Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 232, an episode with best-selling author and Customer and Employee Experience Strategist, Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. In this episode, Natalie spoke about the need for empathy today and the shift we need to make from focusing on company-centric business strategies to creating employee and customer-centric experiences. She also discussed the importance of customer feedback and how Amazon has used it to thrive. Listening from the other person’s point of view and putting yourself in the shoes of your customers and employees is the key to better human connection and success. Natalie is a Senior Customer Experience Strategist and Business Consultant at Genesys®. Her career spans many years in technology and customer and employee experience, holding positions in and consulting at companies including Salesforce, Hulu, Marriott, General Motors, General Electric, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Weber Shandwick, Forrester Research, PWC Consulting, Hughes Electronics, Pepsi, Verizon, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble, Chevrolet, and Electrolux. Her Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering from the University of California and years as a “rocket scientist” provide her with the left-brain skills to strategically analyze how things work and redesign the world for a better future. In her endeavors, Natalie has focused on the interplay between the evolution of technology and who we are as humans. From her early days as an engineer, she remains a true believer in “what is good for employees and customers is ultimately what is also good for companies.” As a speaker and participant at Singularity University, she’s captivated by the rapid advancement and impact of exponential technologies and how they are reshaping our lives and businesses. Natalie’s current passion is shifting outdated paradigms by juxtaposing current beliefs with seemingly contradictory ones to reveal insights to drive the future of work, customer’s experiences, businesses and humanity forward. She believes we can imbue technology with our hopes and dreams for a future focused on bettering humanity. We just need to understand what we are optimizing for and why. Dr. Natalie is often quoted in NYTimes, USA Today, Bloomberg Businessweek, CRM Magazine, and Peppers and Rogers 1-to-1 Magazine and is also a featured commentator on TV and radio. As an accomplished public speaker, Dr. Natalie is keynote speaker at conferences, both virtual and in-person. Get Natalie’s book here: Empathy In Action: How to Deliver Great Customer Experiences at Scale. Tony Bates, Dr. Natalie Petouhoff Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo