b'CLOSING REMARKSGetting to CX 3.0 Another, often-overlooked resource is the various low- or no-cost expertise within the walls of your local university. For many years, the Media + Tech Collective (MTC) on Innovation Compe-I started this piece with a quote from a famous baseballtition (formerly, the Interactive Case Competition) has brought pitcher, so it seems fitting to close with another from atogether dozens of student teams who develop solutions to baseball catcherHall of Famer and street philosopher,challenges facing the cable industry. Business schools all over the Yogi Berra, who told us, The future aint what it used toworld actively seek projects for student teams in business and be.Indeed, Yogi was spot on. engineering. Many business school faculty are also experienced consultants and have deep knowledge about topics relevant to helping cable companies move to CX 3.0. Among the expertise What can we do to stay ahead of the game but continueof faculty members is organizational behavior, marketing, human to perform our current work?resources, finance, and customer experience. 4. Fully Commit to Continuous LearningCX 3.0 companies build knowledge-based capital because it underlies the creation and delivery of CX excellence. Where can we get the knowledge necessary to succeed in CX 3.0?Here are Here are five next stepsthree main sources:for getting to CX 3.0. Corporate universities like GE go back to the mid 1950s and other, well-known corporate universities quickly emerged, e.g., McDonalds Hamburger University, Motorola University, 1.Fully Embrace the CX Business Model et al. Some cable companies have their own learning centers and for those who do not have the resources to create their Ever heard of the CX experience gap?Eighty percent ofown learning center, they can seek collaboration from their companies believe they are delivering CX excellence; however,industry colleagues and explore the offerings of the several only 20% of customers feel they are receiving CX excellence.commercial learning centers that focus on CX.Even if these figures are not completely accurate, its clear that many companies need to do a lot of work on their CX programs.Business schools also partner with companies to provide Fully adopting the customer-first philosophy is a challenge:learning opportunities.Indeed, the worlds first MBA-CX it takes faith in the CX idea, consistent commitment to qualityprogram was developed in a collaboration among Cox Com-experience delivery, deep understanding of customer behavior,munications, The Cable Center, and the Daniels College of and long-term thinking. In many cases, it also takes changingBusiness at the University of Denver.the culture of the company. Most companies cultures were not founded on the CX business model, thus shifting the culture fromSyndeo Institute is another example of an organization operating efficiency to a customer-first culture is difficult anddevoted to helping employees remain current in the it takes time and leadership. Yet, there is ample evidence of thelatest thinking about topics that enhance innovation andfinancial payoff in delivering CX excellence. The companies thatintrapreneurship.sit on top of the various CX rankings are also the most profitable within their industry. 5.Prepare for an Uncertain FutureCX 3.0 companies stress agility and have the courage to adapt 2. Instill Cross-Functional Teams to a rapidly changing customer and marketplace. Holding on The organizational shift from silos to cross-functional teams hasto business ideas and practices that are out of step with todays been a company challenge for decades. Yet, customers want theircustomer will not move companies forward. Yet, the future is al-experience delivered with a single, integrated effort. Cross-func- ways going to be unpredictable and there are plenty of profitable tional structures enhance one-stop solutions, standardized pro- companies that are not highly ranked in CX. Such companies find cesses, and avoid the high-level effort and time that come withit difficult to rationalize changing. However, the marketplace will siloed structures. Cultures operating with an ownership mentalitychange. Competition comes from the opportunities that vision-and reward system struggle to shift to shared ownership collab- aries see in new technology and new markets. Example: While oration. The solution: leadership and the willingness to innovatehotels viewed competitors as other hotels, Airbnb became the and persuade others that the short-term pain of converting tolargest supplier of rooms without owning a single property.cross functional structure will create sustained, long-term rela- CX 3.0 companies that hold high market share today must devel-tionships with customers.op the ability to see a broad landscape of competition. They have to embrace watching developments in other industries including 3. Use All Available Resources those that offer completely different products and that are sold The current hot topic is the emergence of AI and how it can bethrough different channels. We enhance our ability to adapt to adapted to better understand customers and to deliver the bestthe future by learning from other companies and other industries. CX. Syndeo Institutes CX Collaborative has explored AI andWe also advance by doing exactly what CX Collaborative does so will continue to do so. At the same time, other software (AR/VR,wellsharing best practice and ideas about how to adapt.Metaverse, etc.) and advanced data analytics allow companies to deliver more on-target offerings, more personalized productsIn the first volume of this Intrapreneurship & Innovation Report, and experiences, and more meaningful and relevantI wrote a piece that CX excellence is ultimately about intrapre-communications.neurship and innovation. Independent consultants and thought leaders were responsible for the early thinking about CX, but it was intrapreneurs who borrowed those early ideas and devel-oped CX into the leading business paradigm it is today.27'