It's the view we forget to check


Assumptions only take us so far.

In this week's CX Passport, The one with the DAF CX, my conversation with Dr. Liz Okuma reminded me how common it is for companies to trust their internal view a little too much. Inside the organization, things can feel orderly. Processes make sense. Teams feel confident. It is easy to believe the customer experience looks the same way.

But an internal sense of doing fine does not guarantee customers feel the same.

We've been looking in the mirror and we've been saying, wow, look at how good this is... we need to look out the window and we need to hear what's really happening on the outside.” - Liz

The mirror and window idea is a useful one. A mirror shows you what you already assume to be true. A window shows you what is actually happening.

Liz' approach is a straightforward one. No big initiative. No complicated CX rollout. She started by listening... donors, financial advisors, the associates supporting those advisors, and her own internal teams. Not to validate a belief, but to understand what the outside world was experiencing.

Once an organization starts operating with that window in view, a few things tend to surface. Processes that seemed fine reveal their rough edges. Hand-offs look heavier than expected. Teams begin to see how their work lands with real people, not just how it looks on an internal dashboard.

And this kind of clarity does not depend on a CX title or a toolset. It is available to any team willing to replace assumptions with actual input.

Liz' experience is a good reminder. The mirror is comfortable. The window is where the real understanding lives.

Your Turn

Where might your organization be relying on the mirror when the window would give you a clearer view?

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?…


Host - Rick Denton

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

🎤🎞️“The one with the DAF CX" in CX Passport Episode 243🎧


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