In this episode of The Experience Edge, Jochem van der Veer sits down with CX thought leader Stacy Sherman to unpack what it really means to “do CX right.” Stacy draws on her 25+ years of leadership at brands like Verizon, AT&T, Schindler, and more, and shares hard-won lessons in aligning culture, accountability, and cross‑functional execution. Their conversation weaves from the pitfalls of siloed thinking and unmet promise gaps to the art of embedding delight and meaningfully leveraging AI and data in the service of experience.

Listeners will come away with a richer understanding of why “customer experience is an inside job,” how to design journeys that bridge internal organization and external expectations, and how to pilot and scale CX initiatives that truly matter to both customers and the business.

Guest Bio

Stacy Sherman is an award‑winning CX strategist, author, speaker, and educator with more than 25 years of leadership in brands such as Verizon, AT&T, Schindler, LiveOps, BPO, and Wilton Brands. She holds an MBA and is the voice behind the Doing CXRite podcast. Stacy helps organizations move beyond superficial CX initiatives toward deeply aligned, cross‑functional execution that drives retention, brand advocacy, and meaningful experiences.

Takeaways

• CX is everyone’s responsibility, no matter the function, every role influences the customer experience.
• Siloed organizations kill consistency, conflicting metrics, goals, and disconnected systems lead to broken promises.
• “Inside job” mindset, true customer experience begins internally (culture, training, alignment), not just on the front line.
• Discretionary effort matters, small acts (like helping a customer move goods in the rain) create emotional highs and lasting memory.
• Blend human + tech, don’t replace one with the other, AI and automation should empower employees, not bypass them.
• Data is only useful if actionable, voice of customer + voice of employee feedback must translate into prioritized action.
• Pilot first, scale second, start small, prove value, then expand.
• Alignment & measurement across teams, linking CX metrics to business goals ensures cross‑functional buy‑in.
• Close the loop, daily, feedback must flow to the right teams and customers need to see that something happens.
• Design journeys holistically, consider internal and external touchpoints, handovers, and “pass-over zones” between teams.
• Leadership orchestration is essential, one “conductor” or team is needed to keep cross-functional alignment moving.
• Respect content, context & timing, don’t over‑delight everywhere; choose where delight is meaningful and sustainable.

Chapters

00:00 Intro banter, setting the stage

01:59 Guest formal introduction

03:21 Why CX is often practiced poorly

05:32 Silo issues & misalignment

10:13 “CX is an inside job”

12:46 Discretionary acts that delight

16:25 Bridging online and offline friction

18:18 Designing vs validating experiences

21:03 Moments of emotional delight

24:00 Embedding CX metrics across teams

26:58 Pilot programs & scaling

28:48 Beyond journey mapping

32:11 Orchestration & central leadership

38:42 AI’s role in experience

44:15 Removing silos & consistency

47:42 Where to inject journey thinking

50:09 Scaling feedback loops

53:46 Leadership & execution

55:38 Closing and how to reach Stacy

LinkedIn / Links

Follow Jochem van der Veer

Follow Stacy Sherman

Stacy’s website: https://doingcxright.com/

Stacy’s podcast: Doing CXRite