by Annette Franz | Sep 2, 2026 | core values, culture, employee experience, leadership, teamwork, Uncategorized
I originally wrote this post for Contact Center Pipeline. It appeared on their site in September 2025. Every company has a culture, whether it’s the one you design or the one you allow. But in many organizations, there are actually two: the mission culture, i.e., what...
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 | Feb 17, 2026 | core values, culture, customer experience, employee experience, golden thread, leadership, outcomes, Uncategorized
I recently saw this headline for an article totally unrelated to the work I do: “When Guardrails Fail, Systems Break.” I’ve been talking and writing a lot about employees and broken systems, so I pondered how that phrase/title ties into the Golden...
by Annette Franz | Sep 24, 2025 | artificial intelligence, automation, core values, culture, leadership, Uncategorized
There’s a rush right now to “AI everything.” Customer service. Marketing. Operations. Even strategy. (Without thinking about why. Without thinking about outcomes. All of which can certainly end in failed implementations.) But there’s one area you cannot – and...
by Annette Franz | Aug 6, 2025 | core values, culture, customer-centric culture, employee experience, leadership, metrics, Uncategorized, workplace
For too long, “culture” has been (and continues to be) dismissed as a soft concept, i.e., something nice to have, a feel-good initiative, or an HR responsibility with no direct bearing on the bottom line. That’s a mistake. A costly one. Here’s the reality: culture is...
by Annette Franz | Mar 19, 2025 | board of directors, communication, core values, culture, culture change, employee experience, leadership, Uncategorized, workplace
Corporate culture has the power to drive innovation, employee engagement, and business success – but improving it is often one of the toughest challenges organizations face. Despite leaders acknowledging the importance of a strong culture, many efforts to change...
