A Review
In an approach that lauds her current fans while expanding outward, Chief Customer Officer 2.0, the sequel to 2005’s Chief Customer Officer, further expands on Jeanne Bliss’ Customer Leadership position by taking readers on a detailed, expansive journey through how, exactly, a successful COO functions. By assuming the readers have already taken the advice given in her first work, this second publication is allowed to expand upon the first without falling prey to reiteration. Where the first described a perfect office foundation for such a position, this provides the materials and directions for erecting the structure.
Much like its predecessor, Chief Customer Officer 2.0 breaks down its pages into digestible chapters, allowing for easy navigation should readers want to focus only on trouble areas. While there are general introductory and conclusory chapters, the bulk of the work lies within the five individual sections devoted to each of the five competencies Bliss allocates as being the most pivotal toward ensuring a successful run as COO. Mostly focused around customers, they take the reader through a detailed plan of action as laid out by anecdotes from Bliss’ prestigious career.
External Insight
Self-referential humor is kept to an acceptable minimum and the concepts are very simple to grasp. Additionally, Bliss has added to her style by employing a great tactic that further underlines just how important her information is – a good quarter of the book isn’t actually her words. For this expansion, she went out and collected stories from other COO professionals, such as Jeri Ward of Audi and Carol Pudnos of AbbVie.
This bold move makes a clear statement for those that may know nothing about Bliss’ career. Each article further underscores her expertise by highlighting with real world examples the importance of each of the five competencies.
Bliss is also a fan of tossing in her own special words as a way of making a distinction between her brand of customer analysis and others. By the end, you will be more than familiar with things like silos, C-A-T-S and power cores. While rather sci-fi sounding on first read, they are nonetheless solid picks to encompass the vision that goes along with her work.
Avoiding Tech
Recent years have taught industry that technology is king. Either adapt or be left behind. Such a profound change has thus resulted in the business world scrambling to hire those that “get” current trends. From social media to websites, there’s no market that hasn’t been tapped. Interestingly enough, though, there are no chapters on technology’s presence. However off this may seem, it’s a brilliant tactic because it highlights how Bliss focuses on what actually needs to change, no matter the medium.
In any industry, there are timeless tenets that either lead to success or failure. Books written hundreds of years ago on leadership remain relevant today so long as they only touch on the aspects that make a leader great. The same is true for the customer experience. Knowing how to engage and grow the customer asset won’t change with technology. It will certainly use different means to do so, but knowing how to align a customer’s journey to your own business’ goals and otherwise understanding the leadership qualities necessary to make this a reality are facts that will not shift with pop culture.
Propelling Proactivity
Whether you’ve been in a “Chief Customer Officer” position for a few years and merely want a gauge to find areas you can improve or are completely new to the station altogether, Chief Customer Officer 2.0 provides readers with every important aspect they need to master in order to create a successful transition toward a company that treats customers as assets instead of a bottom line.
The book is an amazing resource that belongs in any company looking to avoid stagnation following the demands of success.
Broken down into five distinct areas of importance, the added activities create an empty drawing board for readers to organize their ideas prior to implementation. While the end tries to provide a competency test for hiring managers, the true value lies with Bliss’ timeless information for CCOs now and CCOs of the next generations.
