Ian Golding ought to know a thing or two about the CX profession.  He was a founding member of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) and the very first Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP).  He's the author of Customer What?,  Keynote Speaker,  and writer.  He's written over 600 articles on CX and hosts International Customer Experience Awards all over the world. This episode is different because we didn't have any set agenda of what to talk about.  We just explored some hard realities about the CX profession head on. I provides some deep insights about what CX leaders need to know and why they need to know it including:Problem: The 1st Step - Admit you have a problemDirection: Customer-led vs Product-led organizationTrust: It's role in the corporate worldEmpathy: Why it's lacking in the CX professionSkeptics: Dealing with them in the "acknowledge phase"Facts: The importance of not basing CX on opinionsResponsibilities: What CX leaders are 100% accountable forAnd so much more!Contact info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iangolding/Meet IanIan Golding is a Certified Customer Experience Professional and CustomerExperience Specialist. A certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Ian hasspent over twenty years in business improvement, working hard to ensurethat the businesses he works for are as customer focused as possible.Ian spent 17 years working in a variety of corporate organisations,including The Royal Bank of Scotland, GE Commercial Finance, GEReinsurance and Brake Brothers Foodservice. In his last permanent role asHead of Group Customer Experience, Ian developed and deployed the Customer Experience strategy for one of Europe’s largest online retailers – Shop Direct.In 2012, he became an independent consultant, delivering projects in over 50 countries worldwide in the automotive, financial services, logistics and utilities industries. Ian has continued to work with a plethora of businesses across several sectors, including the pharmaceutical, banking, professional services, retail, manufacturing, education and technology industries. Ian has published more than 600 articles on the subject and delivered keynote speeches globally. Ian also served on the inaugural board of Directors of the Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA), of which he was a founder member.Ian was also the first person in the world to be authorised by the CXPA to teach the Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) accreditation. He is also the Course Director, Customer Experience for the Chartered Institute of Marketing.Ian hosts Customer Experience Award ceremonies around the world, including the UK, European, US, Turkey and International Customer Experience Awards.Ian’s first book was published in April 2018 – ‘Customer What?’ The honest and practical guide to Customer Experience’ – is already being well received by professionals around the world.In 2021, Ian was awarded the title of the number 1 influencer in Customer Experience in the UK by Customer Experience Magazine.Examples of companies Ian has worked with are:PfizerAbbVieAlexion (Astra Zeneca)Boehringer IngleheimVolvoNedbankKCB BankErste BankBudapest BankOld Mutual GroupTata SteelToyotaGeneral ElectricTetra PakWeledaCiscoThomSubscribe to The Delighted Customer Podcast so you don't miss an episode: https://www.empoweredcx.com/podcast Subscribe to The Delighted Customer Newsletter for practical tips and insights: https://www.empoweredcx.com/delightedcustomersnewsletter