
A member of ABPM since 2013 Corey has attended and presented at Conferences and hosted the 2022 Fall Workshop attendees to the T-Mobile Experience Center in Kansas City.
The CX Live! Episode 64: Designing Customer Experiences to Expand Your Program's Impact with Steve Deitz and Susie Tobin
28 Jun 2023
00:51:37
In this episode, Steve Deitz, CEO & Founder and Susie Tobin, Customer Engagement Advisor, both of 900lbs, share unique ways to design memorable and customized experiences that enhance the customer and employee experience. From building in mechanisms to track metrics to utilizing ‘Practical Applications’, Steve and Susie showcase specific examples of how to expand the value of our programs.
Highlights:
The importance of ‘Customer Experience” - both Program Excellence and Center Design
Key elements to consider when creating an experience that tells your corporate story - How to Customize, Scale, and Maintain the Experience
Incorporate gathering metrics that your management cares about while building an Experience - Platforms such as Adobe Analytics and Unity Analytics
New Trend - the development of “Practical Applications” with Briefing Program and other stakeholders’ use cases in mind (Royal Caribbean Safety Command Center example)
How to effectively leverage the Briefing Program Customer Experiences for the Employee Experience
Recommendations for “Breaking the Script” when designing memorable experiences
In 2009, Steve founded 900lbs, a Dallas-based experience design agency. He leads a talented team (also known as a design and development Special Forces Unit) specializing in interactive customer engagement, technical software development and high-impact visual content to showcase the art of the possible.
With an arsenal of cutting-edge tools, 900lbs brings complex ideas to life driving business results for customers such as: Amazon Web Services, NTT Data, Bell Flight, Royal Caribbean, Textron Systems, Volvo, PepsiCo, Dallas Cowboys, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Shell Oil.
Steve is a 2000 graduate in Design Communications from Texas Tech. He was a 2018 honoree of Dallas Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and Dallas Innovates Future 50 in 2023. Steve is happily married and lives in Plano, Texas. He enjoys the outdoors, traveling, technology, drawing, camping, and Da Bears!
Susie brings her passion for unique and extraordinary experiences along with her knowledge of the corporate world to support all aspects of the go to market and growth strategy. Susie spent a number of years in the IT industry always with the customer top of mind. Her global experience included leading teams in building and managing briefing programs and events. She thrives when creating and developing memorable customer experiences.
A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Susie lives in Frisco, TX with her most favorite miniature schnauzer, Poppy. She loves the outdoors, golfing, and spending time with friends and family.
The CX Live! Episode 63: Demonstrating Your Program's Impact with Storytelling Through Data with Renee Niebylski
05 Jun 2023
01:01:31
In this episode, Renee Niebylski, Director of Global Experience Program at Crestron, shares the importance of analyzing the data that she collects in order to craft the most relevant story to each of her distinct audiences, always driving toward her program goals. With a broad spectrum of data collection methods, she provides factual evidence that influences executive decisions ensuring long term program and team success as well as future program expansion.
Highlights:
Strategies for understanding a briefing program’s current story including listening to many different points of view
How to define your program’s internal audience and key executive or group stakeholders’ care-abouts
Ways to analyze your data to craft stories that align to your audience’s specific care-abouts and objectives
Methodologies for reporting to achieve desired outcomes - additional resources, geographic expansion, filling the briefing pipeline at specific times, etc.
How to market yourself and your program for inclusion in highly visible meetings - CMO All Hands, Sales & Marketing QBR, Regional Monthly Calls, etc.
Effective ways to manage reporting tools and build a master presentation layered for immediate delivery to any audience
Avoiding “Data Vomit” - ways to provide just the right amount of detail during presentations and when providing access to dashboards
Renee Niebylski Director, Global Experience Program at Crestron
Over the past 16 years, Renee has held nearly every role in the briefing and experience world. From her early days as a Briefing Consultant to General Manager of global teams, she has driven strategy for well-known briefing programs including Sprint/Nextel, VMware, and Polycom/Poly.
Renee is now starting a new program and leading the Global Experience Team at Crestron Electronics.
A native New Yorker, Renee relocated to the DC Metro area about 25 years ago and has just moved to Maryland with her husband and 12 year old daughter to lead the Crestron team.
The CX Live! Episode 62: Every Conversation Counts - Building Extraordinary Relationships with Riaz Meghji
31 May 2023
00:58:20
In this episode, Riaz Meghji, who provided an amazing Keynote at the recent ABPM Spring Conference in Boston, offers additional insights and approaches for creating more authentic connections in our professional and personal lives. He provides specific questions we can all utilize to build trust and manifest deeper relationships. Even if you attended his Keynote, Riaz offers so many more meaningful insights during our conversation that you won’t want to miss!
Episode Highlights:
How to create space for people to show up as their authentic selves instead of overwhelming them with data
Key approaches to “make small talk bigger” including asking questions in a way that prompts deeper responses
The importance of “listening without distraction” and how to be confident in our preparation to allow for improvisation
Ways to “convey credibility before vulnerability”... modeling how to share imperfections which allows others to do the same
Practicing “making people feel famous” through specificity, milestone moments and gratitude
How “empathetic curiosity” can ease anxiety around difficult conversations and help us show up in better ways
Steps to encourage stories that evoke positive emotions - “trials, transitions and triumphs”
Powerful Quotes:
“Real Connection is the ability to admit imperfections.”
“Efficiency is the enemy of human connection.”
“Connected leaders give their people permission to get personal.”
Riaz Meghji Human Connections Speaker, Author and Executive Coach
Drawing on his almost two decades of experience as a broadcast interviewer and presenter for brands such as Citytv’s Breakfast Television, MTV Canada, CTV News, and the Toronto International Film Festival, 'Every Conversation Counts' author Riaz Meghji now serves as a human connection keynote speaker, helping leaders build trust, meaningful relationships and collaborative cultures in our new world of work.
His practical insights have been featured in various publications including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Financial Post.
The CX Live! Episode 61: Icons of Impact - Barb Anderson
01 May 2023
00:56:11
In our second “Icons of Impact” episode, Barb Anderson, shares insights from her 33 years at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, including her time as Director of Customer Engagement for Boeing Defense and Space Systems. From her experiences building the award-winning Boeing Briefing Program and Collaboration Center to important advice for becoming leaders who “cast long shadows”, Barb offers critical strategies for achieving your vision.
Episode Highlights:
Building the award-winning Boeing Briefing Program and Collaboration Center in DC
How leaders have a vision for the future and continue to deliver great value
The power of the ABPM World Class Characteristics - timeless and flexible
The importance for leaders to “cast long shadows” by empowering and involving their team
Strategies for creating memorable experiences that focus on the customer first
Advice for today’s briefing professionals - Be Bold, Speak Up, Say YES to new opportunities
Guest Thought Leader:
Barb Anderson Formerly Director, Customer Engagement with Boeing Defense and Space Systems Happily Retired
Barb joined McDonnell Douglas in 1984 and was involved in Communications activities for the next 20 years – through the 1997 merger with Boeing and beyond.
In 2004, Barb became the Director, Customer Engagement for Boeing Defense and Space Systems. She had a team of 70 people located at a dozen sites across the US, who’s number one job was the flawless planning and execution of senior customer meetings, special events and Air & Trade Shows. She reported to the VP of business development who reported directly to the President of Boeing Defense.
In 2011, Barb began a four year journey to design and build the Boeing Collaboration Center at the new Boeing Headquarters in Washington, DC. She led her team to achieve World Class status – winning 3 ABPM Awards including World Class Management in 2016 plus World Class Center in 2016 and World Class Planning in 2017. Barb served on the ABPM Advisory Board for 3 years from 2015-2017.
After 33 years with McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, Barb retired in 2017 and has continued to stay active with the ABPM often volunteering at Conferences and Workshops, ensuring that new and experienced members alike continue to gain valuable insights from our briefing community.
The CX Live! Episode 60: Mission-Driven Storytelling - Developing a Content & Messaging Strategy That Tells an Unforgettable Story with Nathan Pisik
22 Mar 2023
00:51:57
In this episode, Nathan Pisik, Global Leader in the Executive Briefing Program world and ‘professional raconteur’, explores approaches for mission-driven storytelling, a way of communicating an organization’s values and goals through a compelling narrative. He provides powerful examples from the briefing world and beyond that implore us to think creatively, sparking our own heightened sense of curiosity.
Episode Highlights:
Keys to effective mission-driven storytelling including authenticity, transparency and focusing on the impact of the organization’s work
How to utilize curiosity-driven questions to drive compelling stories
The formula for developing “visual evidence” and then “context” while highlighting specific briefing program that cause us to “look at this thing”
The possibility of providing ways for guests to learn more about themselves when engaging within our Centers
Addressing the challenges for programs to achieve mission-driven storytelling
The distinction between technology that enables innovation and those we use to take care of things that are not our engines of innovation
Advice for telling the truth in order to elevate our outcomes and strengthen relationships that serve a greater purpose
Nathan Pisik Global Leader in the Executive Briefing Program World and "Professional Raconteur"
Nathan has developed, led, and scaled global Content & Messaging strategy for some of the largest and most respected Technology companies in the world. Most recently, Nathan served as International Head of Content & Messaging at Google, overseeing global content strategy and serving as The Central Region Briefing Program Lead tasked with launching and managing Google’s burgeoning CloudSpace Briefing Program in Austin, TX.
Prior to joining Google, Nathan led global content & messaging strategy for the Dell Technologies Executive Briefing Program, managing Briefing Consultant Enablement and training across Dell Technologies 11 global locations, and serving as a Discussion Leader Developing, Facilitating, and Leading Design-Thinking and Innovation Workshops for Fortune 100 executives from around the world.
Nathan has served as a session leader at three ABPM conferences since 2021 and has been a keynote speaker at various industry events. He holds degrees in International Business and Chinese Language Studies from Texas A&M University.
The CX Live! Episode 59: Best Practices that Impact the Customer Experience with Adam Alfia
01 Mar 2023
00:40:50
We’re reaching out to thought leaders from different industries to share their perspective on topics important to the briefing community. Adam Alfia, Founder and Managing Director at Real Time Feedback, shares best practices to elevate the customer experience from making first interactions matter to addressing the Service Recovery Paradox that increases customer loyalty. He discusses how to overcome survey fatigue and the rise of the Customer Effort Score (CES).
Episode Highlights:
The importance of training team members to actively address customer pain points and provide next level customer service
Why the first interaction matters and impacts the remainder of the experience - positively or negatively
The Service Recovery Paradox and how to empower your team to make decisions that increase customer loyalty
Key insights into developing a 2-way feedback mechanism that encourages customer responses and suggestions for overcoming survey fatigue
Technologies that allow customers to give real time feedback and make them feel they have made a difference in the process
The value of the Customer Effort Score (CES), a way to measure success and ease of customer interactions
Adam is a serial entrepreneur and currently involved in over 25 businesses. He started a European auto repair shop out of college, expanded to 4 locations and sold them all in 2005 for $7.5M. He then founded Maestro, a white-labeled virtual personal assistant service catering to the automotive industry with clients including Infiniti, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru. Most recently, Adam is the Founder and Managing Director of Real Time Feedback, an important tool that helps companies learn more about customer experiences as they happen, giving them a chance to correct issues. Additionally, Adam manages a successful chain of restaurants called Shell Shack.
The CX Live! Episode 58: Icons of Impact - Ann Benett
06 Feb 2023
00:37:57
In our first ever “Icons of Impact” podcast episode, Ann Benett, formerly Manager of the Global Executive Briefing at Apple and President of Benett Communications and now happily retired, shares her valuable insights on the evolution of the briefing industry and key strategies for today’s briefing professionals all while reflecting on her love of the briefing profession and community.
Episode Highlights:
The most important shift in the briefing industry over the past 25+ years
What she loves most about the briefing profession
How the pandemic changed the briefing landscape and positive outcomes
Key hurdles briefing teams need to overcome to gain credibility with executive management
Three key strategies for today’s briefing professionals to: looking outward, looking inward, looking forward
Ann Benett Former Manager of the Global Executive Briefing at Apple & President of Benett Communications
Ann began her briefing career as Manager of the Global Executive Briefing Program at Apple. In 1999, she founded Benett Communications - the first consultant firm that was completely focused on helping build and support briefing programs around the globe. She has been a leader and an integral part of the ABPM Community from nearly the time ABPM was founded. After 23 years leading Benett Communications, 11 years at Apple, 6 years with Silicon Valley startups, and her first job at WDIV-TV Detroit, Ann is happily retired from the executive briefing world.
The CX Live! Episode 57: Measure, Analyze and Report EBC Program Effectiveness to Impact Executive Support with John Heiman
09 Jan 2023
00:57:12
In our first episode of 2023, John Heiman, Consultant with EBP Consulting, shares how to capture meaningful data to demonstrate the briefing program’s ROI. With a focus on effectiveness and efficiency, he highlights the importance of having a baseline to measure sentiment and methods for reporting the impact to executive management.
Episode Highlights:
The importance of understanding C Level “care abouts” related to data collection and analytics
Ways to refocus the collection of metrics into two main categories: Effectiveness and Efficiency
The power of the Net Promoter Score to demonstrate briefing impact on changing customer sentiment
The top 3 most impactful metrics to report to executive management
Strategies for communicating with executives for buy in on your long term program requirements
How to build advocacy for prioritization with IT teams to utilize CRM tools for reporting briefing program influence
John has 30+ years of innovative experience in driving measurable growth through implementation of strategic experiential marketing programs.He oversaw Sprint’s Experiential Marketing Department, including the EBC Program for 14 years. John served on the ABPM Advisory Board for 10 years and is a frequent session and workshop leader often focused on strategy and analytics. Sprint has been presented with over 25 APBM awards including Program of the Year in 2014. In 2016 John was awarded the ABPM President’s Service Award.
The CX Live! Episode 56: A First Look at the ABPM's Updated Characteristics of World Class Briefing Programs
01 Dec 2022
01:04:26
In this episode, Elizabeth Simpson, President of ABPM, and Candie Hurley, Coach, Trainer & Consultant at GoProBriefings.com, share key insights from our 2022 episodes dedicated to the main categories of the ABPM’s Characteristics of World Class Briefing Programs document and give a “first look” into recent changes to this aspirational guide that briefing programs reference to achieve world class.
Episode Highlights:
An understanding that this document offers the foundational principles that briefing programs reference for each of the five categories: Customer Experience, Analytics, Management, Operations, and Multi-Center Programs
The importance of the characteristics within each of the five categories, how they continued to guide briefing teams through the pandemic, and remain applicable for programs
Key insights from each of the five thought leaders who were interviewed along with examples they shared for achieving world class
A review of the process for making changes to the document, a “first look” at those changes and the thinking behind them
Inspiring words of wisdom for briefing programs as we move into 2023
Elizabeth has been with ABPM for over 20 years and took on the role of President in 2018. She works closely with Briefing Program teams to understand their challenges and to provide resources that will help them successfully meet those challenges. She has been instrumental in strengthening services and evolving ABPM as an organization.
Candie supports briefing professionals in benchmarking their programs across the briefing industry. She also delivers training and coaching to help briefing programs create more impactful customer experiences that strengthen customer relationships, uncover new business opportunities, and accelerate the sales cycle. A frequent session leader at ABPM conferences, she is also very involved in facilitating ABPM advisory board discussions to continue advancing the briefing profession.
The CX Live! Episode 55 - Customer Experiences That Inspire Action with Emily Kester and Marshall Thompson
01 Nov 2022
01:00:15
In this episode, Emily Kester, Creative Director and Marshall Thompson, Director of Strategic Growth, both of Hyperquake, share how to build stories that are rooted in truth, making people connect emotionally and inspiring them to take action.
Episode Highlights:
The importance of creating powerful stories that build deeper connections and strengthen trust with your audience - motivating them to think, feel, and do
How the Experience Framework guides the development of unique stories that resonate with customers by tapping into how humans communicate on an emotional level
Tips for ensuring the customer journey through your space addresses the right elements to achieve your goal, specifically a sense of safety that grounds the rest of the experience so guests can receive what you are sharing
New ways to leverage experiential environments to demonstrate key corporate values that inspire your internal stakeholders including your discussion leaders
Ideas for creating more inclusive stories that resonate with a new breed of today’s decision makers - sustainability, equity, collaboration
As Creative Director of the Storybuilding team at Hyperquake, Emily brings a high level of creativity to every immersive experience she creates. With a strong experience design background, Emily has helped create experiences of all shapes and sizes for clients such as Walmart, Cummins, Procter & Gamble, and HPE. As a strong female leader, she brings a seasoned thought leadership in addition to a high level of empathy, humor, and hard work to every team she is a part of.
Marshall has spent the last decade helping the world’s largest brands accelerate their most valuable opportunities through impactful storytelling, and memorable experiences. His diverse experience has spanned across hardware, software, and consultative services for the EBC space. He is passionate about helping businesses evolve with unconventional, disruptive thinking. Marshall is a recognized thought leader in the Executive Briefing space, with a focus on how immersive brand experiences can help build lasting relationships and drive revenue.
The CX Live! Episode 54 - Reimagining Collaborative Briefing Experiences with Sid van Wijk
30 Sep 2022
01:00:53
In this episode, Sid van Wijk, Executive Briefing Center Lead at Miro in Amsterdam shares the journey he and his team are on to reimagine how briefing experiences can be more collaborative including a new approach to the briefing planning process that involves the customer much earlier in the conversation.
Highlights:
How to explore the different ways that technologies can be integrated to bring a whole different level of collaboration to all briefing phases
The importance of building for scale and flexibility including various approaches for designing the initial physical briefing center space and amenities
How to immerse your guests in the tools even before their engagement date so they can drive the objectives and the agenda to a more positive outcome
Ideas for elevating the hybrid briefing experience including moderators who advocate for both virtual and in-person guests
Thinking “outside the box” and being flexible when defining the customer journey such as changing from “talk, talk, talk” to “talk, show, prove”
Sid started presenting professionally when he was 17, about online gaming. This experience led him to launch a Presentation Design Bureau only a few years later - kick started by a new presentation tool at that time: Prezi. He did all of this while getting his engineering degree at university.
In 2015, Sid joined NetApp where he discovered Executive Briefing Centers. In May of 2022, Sid joined Miro, taking all that presentation and Briefing experience and creating Miro's very first Briefing Center Program based in Amsterdam.
The CX Live! Episode 53 - Opportunities for Applying Technical Expertise to Managing Customer Experiences with Jennifer Anthony
01 Sep 2022
00:55:04
Description
In this episode, Jennifer Anthony, BSc (Hons) Therapeutic Radiography and Customer Engagement Manager at Elekta explores how many professionals find success in the briefing industry by connecting their previous technical background to interactions with customers, further strengthening relationships and accelerating sales closure.
Highlights:
How previous technical knowledge can be valuable in the corporate world by supporting product releases, testing hardware and software for efficiency in the field, educating other employees and finding new solutions
The importance of speaking the customer’s language to build trust and tell a story that evokes a feeling that makes your briefing experiences memorable
How to use expertise to have empathetic and insightful conversations with customers while facilitating conversations between customers and discussion leaders
Ideas for building genuine spaces within a physical center based on one’s technical knowledge and deeper understanding of what will resonate with your guests
Guest Thought Leader:
Jennifer Anthony BSC (HONS) Therapeutic Radiography and Customer Engagement Manager, Elekta
Jennifer was qualified as a Therapeutic Radiographer in 1997 and worked clinically treating cancer patients in prestigious hospitals in London for 10 years. In 2004, an opportunity came up to work at Elekta in new product development for radiotherapy projects. While there, Jennifer led a team of radiographers working on Elekta’s product portfolio. In 2018, she moved into Global Marketing to manage Elekta’s first Executive Briefing Center and is currently a Customer Engagement Manager.
The CX Live! Episode 52 - Trends in AV Technology to Elevate Visitor Engagement with George Astacio Jr.
01 Aug 2022
00:40:17
Description
In this episode, George Astacio Jr., Sales Manager of Client Experiences at Jupiter Systems explores how audio visual (AV) technology can elevate the customer experience and increase engagement at Briefing and Experience Centers.
Highlights:
How AV technology supports meeting equity and brand messaging
What new and innovative AV technologies are emerging and how they’ve impacted briefing centers
How AV technology is a tool that organizations can use to increase employee retention, improve productivity, add excitement to their program and encourage guests to visit in-person
Key considerations to keep in mind when evaluating if you need to introduce new AV technologies or upgrade existing ones in your program
Ideas for maintaining a strong relationship with your AV Partners to stay informed about technology to align to your short and long term needs
George has over 25 years of technical marketing and customer experience success, having focused on providing thought leadership, strategy and growth for enhancing the way you engage with your customers. Implementing leading edge customer engagement techniques, especially when it comes to integrating technology to create immersive brand experiences, George has the ability to grasp the technical and human side of technologies. George has contributed to many beautiful yet innovative Briefing Centers including McAfee, Boeing, and SAP just to name a few. Currently, George is the Client Experience Manager for Enterprise at Jupiter Systems, a 40-year-old innovation company focused on real-time collaborative visualization technology.
The CX Live! BONUS Episode – Celebration w/ Darby Mason-Werner
05 Jul 2022
00:23:34
Description
In this episode, Darby Mason-Werner, host of the CX Live! Podcast, celebrates episode 50 with a bonus episode, providing exciting new updates on the podcast and inviting guests to share best practices they’ve learned from the podcast over the years.
Highlights:
Elizabeth Simpson, President of ABPM shares the impact the podcast made on the briefing community
A variety of guests share which podcast episode was their favorite, and key takeaways they learned and implemented in their own briefing programs
Andrea Williams, Director of Marketing at Inpixon shares the journey of the podcast since its inception in 2020
Exciting updates on the new re-brand of the podcast, and what’s to come in the future
This episode features a variety of guests, including: Elizabeth Simpson, President of ABPM; Andrea Williams, Director of Marketing at Inpixon; John Panek, Sr. Manager North America Executive Briefing Program & Experience Centers at Zebra Technologies; Heidi Granado, Manager of the Executive Briefing Program at Equinix; Lisa Hansen, Staff Executive Briefing Manager at Illumina; Candie Hurley, Trainer, Coach & Consultant at GoProBriefings.com; Brian O'Neill, Capabilities Team at W. L. Gore & Associates; Coryn Connelly-Cabreros, Executive Briefing Manager at Autodesk; and Ellen Barnes Pfiffner, Consultant at EBP Business Consulting.
The CX Live! Episode 50 - How to Successfully Grow and Manage A Regional Innovation Center Program w/ Laurent Picot
05 Jul 2022
00:32:39
Description
In this episode, Laurent Picot, Director of EMEA Innovation Centers at Salesforce discusses how to manage regional briefing centers while staying consistent with the goals of a global briefing program.
Highlights:
The value of building trust with your team members while remaining focused on the shared vision and strategy
Strategies for prioritizing shared tools, gaining access to executives and discussion leaders, providing metrics in dashboards, and evangelizing the value of the program across the company
The importance of communicating with new hires and the sales team on what the overall goals are to stay aligned with the same measures of success
Why it’s crucial to prove the value of your briefing program to executive management and continuously innovate
How the Salesforce Innovation Center incorporated virtual reality to add another layer of interactivity to their customer engagements
Laurent started his professional career as a technical writer having graduated from University outside of Paris with an engineering degree in Electronics. He then moved into writing administration guides for missiles, and became a tester of Telecom networks equipment. Having managed the Corporate EBC of Alcatel-Lucent outside of Paris, and moved to the Microsoft EBC in Brussels in 2013. Having joined Salesforce in 2015, Laurent now manages the Salesforce Innovation Centers (SICs) in London, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam which are aligned with the SICs in the US, actively supporting the business of Salesforce. Salesforce is one of the most innovative companies and the 4th largest Enterprise Software Company in the world. Additionally, Salesforce France has been listed as the Best Place to Work since 2018.
The CX Live! Episode 49 - The Power of Creatively Promoting Your Program Internally w/ John Panek
15 Jun 2022
00:47:48
Description
In this episode, John Panek, Senior Manager of Zebra Technologies’ North American Executive Briefing Program & Experience Centers explores the idea of promoting the value of executive briefing programs within the organization, and the opportunities that can create for growth.
Highlights:
How internal promotion creates excitement among the sales team and executive leadership, and can help gain their support
The value in creating internal resources to report on the success of the briefing program, such as annual reports and newsletters
How to encourage the promotion of briefing sessions on social media to share with an entire network and increase awareness
The power of analytics in gaining insights that enrich the briefing program and evangelize its success
How empowering briefing team members to be more consultative and recognizing discussion leaders builds a stronger, more dedicated team
John Panek Senior Manager of North American Executive Briefing Program and Experience Centers, Zebra Technologies
John is known for his ability to foster powerful customer interactions, through account-based marketing, events and most recently in the Zebra Experience Centers. A hands-on professional with 27 years of experience marketing technology providers, channel partners and distribution. John has been recognized for the ability to plan and execute highly measurable marketing programs, impactful brand experiences, and effective corporate communications. And he was recently recognized as the 2021 Marketing Partner of the Year by Zebra North America sales leadership for his contributions growing the Executive Briefing Program.
The CX Live! Episode 48 - Strategies for Building Global Centers to Evolve the Experience w/ Simon Grice
01 Jun 2022
00:47:50
Description
In this episode, Simon Grice, Senior Director in the Chief Innovation Office at ServiceNow discusses how to build a global briefing center program to support company objectives and customer success, capable of evolving with the organization.
Highlights:
How to set a clear vision for reimagining the customers’ experience while aligning to your corporate brand and values
The importance of understanding that re-designing a briefing space takes time, and the value in patience when building global briefing centers
How to adapt the briefing center to its region and work with executive leadership around the world
The process of building brand new briefing centers from start to finish, and how to leverage technology to improve storytelling
How to create innovative and dynamic spaces such as boardrooms, theatres, broadcast studios or spaces for strategy sessions
In his role, Simon oversees the global Executive Briefing Program and also an internal creative agency called the Story Studio. Simon supports organizations in their efforts to transform, modernize and create a better experience for customers and employees. He is a hands-on practitioner who is passionate about making the world work better for everyone. Prior to joining ServiceNow, Simon was the Director of Project & Portfolio Management at CA Technologies. At CA, Simon performed several key roles focused on the integrated set of software systems that together optimize the resource utilization, presentation, and delivery of IT services. Simon’s 20+ years of enterprise software business experience began at Chorus Application Software, providing ERP solutions to a diverse range of vertical markets, where he was an implementation manager responsible for over 30 successful deployments of the software. His resume includes gaining government experience working as Lead Planner at Winfrith Nuclear site, run by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency.
The CX Live! Episode 47 - How to Use Data to Identify Opportunities and Deepen Customer Intimacy w/ Jan Mark Holzer
16 May 2022
00:50:09
Description
In this episode, Jan Mark Holzer, Senior Distinguished Engineer at Red Hat Inc. explores how having a data-driven approach in your briefing strategy can help gain insights to further customize your briefing program and deepen your relationship with customers.
Highlights:
How data enables us to get a holistic view of the customer lifecycle to identify the best opportunities to engage
The importance of visualizing data in an accessible format to make it valuable to a variety of stakeholders, including tracking account activity for the sales team
How evaluating pertinent data supports briefing program teams in building more impactful agendas that achieve customer objectives
The way tools and technologies can be useful in receiving alerts or subscription updates around new engagement and activities
How the use of data can inspire a data-driven approach in other departments of the organization, streamlining various processes
Jan has been with Red Hat for over 16 years when the company had about 400 employees. It now has over 20,000. His role in Red Hat covers many areas and organizations with a focus on emerging technologies and bringing customer/partner input into the various product/engineering groups. Jan is also the lead for Red Hat’s Executive Briefing program, focusing on strategy and continuous innovation to uplevel the experience. He consults on many of Red Hat’s executive programs and initiatives. In his role as a member of Red Hat’s CTO office he was also the architect for Red Hat’s relationship with Boston University and the creation of the Red Hat and BU Collaboratory. He works closely with many of Red Hat’s largest accounts and partners to help them deliver innovative open source solutions to solve their business challenges.
The CX Live! Episode 46 - Building Trust with Sales to Develop Customer-Focused, Outcome-Based Agendas w/ Nathan Pisik
02 May 2022
00:46:55
Description
In this episode, Nathan Pisik, Global Strategy Senior Advisor for the Dell Technologies Executive Briefing Program discusses the importance of building trust with the sales team to create customer-focused briefing agendas, that will ultimately help sales reach their goals and elevate the experience for customers.
Highlights:
The importance of having a collaborative partnership with the sales team to establish a focus for the briefing agenda, especially as virtual briefings are shorter than in-person briefings
How briefing program managers can benefit from understanding the perspective of the sales team and use sales focused terminology to capture customer specific details and build trust with them
The value of embracing the ‘why’ to create meaningful briefings that address the customer’s objectives while clearly communicating your company’s purpose
How developing a methodology to offer an outcome-based topic catalog along with suggested discussion blocks that are delivered by qualified discussion leaders ensures global consistency
Based out of Headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, Nathan is responsible for leading Dell Technologies global content & Messaging strategy for the EBP, managing Briefing Consultant Enablement and training across Dell Technologies 11 global locations, and serving as a Discussion Leader facilitating and presenting in C-level executive briefings for Dell Technologies’s largest Enterprise customers around the world. Nathan holds Bachelor’s degrees in International Business and Chinese Language Studies from Texas A&M University. And he has served on the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce representing Dell Technologies for the last two years and has held a seat on the Board of Directors for the Texas Homeless Network, the largest Homeless advocacy group in the State of Texas since 2018. Recently Nathan was a first-time session leader at the ABPM Spring Conference.
The CX Live! Episode 45 - How World Class Programs Achieve Analytics Excellence w/ Dave Rogers
01 Apr 2022
00:51:03
Description
In this episode, David Rogers, Director of Operations & Technology Integration at Microsoft explores the topic of analytics and performance measurement strategies that can help briefing programs achieve world class.
Highlights:
The importance of having a measurement strategy that measures success and meets the needs of stakeholders
Key metrics used to evaluate briefing program effectiveness
The value of gaining immediate feedback to assess the impact of the briefings
How to adjust your analytics methodology for virtual vs in-person briefings
The importance of utilizing tools for collecting meaningful analytics and reporting to management
David has supported Microsoft’s Sales teams, Executives and top customers for the past 18 years. 10 years ago he took over leading Microsoft’s Executive Briefing Center Operations and in 2019 began looking after the entire portfolio of centers within the newly formed Customer Engagement Team. He now also oversees Executive Engagement, Sponsorship, and the Applications and Analytics team. David serves on the ABPM Advisory Board and regularly teaches classes on managing world class programs and how to use metrics and data to maximize results. He’s also graciously hosted the ABPM European Conference and made sure his Centers are included on ABPM conference and workshop tour days whenever possible.
The CX Live! Episode 44 - How Multi-Center Programs Achieve World Class – Part II w/ Ellen Barnes Pfiffner
15 Mar 2022
00:35:25
Description
In this episode, serving as the second of two parts in a conversation on multi-center briefing programs, Ellen Barnes Pfiffner, Consultant at EBP Business Consulting, discusses how briefing programs can achieve consistency across multiple locations.
Highlights:
The most common structures of multi-center programs and how each one can achieve success through coordination
How virtual briefings are here to stay thanks to the value of virtual briefing platforms
The importance of regular communication among briefing center locations
Key insights in maintaining cohesive branding and customer experiences
What factors to use when defining segmentation criteria for global program location tier levels
Ellen is a Management Consultant with over 20 years of business experience spanning sales, marketing, operations, customer experience and training. She advises and coaches briefing programs globally on how to achieve their goals, increase revenue, and how to be best in class. Ellen is so well-known in our briefing community and is perhaps the most frequent session leader at ABPM Conferences, Fall Workshops events and provides ABPM Core Competency courses via webinars. She is an ABPM Advisory Board member emeritus and received the ABPM “Hero Award” at the 2021 Spring Conference for her tireless work to provide valuable information and resources to our entire community as soon as the pandemic hit and throughout 2020. She’s now serving on the ABPM Hybrid Taskforce, and wrote the ABPM World Class Multi-Site Category and characteristics.
The CX Live! Episode 43 - How Multi-Center Programs Achieve World Class – Part I w/ Ellen Barnes Pfiffner
01 Mar 2022
00:43:00
Description
In this episode, serving as the first of two parts in a conversation on multi-center briefing programs, Ellen Barnes Pfiffner, Consultant at EBP Business Consulting, explores the best practices for programs to reach excellence across all their locations.
Highlights:
The importance of sharing a common business strategy among all centers to maintain consistency
How centralized tools enable visibility and cohesiveness across various locations
The headquarters’ role in balancing the workload, giving regional centers more room to focus on their customer experience
How having defined standards and metrics of success provides a roadmap to reaching world-class
Ellen is a Management Consultant with over 20 years of business experience spanning sales, marketing, operations, customer experience and training. She advises and coaches briefing programs globally on how to achieve their goals, increase revenue, and how to be best in class. Ellen is so well-known in our briefing community and is perhaps the most frequent session leader at ABPM Conferences, Fall Workshops events and provides ABPM Core Competency courses via webinars. She is an ABPM Advisory Board member emeritus and received the ABPM “Hero Award” at the 2021 Spring Conference for her tireless work to provide valuable information and resources to our entire community as soon as the pandemic hit and throughout 2020. She’s now serving on the ABPM Hybrid Taskforce, and wrote the ABPM World Class Multi-Site Category and characteristics.
The CX Live! Episode 42 - How World Class Programs Achieve Operational Excellence w/ Marcy Nelsen
15 Feb 2022
00:41:07
Description
In this episode, Marcy Nelsen, Director of AT&T’s Corporate Briefing Program, shares insights on the best strategies to achieve world-class operations in your briefing program, and staying competitive in a continuously evolving industry.
Highlights:
The importance of storytelling and creating engaging experiences for customers
How situational fluency and clear communication among your team is key to operational excellence
The value of customer feedback in evaluating the quality of your briefing program
How providing regular analytics to executives on a regular cadence increases their awareness and support
The importance of a complete discussion leader engagement strategy to ensure successful engagements
How leveraging technology can optimize operations and create personalized experiences
Marcy is Director of AT&T’s Corporate Briefing Program in Dallas, Texas, and long-time member of the ABPM. Under Marcy’s leadership the AT&T program swept the World Class awards in 2018 winning in all 4 categories of Customer Experience, Management, Operations and Analytics. Marcy is also a member of the ABPM Advisory Board. Marcy graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and then earned her MBA in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ.
The CX Live! Episode 41 - How World Class Programs Achieve Management Excellence w/ Jesse Hanz
01 Feb 2022
01:08:09
Description
In this episode, Jesse Hanz, Director of Customer Experience at Schneider Electric dives into the Management category of the ABPM’s Characteristics of a World Class Briefing Program and how to create a strategy for success in management best practices. Additionally, Jesse offers some examples of important challenges he has faced and successful ways to overcome them.
Highlights:
Approaches for gaining executive support
How a strategic business plan should be dynamic and consistently reviewed
The value of investing in and empowering your team
How to prioritize how your resources are being used to best support your strategy
Different methods for fostering program advocacy and feedback
The power of promoting your program with customized value propositions
Jesse is the Director of Customer Experience specifically for Schneider Electric’s IT Division. His role involves helping global customer visit locations succeed in the quest to deliver a world-class experience whether they are manufacturing sites, technology centers, or executive briefing centers. His primary passion is in managing the vision, strategy, and overall advancement of the award-winning Innovation Executive Briefing Center, in St. Louis, Missouri. Jesse is an active member within the executive briefing community championing the development of the profession by serving on the ABPM Advisory Board and presenting frequently at ABPM conferences. Jesse began helping sales teams reach customer visit sites using advanced virtual methods with full-screen video back in early 2017, and now, Schneider Electric has adopted the St. Louis virtual system at over 20 sites globally.
The CX Live! Episode 19 Revisited - Delivering World Class Virtual Customer Experiences w/ Candie Hurley
24 Jan 2022
00:36:32
Description
In this revisited episode that’s part of the podcast’s world class theme for 2022, Candie Hurley, Trainer, Coach and Consultant with Benett Communications shares key insights on delivering world class virtual customer experiences, and how developing strategies that build true customer loyalty can be rewarding for your briefing program.
Episode Highlights:
Addressing the 5 elements of world-class customer experience
How to create meaningful virtual experiences for customers
The added value in striving for customer loyalty over customer satisfaction
How customization is key to building trust in a virtual environment
Candie brings so much experience to our briefing community having been a member of ABPM since 1999. She’s been a company member leading global briefing programs for AT&T, Lucent, Avaya, and Trizetto. And she’s been a supplier partner as a coach and trainer with Benett Communications and Mandel Communications. She’s also been a recipient of the ABPM President’s Service Award and has served on the ABPM Advisory Board. If you’ve been to an ABPM conference you’ve probably been in one of her workshops! Candie supports briefing professionals in benchmarking their programs across the briefing industry. She also delivers training and coaching to help briefing programs create more impactful customer experiences that strengthen customer relationships, uncover new business opportunities, and accelerate the sales cycle.
The CX Live! Episode 39 – Characteristics of World Class Briefing Programs - An Origin Story w/ Candie Hurley
10 Jan 2022
00:31:33
Description
In this episode, Candie Hurley, Trainer, Coach and Consultant with Benett Communications shares what makes a briefing program world class, and how the characteristics set by the ABPM serve as a benchmark for organizations striving towards providing the best experiences for their customers.
Episode Highlights:
The origins of the Characteristics of World Class Briefing Programs and a look into the five main categories
How the ABPM continuously updates the characteristics to meet growing industry standards and changes in technology
How the different categories allow organizations to evaluate their performance and make meaningful changes
A deep dive into how organizations use ABPM’s characteristics as a roadmap to excellence
Candie brings so much experience to our briefing community having been a member of ABPM since 1999. She’s been a company member leading global briefing programs for AT&T, Lucent, Avaya, and Trizetto. And she’s been a supplier partner as a coach and trainer with Benett Communications and Mandel Communications. She’s also been a recipient of the ABPM President’s Service Award and has served on the ABPM Advisory Board. If you’ve been to an ABPM conference you’ve probably been in one of her workshops! Candie supports briefing professionals in benchmarking their programs across the briefing industry. She also delivers training and coaching to help briefing programs create more impactful customer experiences that strengthen customer relationships, uncover new business opportunities, and accelerate the sales cycle.