The Efficiency Trap: When Automating the Right Thing Costs You the Customer
The automation that costs you the customer will have an airtight business case. That is exactly why nobody stops it.
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The Michelli Experience
New York Times #1 Bestselling Author Shares Business Insights from Mercedes-Benz, Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, Zappos, Pike Place Fish and More
Episodes
20 of 657 episodesEmployee Engagement at 5 Year Low - Where's the Tech Bump
Global engagement just fell to a five-year low while AI spreads everywhere. In this episode, Joseph Michelli shows why the tool was never th...
Who Would Defend You
Most companies know their regular customers. Few know which ones would defend them. That difference matters. Joseph Michelli digs into Motis...
Get Me a Person
The words your customers say when your AI can’t help them — and the business case hiding inside them.
The Operating System for Loyalty in the AI Era
In this quarter capstone, Joseph Michelli puts the whole machine back together: engagement, loyalty, and referrals aren’t three programs — t...
The Frontline Knows: Why Your Best CX Strategy Is Already on Your Payroll
The cheapest customer-experience strategy in your company is already on the payroll—and mostly ignored. Joseph Michelli unpacks Medallia/McK...
When the Bot Breaks: Why Service Recovery Is Where AI-Era Loyalty Is Won
Failure is inevitable—and as AI mediates more of the service, it’s multiplying. Joseph Michelli explains the “service recovery paradox”: why...
Design the Job, Not Just the Tool
AI use at work has nearly doubled — yet only 16% of employees say the tools they were handed help. In this episode, Joseph Michelli unpacks...
Trust Is the Real Currency
To get the magic, customers have to let AI know almost everything — and trust in AI is falling, not rising. In this episode, Joseph Michelli...
From Customers to Advocates
Why do we recommend some brands and never mention others? In this episode, Joseph Michelli traces the path from satisfied customer to vocal...
Seen, Not Tracked
Recognition cuts burnout by 73% — yet fewer than one in four employees feel they get enough of it. In this episode, Joseph Michelli draws on...
The Standard That Outlived Every Gadget
The handheld device that once felt futuristic at The Ritz-Carlton is obsolete — but the standard it served isn’t. Joseph Michelli makes the...
The Smoke Detector and the Spy
A discount that only appears when you threaten to cancel isn’t loyalty — it’s a confession. Joseph Michelli unpacks the “smoke detector test...
Your Managers Are the Algorithm
Every leader’s obsessing over which AI model to deploy. Joseph Michelli argues they’re ignoring the real algorithm: the middle manager who d...
The Handoff Problem
The bot was fine. The agent was great. The customer was still left furious — because of the handoff between them. In this episode, Joseph Mi...
The Referral Engine
Referral programs mostly fail because companies try to manufacture word of mouth rather than capture it. In this episode, Joseph Michelli re...
Personalization Isn’t Loyalty
Everyone now owns the same AI personalization tools — so personalization can no longer be your loyalty strategy. In this episode, Joseph Mic...
Leading Through AI Anxiety
Only 20% of employees worldwide are engaged — and AI is about to test that fragile number. In this episode, Joseph Michelli draws on Gallup’...
The Empathy Gap
Everyone’s buying the same AI. So what’s left to compete on? In this episode, Joseph Michelli makes the financial case for the “empathy gap”...
The Crisis of Automated Errors
”AI Slop” can destroy a reputation in milliseconds. Learn why human judgment is the ultimate braking system for autonomous tools and how to...