Often Imitated: CX Stories from History

How Benjamin Franklin Was a Copy Cat with Shari Johnston, Founder of Women in Revenue

Episode Summary

In this episode, we detail Benjamin Franklin’s famous Junto and find a modern-day equivalent in Shari Johnston’s Women in Revenue.

Episode Notes

What unique experience did Benjamin Franklin create by founding his Junto and how can we replicate it today? To find out, we talked to Shari Johnston, founder of Women in Revenue about how she's leading an organization that drives real impact and creates invaluable experiences for its members.

Experience: How do you build a community?

Inspiration: Benjamin Franklin's Junto

Execution: Shari Johnston's Women in Revenue

3 Takeaways:

• You need to lead customer experience with cohesive conversations and relevancy. Too often, companies try to introduce themselves while essentially bragging about themselves. It's like introducing yourself on a first date by saying "I was at the top of my class at Harvard." That doesn't describe how you'll fit with a customer. It only describes you.
• Shari saw the glass ceiling at the executive level. She realized even if it wasn't formed out of malice, and was simply male executives recruiting from their circles of other male executives, it needed to be changed to create a space for women. She drove that change with organized
• You need to drive action in Diversity and Inclusion - not just form a policy. To keep a community thoughtful and vibrant, action has to be prioritized. She drives that action in Women in Revenue. To do that, you have to provide relevant content, foster a sense of camaraderie, and make sure every member is heard.

Key Quotes

• "That's the core of customer experience, really having that empathy and understanding of your customer and not selling to people who are not going to be a good fit."
• "We're helping elevate women's careers on a daily basis by just having a community full of advice and support."
• "I thought that as a society we had gone beyond it, but I realized that the executive glass ceiling was very much there."

Links

• Full show notes and script
• WomenInRevenue.org
• WinningByDesign.com
• Shari's Twitter

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This podcast is presented by Oracle CX. 

Hear more executive perspectives on CX transformation at Oracle.com/cx/perspectives