Mark Fithian is the cofounder of WideOpen, a consultancy that helps organizations achieve sustainable growth through strategic customer experience. Mark’s expertise in CX is informed by more than thirty years of work across industries, partnering with leading brands such as Providence, SAP, PayPal, Optum, IBM, BMW, the American Cancer Society, and Microsoft. Before founding WideOpen, he held leadership roles on both the client and agency sides, as well as in strategic consultancies.

Mentioned on the Show

• Read Mark’s profile on the WideOpen website: https://www.thisiswideopen.com/our-team
• Connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfithian/
• Get Mark’s book, The CX Imperative: https://a.co/d/316xGzX
• O’Brien and Mark discussed the book Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt: https://a.co/d/9GSTIfN

Timestamps
(00:00:00) Welcome to People Business with O'Brien McMahon

(00:01:45) What is the difference between customer experience and user experience?

(00:02:22) And how did you get into this work in the first place?

(00:07:24) What is the purpose of business?

(00:08:35) Why do businesses struggle with customer experience?

(00:11:24) "The Great Distancing": what it is and why it hurts customer experience

(00:13:44) What makes good incentives in customer experience?

(00:15:15) How does a business know when they are doing CX well?

(00:20:08) How does executive leadership get involved in good CX?

(00:32:49) Who should be responsible for customer experience?

(00:40:41) Mark's 5 Pillars of Customer Experience

(00:44:19) What does strategy mean to you?

(00:55:21) How to get started with customer experience and how to contact Mark Fithian.

Brock Anderson and Tracy Awe are Directors of Enterprise and Strategic Partnerships with Function Health, a biometric data company helping individuals and groups take control of their health data to live longer, healthier, more productive lives.

Mentioned on the Show

• Listen to Dr. Mark Hyman on the Huberman Lab podcast: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/how-to-improve-your-vitality-heal-from-disease-dr-mark-hyman
• Learn more about Function Health and their approach to testing and longevity: https://www.functionhealth.com/
• Review the study conducted by the Integrated Benefits Institute on Economic Impact of Early Disease Detection: https://www.ibiweb.org/resources/economic-impact-of-early-disease-detection
• O’Brien gave a shout-out for Peter Attia’s book, Outlive. Available on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/5nSm1Xn
• Brock Anderson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brock-anderson-16196
• Tracy Awe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyawe

Timestamps

(00:00:00) – Tracy Awe and Brock Anderson join O’Brien McMahon on People Business

(00:02:38) – What is Function Health? What is Function Health’s approach to preventative health?

(00:10:20) – When should people start preventative health analysis and biometric screening?

(00:15:19) – How can companies encourage people to think more long-term about their health?

(00:18:48) – Do doctors welcome data from these types of screenings? How can Function members have constructive conversations with their doctors?

(00:31:22) The 5 Types of Medical Consumers: segments of employees and how they use medical benefits. Population health management in practice.

(00:38:21) – How does diet and exercise fit into the Function Health approach? How does Function Health support lifestyle change?

(00:44:53) The Process: how many blood draws are needed?

(00:44:59) Costs: what are the costs associated with bringing Function Health to employees?

(00:49:16) What shifts are seen in the business clients of Function Health? Does the conversation about health shift as prevention gets a spotlight?

(00:50:33) What ‘add-ons’ does Function Health offer in addition to the core blood panel?

This is a fun crossover episode with Karl Staib, host of the Systemic Leader podcast and systems consultant through a company of the same name. In this episode, shared across both platforms, we discuss systems thinking and how we have each built and evolved systems to help us navigate work and life.

Mentioned on the Show

• Learn more about Karl and his Systematic Leader framework: https://systematicleader.co/
• Connect with Karl Staib on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlstaib
• Listen to the Systematic Leader podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/systematic-leader/id1535499918

Timestamps

(00:00:00) — People Business x Systematic Leadership podcast crossover: O’Brien McMahon with Karl Staib

(00:02:00) — What is systems thinking? How do you define it?

(00:08:15) — “Leaking”: How do you identify the biggest problem in your process?

(00:12:45) — What are some best practices in creating a customer journey map?

(00:14:27) — Client retention: what systems help keep things fresh for existing clients?

(00:17:49) — How do you handle feedback and resistance to change in organizations?

(00:23:31) — How humans are more motivated by status than we might think

(00:33:14) — How to turn employee appreciation into a system

(00:36:33) — When should something be cut out of a system?

(00:42:19) — Examples of systems that might surprise people

(00:52:54) — Final thoughts and how to contact Karl and Systematic Leader