#148: How brands are responding to Capitol sedition, my resolutions for 2021, creating your own momentum, tips for standout CX, and grace.
Live footage of me emerging from the black hole of the election-until-now timeframe:
Happy new year, now let’s get back to it.
How should brands respond to sedition at the US Capitol?
Giving space for grace and significance
My resolutions for 2021
Book recommendation Do the F*cking Work
Tips on Standout CX in 2021
CX in our Cities, Experience TV Ep 4
Quote of the week: “You have your show, and I have mine.”
1 - How should brands respond to sedition at the US Capitol?
What is the role of business leaders after yesterday's riots disrupting the transfer of political power in Washington?
Cold hard cash speaks volumes, i.e. withholding political donations or investments in certain states.
“Respect for the rule of law underlies our market economy. Business leaders need to stand up on these issues because in the end they are business issues, not just politics as usual. Just coming out with another public letter isn’t going to do much. Money is the key way.”
Thomas Glocer, former CEO Thompson Reuters, director at Merck and Morgan Stanley (WSJ).
One of the country's largest lobbying groups, the National Association of Manufacturers even went so far as to encourage the use of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office (NYT).
Most were quick to denounce the violence via statements like Sundar Pichai of Alphabet Inc.:
"The lawlessness and violence occurring on Capitol Hill today is the antithesis of democracy and we strongly condemn it."
Of course, Alphabet-owned YouTube, despite deleting a video from the president yesterday, still radicalizes many on the far-right with content full of conspiracy theories, misogyny, and racism.
I don't have a blueprint for CEOs, but actions still matter more than words.
Related reading: How disinformation evolved in 2020 from the Brookings Institute, and a dire warning from NPR on mass radicalization.
2 - Giving space for grace and significance
Not every brand is in a position to lobby or publicly condemn with the influence of a company like Alphabet. If you’re a brand leader in those shoes, how should you respond to events like yesterday?
One direction to look first is internal. I applaud the email sent by Cory Munchbach, COO of BlueConic to her staff:
It both acknowledges the significance of the events and their impact on employees and gives grace to the team to reflect and react authentically.
Well done.
3- Resolutions for 2021
DemandGen Report (a stalwart trade pub of the B2B and martech world) asked for my 2021 new year’s resolutions, what I learned from “the dumpster fire of 2020” and what I’m hoping to leave behind as we enter 2021. You can watch my full response here.
My 2021 resolution:
In 2021 I’ll be taking an abundance mindset.
2020 took a lot away from us, and that can lead to a scarcity mindset, where we start to look at things through the lens of envy, jealousy, and comparison.
That’s not very productive, and it doesn’t allow us to be creative.
An abundance mindset says to us, ‘there’s limitless opportunity in this world.’ That leads to feelings of collaboration, celebrating others’ wins, and creativity as we figure out a new path forward.
My professional resolution for 2021:
Professional resolution for 2021 is to just go for it… I often find myself wondering if my projects are good enough.
It’s easy to get stuck when the world around us feels like we’re caught in inertia. We’ve got to go for what our gut is telling us. We’ve got to be the ones to create the energy and momentum around the projects and the things that we believe in.
My biggest lesson from the dumpster fire of 2020
We are stronger together. (I know that’s cheesy…) But, we are stronger when we obligate ourselves to each other, see ourselves as part of a larger and broader social contract. (Wearing a mask, practicing social distancing.) This applies to our families and businesses, we are stronger collaboratively.
My greatest accomplishment in 2020:
Not making sourdough bread, once. (I did eat a lot of it.)
What I’m excited to leave behind in 2020:
The co-opting of gratitude by marketing - billboards, tweets, emails thanking essential / frontline workers without doing anything to help them, or our own employees struggling through this pandemic.
Gratitude is actionable, not lip service.
In 2021 if companies really are thankful for our employees, we have to show them, and show up for them.
Thank you to DemandGen Report for the opportunity to give my take on this new year alongside some great folks like Randy Frisch of Uberflip, Elle Woulfe of Invision, Tamsen Webster, Michael Brenner, and many more.
4 - Book recommendation: Do the F*cking Work
What a strange time it is to be creating anything - perhaps you, like me, feel a sense of inertia and uncertainty blocking productivity or creativity as usual.
For me, heads down on a massive project like Woke-Washed, creating my own energy and momentum is… harder some days than others.
A guardian angel in my life sent me a Christmas gift that was extremely well-timed. It’s a book marketed as “inspiration that will help unstick even the most dedicated procrastinators” - Do the F*cking Work: Lowbrow Advice for High-Level Creativity.
It includes advice like:
Be f*cking flexible. Stretch it out. Limber up. Take a few minutes to warm those muscles. The things you’ll have to do to get ahead in this world are going to require a lot more flexibility than Downward-Facing Dog.
You’re going to get pulled in directions that you didn’t even know existed. Don’t let fear make you rigid. Be willing to extend yourself beyond what feels comfortable.
You don’t have to be able to put your ankles behind your head; you just have to bend to the circumstances.
5 - Tips on Standout CX in 2021
Reading through roundup prediction pieces for 2021 can be a great way to re-orient ourselves around the priorities ahead.
Check out this new piece from Adobe featuring a slew of voices including my own, all of which highlight the need for organizations to “fine-tune their customer experience strategy to ensure it lives up to the expectations of consumers who are now living in a digital economy, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Some of my favs:
“Customers will compare their business experience to the best experiences they have had.” - Glen Hartman, Accenture
“We expect brands to respond with action.” - Ty Heath, B2B Institute @ LinkedIn
“Think digitally, take a personalized approach, and always strive for seamless interactions.” Mary Hines, Citi
I looked to my conversations in 2020 with winners of the Adobe Experience Maker Awards to predict that CX in 2021 will require their winning traits.
PS: There are oodles of insights to learn from my conversations with these winners, you can find more here.
6 - CX in our Cities, Experience TV Ep 4
Have you seen Experience TV?
This live series broadcast on my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn could be categorized under “infotainment” — it’s got news, tips, stories I find fascinating in the world of customer experience, and a live interview that really could go anywhere :)
It’s offered in partnership with Oracle CX in my continued quest to elevate and amplify stories of business transformation in a digital age, and honestly I am having so much fun producing it.
Episode 4 featured Mary Hodge of the City of LA Mayor’s Office and Bill Clark from Timetrade and focused on the state of a different kind of CX - constituent experiences.
We tell the story of the Angeleno Card, AKA how the City of LA delivered $37M in rapid financial relief to residents below the poverty line, and how residents in Albuquerque use Alexa to engage directly with city departments.
Watch the episode or read the full recap here at SmarterCX.
Next episode!
My next episode is live Wednesday January 13th at 3pm ET with a super special guest… Jeanne Bliss!
We’ll reveal what cross-generational customers want and why a one-size-fits-all approach to CX brings more risk than you think.
Get notified on LinkedIn when we go live (click “remind me!”)
7 - Quote of the week: “You have your show, and I have mine.”
It’s easy to think of what happens in politics and Washington as a show - something we watch, and not one we participate in, especially when our experiences are mired in privilege. But, as Joe Biden has said on repeat “the words of a president matter.”
Yesterday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol is one example of the results of these words - dangerous rhetoric amplified by confirmation-bias bubbles of social media feeds. We cannot come to the table to solve divisive problems if we are not sitting at the same table.
I encourage you to look at what’s happening in DC not as a show to be viewed, but rather as a call-to-action. There are some who are ready to burn it all down, and active measures in place to embolden them.
Every person and every organization is now faced with a question: Where do you stand on the social movements defining our time?
And what will you do with your platform and privilege to be an active part of the future you want to see?
This ain’t a show.
See you on the internet,
Katie
I think this should be Episode #148, correct?