by Annette Franz | Jul 8, 2026 | business outcomes, culture, customer experience, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, systems thinking, Uncategorized
This is the third in a series on the Golden Thread and your systems. If you haven’t read Where the Golden Thread Breaks Most Often or Strategy Is a System, Not a Statement, it’s worth starting there. We’ve established that the Golden Thread breaks when what leaders...
by Annette Franz | May 13, 2026 | business outcomes, culture, customer experience, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, outcome tracing, outcomes, Uncategorized
Most culture frameworks describe what to fix. This one tells you how to know if it’s working – and how to keep it working over time. “Fix the culture, fix the outcomes.” That’s my mantra. And yes, I’ve heard the objection: it’s too simple. You can’t...
by Annette Franz | May 6, 2026 | business outcomes, core values, culture, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, outcome tracing, outcomes, Uncategorized, workplace
“Fix the culture, fix the outcomes.” I say this often (and I’ve written about it before). It’s even my signature line when I do Built to Win: Designing a Customer-Centric Culture That Drives Value for Your Business book signings. Occasionally someone...
by Annette Franz | Apr 29, 2026 | business outcomes, culture, customer experience, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, Uncategorized
There’s been lots of talk about CX work and how it has to be tied to business outcomes for leaders to get on board. That’s an old, tired mantra. I’ve been in this business/profession for 30+ years, and we’ve been saying the same thing… over and over again…...
by Annette Franz | Apr 22, 2026 | business outcomes, culture, customer experience, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, Uncategorized
… And the one framework that forces Them to ask the right ones. I recently came across a LinkedIn post celebrating a high survey response rate. The author was thrilled, and the comments were full of kudos. But I found myself asking a completely different...
by Annette Franz | Apr 15, 2026 | business outcomes, culture, customer experience, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, Uncategorized
Leaders don’t set out to break the Golden Thread. After all, they talk about customer-centricity, invest in employee experience, and define values and articulate strategy. (They do, right?) It’s beautiful. On paper, everything connects; in reality, it rarely...
