The CX Iconoclast
If you’re exhausted by traditional approaches to CX, impatient with the stunning lack of progress in the field, and done re-hashing the “best practices” that don’t change anything, you’ve found your podcast. Here’s what we know: Companies gain competitive advantage through exceptional customer experience, and customer insights are the best decision-making tool there is. But traditional CX approaches have run their course and it’s time for the next revolution in CX. Tune in every two weeks as Richard Owen, co-founder of OCX Cognition, hosts conversations and interviews with business leaders, academics, and thinkers whose ideas can guide the CX profession to think in new ways about what success looks like. Most of them aren’t CX professionals, but all of them have something to teach us about CX. We’ll take a clear-eyed look at the problems that have hampered the discipline and explore the compelling ideas behind a re-engineering CX for a modern world. Come disgruntled, leave inspired. Find us at www.ocxcognition.com
Episodes
61 episodes
Rewiring CX: Bill Staikos on Human-Centered AI and the Future of Experience Leadership
In this episode of The CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen hosts Bill Staikos, a CX and EX leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations move beyond dashboards and into delivering tangible business outcomes. Drawing on his u...
Designing Better Endings: Joe MacLeod on the Overlooked Side of Customer Experience
In this episode of The CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen sits down with Joe MacLeod – author, speaker, and self-proclaimed “Head of Endineering” – to explore one of the most overlooked parts of customer experience: the ending. Drawing on insights fro...
From Cost-Cutting to Customer Growth: A Smarter AI Strategy – with McKinsey partner Tey Bannerman
In this episode of the CX Iconoclast podcast, Richard Owen speaks with Tey Bannerman, a McKinsey partner focused on deploying AI in large enterprises to improve customer retention and growth. Bannerman emphasizes that AI should solve r...
The KPI Revolution: Turning Data into Decisions Using AI - With Michael Schrage of MIT
What if your KPIs could talk back—and guide your business forward? In this episode, Richard Owen and Brian Curry of OCX Cognition, and MIT’s Michael Schrage explore how AI is transforming not just customer experience metrics, but the very natur...
What 25 Years of Tech Research Tells Us About the Future of AI - With Cornell's Chris Forman
What happens when leading-edge academic research meets real-world customer dynamics? In this episode, OCX Cognition CEO Richard Owen welcomes Chris Forman, Professor of Strategy, Innovation, and Technology at Cornell’s Dyson School, to discuss ...
AI, Culture, and the Future of Customer Experience: A Conversation with Murli Buluswar of Citi
In this episode of CX Iconoclast, OCX Cognition CEO Richard Owen sits down with Murli Buluswar, Head of Analytics at Citi’s U.S. Personal Bank, to explore how AI is reshaping customer insight and experience at enterprise scale. Murli s...
Humans, AI, and the Trouble with Truth: A Conversation with Dean Eckles
In this episode of CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen sits down with Dean Eckles, MIT professor and former Facebook data scientist, to explore the real-world dynamics of misinformation—and what actually works to stop it. Eckles shares insight...
Humanity at Scale: Bruce Temkin on Redefining Leadership in the Age of AI
In this CX Iconoclast episode, Richard Owen speaks with Bruce Temkin, a pioneering figure in customer experience, about his new initiative: Humanity at Scale. Temkin explains that despite decades of progress in CX and EX, many leaders ...
Why do some organizations disrupt while others decay? - With MIT's Steve Spear
If you have never heard of the Department of Disruptive Capabilities, this is the place to be! In this episode, OCX Cognition CEO Richard Owen sits down with MIT Senior Lecturer and renowned efficiency expert Steve Spear to explore what makes t...
AI, Leadership, and the Future of Customer Experience – with Moira Clark
In this episode of CX Iconoclast, Richard Owen sits down with Professor Moira Clark, Director of the Henley Centre for Customer Management at Henley Business School. Moira brings sharp insight from two decades of research into what drives custo...
What Global CEOs Need to Know About CX in Latin America - With Felipe Bayón and Mauricio Duarte
In this episode, Richard Owen is joined by Felipe Bayón, newly-appointed CEO of GeoPark and former CEO of Ecopetrol, as well as Mauricio Duarte, a leading CX strategist in Latin America, to explore the evolving role of customer experience in th...
The Future of Telcos in an AI-driven World - With Harry Baldock and Marc Anné
Richard Owen hosts a conversation on the future of the telecommunications industry with Marc Anné, Chair of the World Communication Awards judging panel, and Harry Baldock, Editor of Total Telecom. The discussion covers key industry trends, inc...
NPS Isn't Dead, But It’s on Life Support: The Future of B2B Customer Experience
In this podcast, Richard Owen and Brian Curry tackle the provocative question, “Is NPS dead?” While acknowledging the clickbait nature of the question, they argue that the traditional Net Promoter Score (NPS) program has become outdated—not bec...
Marketing, AI, and the Power of Focus: Insights with Simon Lyons
OCX Cognition founder Richard Owen hosts Simon Lyons in this latest conversion. Simon has had a long and varied career working in marketing, brand management, and strategic development across a variety of industries, including power generation,...
B2B CX Reimagined: Predictive Analytics and Account-Level Insights - with Richard Owen and Mauricio Duarte
In the second podcast of this two-part series, Mauricio Duarte and Richard Owen go deeper into the transformative role of AI in customer experience (CX). Richard highlights AI as a generational shift, resembling the advent of the internet in it...
The Future of CX: AI, NPS, and the Power of Data - with Richard Owen and Mauricio Duarte
In this first of a series of two podcasts, Mauricio Duarte, CEO of Opinat, interviews Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, about the evolution of customer experience (CX) and the future of AI as a way of improving customer retention and growth. ...
What happened to Starbucks’ "third place" magic? With Joe Pine and Louis-Etienne Dubois
In this episode, Richard Owen speaks with Joe Pine and Dr. Louis-Etienne Dubois about Starbucks’ journey of rediscovering its core identity as a "third place" — a welcoming environment between work and home. They explore how Starbucks' focus on...
Best of 2024 – The Value of Long-Term Customer Relationships - With Das Narayandas
2024 was a great year for the CX Iconoclast, thanks to the amazing guests we were able to host. It may be no surprise to you that one of the topics that came up repeatedly was the value of long term customer relationships. Long term CLV and cus...
Best of 2024 – Technology-driven CX enhancements
2024 was a great year for the CX Iconoclast, thanks to the amazing guests we had. One of the topics that came up was the nature of technology-driven CX enhancements. As you might imagine, technology, especially automation and AI driven support ...
Best of 2024: Operational Resilience and Flexibility
2024 was a great year for the CX iconoclast due to the amazing guests we had. In this recap, we look at the topic of operational resilience and flexibility, especially in supply chains.Discover how leading experts Chris Gopal and Kevin ...
Best of 2024: AI and Predictive Analytics | Highlights from the CX Iconoclast Podcast
In this 7-minute highlight reel, Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, explores how AI and predictive analytics are transforming B2B customer experience by providing actionable insights, improving operational efficiency, and personalizing ...
Best of 2024: Customer-Centric Transformation | Highlights from the CX Iconoclast Podcast
In this special 8-minute episode, Richard Owen, CEO of OCX Cognition, shares highlights from 2024's CX Iconoclast podcast series, showcasing how top companies are embracing customer-centric transformation to drive retention and loyalty....
Beyond the Buzz: Making AI Work for Your Business – With Amir Hartman
Richard Owen and Amir Hartman explore the challenges companies face in adopting AI, particularly the high failure rates of AI projects. Owen compares the current AI landscape to previous technological waves, where early excitement led companies...
Revolutionizing Healthcare: Aging, AI, and the Future of Medicine – With Jean-Christophe Barland
Richard Owen and Jean-Christophe Barland discussed the complexities facing the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in relation to healthcare delivery and the aging population. Barland emphasized the diversity among physicians in terms of thei...
Innovation in Action: AkzoNobel's Blueprint for Digital Success - With Michel Claassens
In the latest CX Iconoclast conversation, Michel Claassens and Richard Owen dive into AkzoNobel's journey of digital transformation, demonstrating how a traditional paint company is innovating and continuing to grow in a rapidly changing landsc...