This episode explores how AI is transforming contact centers, balancing cost savings with better customer and employee experiences. Rick DeLisi shares new research, practical examples, and actionable strategies for leaders looking to unlock AI's full value in customer service. Essential insights for anyone in CX or digital transformation.

About the guest

Rick DeLisi is an author and presenter working to help companies achieve greater customer loyalty while ALSO reducing the cost of their Service operations. Titles include "The Effortless Experience" and our newest book "Digital Customer Service: Transforming Customer Experience for an On-Screen World" (published by Wiley).

Relevant links

https://www.digitalcustomerservicebook.com,

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-delisi-1122257/

Key Take-Aways

• AI balances cost and experience: AI now enables companies to save costs while improving customer and employee experiences.
• Support frontline with AI tools: Equipping agents with AI-driven knowledge and suggestions makes their jobs easier and more effective.
• Personalize by issue, not person: Match the right interaction—AI or human—to the customer's specific need at that moment.
  

Chapters

0:00 - Intro

0:35 - Career Highlights: Eliminating High Effort Customer Service

1:39 - Current Mission: Enhancing Banking Interactions with AI

2:42 - Unlocking AI Value: Beyond Cost Control

3:49 - Six AI Strategies for Contact Centers

10:09 - Automating Customer Interactions for Efficiency

17:25 - Empowering Contact Center Managers with AI Insights

21:11 - Matching AI and Human Interactions

22:53 - Use Cases: Achieving High Customer Satisfaction with AI

26:50 - The Future of Customer Service: A Celebration of Change

28:56 - Closing Thoughts and Audience Engagement

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Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

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About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

In this episode, Marilyn Suttle shares practical strategies for dealing with tough customers and employees while creating a work environment where everyone thrives. From her groundbreaking book, Who's Your Gladys?, to her personal journey, Marilyn delivers actionable insights that redefine how leaders, teams, and organizations can improve customer interactions and employee engagement.

Marilyn Suttle has a proven track record of transforming customer relationships and elevating employee wellbeing.

She works with organizations that want to stand out as the business of choice.

A bestselling author, of three customer service books, including "Who's Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer Into Your Biggest Fan" Marilyn is the President of Suttle Enterprises, a personal and professional growth training firm that works with multi-cultural organizations.

Marilyn's programs have a strong focus on developing communication skills and implementing wellbeing practices to handle even the most difficult clients and colleagues.

Her highly engaging programs, coaching, and consulting services are sought after by professionals across various industries, from Fortune 500 companies to startups. Marilyn's extensive experience with online community management and social media has also helped brands engage deeply with their target audience, fostering strong and enduring customer loyalty.

As a speaker, Marilyn is known for delivering high-content, humorous presentations that engage and inspire action long after her programs end.

Facebook: @marilynsuttle and @suttleshift
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynsuttle

1. Empathy First: Start with understanding and validating the customer's or employee's emotions. Simple phrases like "You're right" can disarm tension and build trust.
2. Regular, Targeted Training: Replace generic customer service trainings with specific, actionable coaching sessions, like roleplays and feedback loops, to enhance skills and confidence.
3. Resilience Through Leadership: Leaders should prioritize their own well-being and model healthy work-life boundaries, fostering a culture of care and productivity.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:33 Meet Marilyn Suttle

03:09 Core Values and Passion

05:27 Handling Difficult Customers

09:29 Leadership and Employee Support

15:27 Resilience and Well-being

17:40 Personal Practices for Success

20:37 Setting Boundaries with Customers

25:34 Future of Customer Experience

27:14 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Greg Kihlström shares groundbreaking insights into how businesses can become experience-led enterprises. With real-world examples and a focus on innovation, Greg discusses digital transformation, agile methodologies, and the pivotal role of customer and employee experiences in driving success. This is a must-listen for anyone passionate about transforming organizations and delivering exceptional value to customers and teams alike.

About the Guest

Greg Kihlström is a best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur, and serves as an advisor and consultant to top companies on marketing technology, marketing operations, and digital transformation initiatives. He has worked with some of the world's top brands, including Adidas, Coca-Cola, FedEx, HP, Marriott, Nationwide, Victoria's Secret, and Toyota.

He is a multiple-time Co-Founder and C-level leader, leading his digital experience agency to be acquired in 2017, successfully exited an HR technology platform provider he co-founded in 2020, and led a SaaS startup to be acquired by a leading edge computing company in 2021. He currently advises and sits on the Board of a marketing technology startup.

Relevant Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom

https://www.instagram.com/theagilebrand

https://www.gregkihlstrom.com

Episode Summary - The Top 3 Key Learnings

1. Four Pillars of Transformation: Effective digital transformation hinges on integrating people, processes, platforms, and data. While technology matters, success ultimately depends on how well organizations address human and procedural challenges.
2. Agile for Transformation: Agile methodologies can look different for every organization. Focus on principles like collaboration, adaptability, and delivering business value, rather than rigidly adhering to predefined methods.
3. Return on Experience: Investing in customer and employee experiences yields measurable benefits, such as increased customer loyalty, higher lifetime value, and improved organizational efficiency.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:33 Greg Kihlström's Background and Career
01:55 Values Driving Professional Life
02:54 Digital Transformation Challenges
05:11 Measuring Return on Experience
09:23 Implementing Agile Methodologies
14:10 Practical Tips for Digital Transformation
16:47 AI in Digital Transformation
22:14 Future of Customer Experience
24:23 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Podcast webpage: https://www.cxgaolkeeper.com/podcast

Sebastian Graf explains the coming rise of AI native companies. He shares four safety pillars for autonomous firms: code freeze, CICD compliance, regulatory model training, and harm-reduction finance. The episode mixes technical detail, a real Anthropic experiment, and broad governance concerns about trust and social impact.

Top 3 Key Learnings

• AI native company pillars: Four safety pillars: code freeze, CICD, regulatory RL training, and harm reduction mechanisms.
• Test and freeze code: Freeze codebases and run automated tests to ensure predictable behavior and regulatory compliance.
• Trust via cost and trials: Lower cost and stepwise use build trust; people try low-risk services first then adopt more.

About Sebastian Graf

Sebastian Graf describes himself as an engineer by profession, but an educator at heart. In his work as an engineer, he is driven by the belief that technology should lift everyone, enabling people to live extraordinary lives in extraordinary ways. He acknowledges that this is challenging in a world where many technologies are built with incentives that divide society, exploit the environment, and widen wealth inequality. Sebastian is committed to reversing these incentives. His mission is to empower imagination and drive the creation of a positive social, environmental, and technological future that he believes is entirely within reach.

Sebastian's linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiangraf1/

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Business Transformation Pitch Overview
1:09 - Sebastian Graf's Background and Expertise
2:39 - Sebastian's Mission with AI Native Companies
4:37 - Defining AI Native Companies
8:33 - Four Pillars of AI Native Companies
18:35 - Anthropic's Vending Machine Experiment
22:24 - Engineering Resilience in AI Native Companies
26:31 - Building Trust in AI Native Operations
30:47 - Quickfire Round and Closing Thoughts
34:45 - Key Takeaways and Final Reflections

Resources:

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

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This interview,Live from LEAD-26 in Zurich, links real leadership lessons to lived experience. Fabian, a CIO and ultra runner, talks limits, psychological safety, and practical steps. He also shares a clear, cautious view on generative AI and a smart fast follower strategy for regulated organizations.

Key Learnings:

1. Admit leadership limits: Openly share small, real limits with your team to build reflection and performance.
2. Psychological safety matters: Create a safe team space so people speak up and help cover leadership gaps.
3. Use smart fast follower: Experiment early, then buy enterprise-ready solutions to avoid costly long-term build and maintenance.

Summary:

Fabian Ringwald is the CIO of a Swiss health insurance company. He says they have the most satisfied customers in the industry. He is also a board member at lead 26 and helps shape conference content and speaker selection. Outside work he runs ultra trails. He runs over 100 kilometers and gains more than 6,000 meters of altitude. These runs can take more than 20 hours and include day and night. Night is more challenging. The long runs teach self-leadership and a clear view of personal limits.
Fabian argues that every leader has limits. He says hiding limits wastes energy because close colleagues already see them. He encourages leaders to share limits openly with their teams. Open discussion builds self-reflection and helps form a high performance team. Teams can then help fill leadership gaps. He highlights psychological safety as the key trait that separates good leaders from great leaders. He recommends starting small when opening up. Share a minor limitation first, set an example, and scale openness gradually over time.

Fabian says AI is not the solution for everything. He explains generative AI is a statistical tool and is not suited for fully deterministic tasks. He sees strong potential in areas like detecting anomalies on MRI or CT images, but he warns against using generative AI for direct medical advice. His company follows a smart fast follower strategy: experiment early with startups, then adopt enterprise-ready solutions rather than build long-lived custom systems. To keep agility, get top-down alignment with the board and enable bottom-up experiments with LLMs or ChatGPT for hands-on learning.

About Fabian Ringwald:

CIO of SWICA - the leading Swiss health insurer with the most happy customers
Prior: digital transformation in several different industries from freight railway (SBB Cargo), energy trading (BKW), consulting (Logica) to inustrial manufacturing (Siemens) and Ravensburger, the well known jigsaw puzzle company.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro
0:35 - CIO's Role in Health Insurance
1:12 - Leadership Lessons from Ultra Running
3:06 - Identifying Leadership Limits
4:21 - Creating Psychological Safety in Teams
5:37 - Taking Small Steps Towards Openness
7:40 - Insights from Conference Speakers
9:13 - Evaluating AI Applications in Leadership

Resources
Fabian Rinwald Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabianringwald/

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

About the host:

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Live from LEAD-26 in Zurich. Stephan Siegrist is a professional alpinist. He says leadership means taking the lead when situations are uncomfortable. In mountaineering one person often needs the next rope length and must make small decisions by the centimetre and larger choices every half hour. Some choices are life threatening.

On a recent Nepal expedition his youngest team member developed high altitude pulmonary sickness. The medical problem required bringing the person down quickly. Stefan decided the team must bring him down. He said the most important thing is that everyone comes back home safely.

Stefan spoke about risk and crisis. He said if you do not take any risk you do not get forward. He advised to push to the limit but not until it starts bleeding. Over years climbers develop knowledge to find that balance.

About Stefan Siegrist:

Professional Alpinist, Climber, Public Speaker. Stephan loves the mountains and he loves sharing the adventure

Resources
his webpage: https://stephan-siegrist.ch/

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:

Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple

Spotify: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/spotify

Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/

Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.

Hear branding advice that shifts focus from "better" to "different." David Brier explains how branding is the art of differentiation. He shows why brands that only tweak visuals fail, and shares real cases: a failed Jaguar rebrand and a successful Napa Fresh relaunch. Learn practical steps and imagination tools.

About David Brier

David Brier, known by many as "The Brandfather," is the recipient of 320 international awards and the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship medallion, who has generated over $9 billion in brand value across four decades for companies from startups to Fortune 500s. The bestselling author of "Brand Intervention" and "Rich Brand Poor Brand," Grant Cardone has praised him as "a branding genius" and "brilliant with branding" by Shark Tank's Daymond John.

Resources

Rising above the noise
: https://www.risingabovethenoise.com

Please, hit the follow button and leave your feedback:
Apple Podcast: https://www.cxgoalkeeper.com/apple
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Follow Gregorio Uglioni on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorio-uglioni/


Gregorio Uglioni is a seasoned transformation leader with over 15 years of experience shaping business and digital change, consistently delivering service excellence and measurable impact. As an Associate Partner at Forward, he is recognized for his strategic vision, operational expertise, and ability to drive sustainable growth. A respected keynote speaker and host of the well-known global podcast Business Transformation Pitch with the CX Goalkeeper, Gregorio energizes and inspires organizations worldwide with his customer-centric approach to innovation.