The Wrong Debate

There’s a divide in most organizations.

The people responsible for the numbers sit in one set of conversations. The people responsible for the customer sit in another. Both groups care about growth. Both groups want results. But they approach decisions from different starting points, and the gap becomes clear in how the business operates.

In this week's CX Passport, The One With the CFO Who Thinks Like a Customer, Mohamed Isa brings a unique perspective to CX leaders... he’s been the CFO. He’s operated inside financial accountability while also working directly with customers.

Too often, CX gets discussed without tying back to financial impact. Too often, finance reviews performance without fully understanding what customers are experiencing. Both sides move forward, and neither has the full picture.

Revenue, retention, growth... those are outcomes. They come from decisions customers make. When those decisions aren’t understood, the numbers become something you chase instead of something you shape.

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A break before we continue...

Some of you know me from CX Passport. Some of you may not know there’s another storytelling world in my life.

That world recently turned into a book co-authored with my wife, Clancy.

📖 Our book is here! The Loud Quiet – Love, Laughter and Life in the Empty Nest.

It's an engaging, heartfelt, and humorous book that explores the transition from parenting to the next stage of life.

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/4rpo7rA​

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Now back to the newsletter...

When these two ways of thinking come together, CX is no longer something that needs to be justified after the fact. Finance is no longer limited to looking backward. Both start contributing to better decisions from the beginning.

The best CX leaders think like CFOs... they understand how their work connects to outcomes. And the best CFOs think like customers... they recognize that every number reflects a human decision.

Close that gap, and experience stops being a separate initiative. It becomes part of how the business operates.

Your Turn:

Where in your organization are decisions being made with only half the picture... numbers without customers, or customers without numbers?

Put those tray tables up and buckle those seat belts. Let’s go!

-Rick

P.S. If you know someone who might benefit from this week’s newsletter, please feel free to forward this to them. Or they can sign up here.

What’s on tap this week?…

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Host - Rick Denton Rick believes the best meals are served outside and require a passport

The One With the CFO Who Thinks Like a Customer - Mohamed Isa E256 Listen on any Pod app

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