by Annette Franz | Aug 5, 2026 | customer experience, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, data, employee experience, insights, leadership, Uncategorized
I originally wrote today’s post for MarTech. It appeared on their site on August 1, 2025. In far too many organizations, decisions are made in boardrooms, far removed from the reality of the customer. Metrics are dissected. Dashboards are studied. Yet somehow,...
by Annette Franz | Jan 21, 2026 | culture, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, employee-centric, golden thread, leadership, people-centric, profitability, Uncategorized
In 2018, I challenged organizations to ask: Are you genuinely people‑centric or just profit‑centric in disguise? That tension hasn’t faded; as a matter of fact, it has intensified. Let’s stop pretending. Too many companies still talk about being “people-centric” while...
by Annette Franz | Nov 12, 2025 | accountability, culture, culture change, customer-centric culture, governance, leadership, transformation, Uncategorized
Culture transformation efforts often begin with bold aspirations: new values, lofty purpose statements, and visions of how the organization will “show up” differently. But those efforts frequently fall short, not because the vision is unclear, but because...
by Annette Franz | Aug 20, 2025 | artificial intelligence, culture, customer experience, customer-centric culture, data, employee experience, leadership, technology, Uncategorized
Culture determines how AI shows up in your customer experience – intelligent, intentional, and human, or disconnected and damaging. The choice is yours. AI is everywhere, but is it actually improving your customer experience, or just making it faster and colder?...
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 | Jul 30, 2025 | culture, customer experience, customer-centric culture, employee experience, leadership, people-centric, Uncategorized
Most leaders say customer experience is a priority. Far fewer connect the dots between what customers experience on the outside and what employees experience on the inside. But here’s the truth: You can’t fix what’s happening on the outside if you don’t fix what’s...
