Best Practices and Thought Leadership
Bold thinking. Practical frameworks. Real operator experience. I write about customer success, product, sales, and AI — and the systems that make it all work together. Because growth lives in the connective tissue, not any single function.
In This Post
From Informal Economies to AI: The Opportunities in Front of Us
From waste pickers in Laos to volunteer developers in Singapore, the ingenuity has always been there. AI is closing the gap between great ideas and the tools to build them.
The Forward-Deployed Trend Proves What Great CSMs Have Always Known
As AI takes over the repeatable stuff, the value of a consultative CSM isn't shrinking. It's becoming the only thing that matters.
Bridging the Gap: How AI-Powered Prototyping is Revolutionizing Customer Success and Product Collaboration
Customer Success teams excel at gathering feedback, but struggle to translate vague requests like 'make it simpler' into actionable product requirements. Discover how AI-powered prototyping is revolutionizing this challenge. Learn to transform abstract customer complaints into visual mockups in under a minute, then use those prototypes to extract specific business cases and detailed user stories that product teams actually need. This breakthrough approach turns CS teams into strategic product partners who drive innovation beyond retention, creating measurable business value through collaborative design sessions and validated customer requirements.
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: When and How to Let a Customer Go
Not every customer relationship is meant to last forever. After leading customer success teams at Fortune 500 companies and managing P&L responsibility, I've learned that some customers may actually be holding your business back. Discover the Customer Fit Assessment Framework to identify misaligned customers who consume disproportionate resources, generate minimal margins, and pull your product roadmap away from strategic priorities. Learn how to execute professional customer breakups that preserve dignity while freeing up resources for better-aligned relationships. This strategic approach to customer portfolio management can improve team morale, enhance profitability, and help you build a more sustainable business focused on customers who truly benefit from your evolving strategy.
Jack/Jill of All Trades to Specialized Roles: When and How to Evolve Your Customer Success Team
As your business scales, generalist CS roles become a liability. Here's a two-part framework — customer journey mapping + team activity audits — to know when and how to specialize.
What Leading a Business Unit P&L Has Taught Me About Customer Success
Discover how product maturity should drive your customer success strategy. After 7 years in CS leadership and now managing a full P&L, I've learned that the most effective customer success teams adapt their focus based on where products sit on the maturity spectrum. Early-stage products need product-focused CSMs gathering feedback and shaping roadmaps, while established products benefit from sales-driven CSMs identifying expansion opportunities. Learn the framework for aligning your CS team structure with business objectives and product lifecycle stages to maximize retention and growth.