by Annette Franz | Sep 30, 2026 | accountability, change management, commitment, culture, customer experience, dashboards, golden thread, leadership, listening, metrics, ROI, Uncategorized
I originally wrote today’s post for MarTech. It appeared on their site on January 28, 2026. Customer Experience teams aren’t failing because they lack passion, tools, or data. They’re failing because, when improvement stalls, they ask the wrong questions. OK,...
by Annette Franz | Sep 23, 2026 | culture, customer experience, employee experience, leadership, listening, outcomes, Uncategorized, voice of employee
I originally wrote today’s post for MarTech. It appeared on their site on May 27, 2026. Most executive or leadership listening tours fail for one simple reason: They were designed to (just) collect feedback instead of uncovering truth. Meetings get scheduled, leaders...
by Annette Franz | Mar 18, 2026 | culture, employee experience, insights, leadership, listening, Uncategorized
Every once in a while, someone declares that “Gemba walks don’t work.” The claim usually comes wrapped in frustration: leaders tried it, nothing changed, and everyone went back to business as usual. The conclusion that it doesn’t work is convenient –...
by Annette Franz | Jan 28, 2026 | action, culture, customer feedback, employee feedback, feedback, leadership, listening, Uncategorized, voice of customer, voice of employee
Fact: Most organizations listen more than they act. They survey employees, capture customer feedback, and publish dashboards filled with insight (well, with numbers). And yet, the same issues persist quarter after quarter. Trust erodes. Participation declines. Leaders...
by Annette Franz | Mar 20, 2024 | customer experience, customer feedback, customer understanding, data, feedback, listening, online reviews, social media, surveys, Uncategorized
Earlier this week, Marketing Charts shared the results of a study conducted by Qualtrics XM Institute that looked at whether or not customers shared feedback about their experiences – and with whom or how they shared that feedback. There’s this...
by Annette Franz | Aug 17, 2022 | customer experience design, customer feedback, customer understanding, customer-centric, customer-centric culture, feedback, listen, listening, product design, Uncategorized
I originally published today’s post on Forbes. It appeared on their site on May 2, 2022. I recently came across an article in the Wall Street Journal about David Novak, the former CEO of Yum Brands. In the article, he talks about his epic fail: Crystal Pepsi, the...
