In this week’s episode of the SIMPLE brand podcast, I talk with Dennis Geelen, creator of The Zero In Formula!Rarely do we hear anyone talking about an equal and integrated focus on being both customer-centric and innovative. But when you look at some of the most successful brands today, that’s their focus.Beyond just saying you’re going to focus on being customer-centric or innovative, you must be intentional, and it takes planning down through every layer of every team in your organization.Dennis’s Zero In Formula is the plan to help you do just that. Dennis is a customer experience and innovation speaker and consultant. And he’s the bestselling author of the book, The Zero In Formula.Some of the topics we discuss include:You need to get your purpose, direction, and systems defined before hiring and focusing on your peopleEvery organization needs to solve indifference in their customers and their employeesYou can solve customer and employee indifference by being equally customer-centric and innovativeHow companies tend to lose their customer-centric focus as they growShould Customer Experience (CX) be owned across a company or owned within one team? How to instill empathy to really know your customersHow to figure out what a customer needs instead of giving them what they wantFive principles to help you instill innovation into your teamWhy diversity and inclusion are valuable for innovationThe traits and behaviors to hire for in order to ensure your team is customer-centricSteps you can take to know if your organization is customer-centricRESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Dennis's siteDennis's book - The Zero In FormulaDennis's courseDennis's tools and resources to build a customer-centric and innovative businessCustomer Camp Clarity Call Cheat Sheets