Joining the Dots
Content curated by Rick Adams
There is a famous expression which states that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. For Customer Success Management that “whole” is often made up from a very rich and diverse range of “parts” including knowledge, skills and experience in customer industries, in our own products, in Customer Success best practices and in a huge range of other “stuff” – from project and change management through to listening and storytelling, and from leadership and negotiation through to data analysis and reporting. There really is no end to the numbers and amounts of things that a “good CSM” needs to know, and whilst all of it is relevant it may sometimes also be important to stop and look at the bigger picture a- at how CS fits into the overall corporate vision and mission, at the direction it is currently travelling in, and at what needs to be done to ensure that our Customer Success function is the very best it can possibly be, given our unique situation, culture and requirements.
Our final Principal Thought Leader is Rick Adams. Visit his Thought Leadership Zone to delve into how to put everything together to ensure that the “sum of the parts” is a world class and powerful service that helps customers get where they need to get to with the maximum of efficiency and effectiveness.
Your Principal Thought Leader
Rick Adams
Business Outcomes & Customer Success Expert and Published Author
About Rick
Rick Adams is a business owner, author, trainer and consultant, specializing in helping technology companies to deliver measurable business value to their customers. Adams has over 25 years’ business experience including creating, managing and ultimately selling his own UK based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business and more recently founding his current company called the Practical CSM Academy that focuses on providing global customer success management consulting, training and certification services for everyone from aspiring CSM new starters through to seasoned senior CS leaders.
Adams’ recent work includes the development and delivery of a global customer success management certification program for Cisco Systems Inc., and the creation of the world’s only published framework for customer success management called the Practical CSM Framework. His book Practical Customer Success Management: A best practice framework for rapid generation of customer success was published in 2019 and attracts a five star rating from Amazon.
Adams’ love for technological innovation, scientific principles, and creativity has established him as one of the most respected business outcomes and Customer Success experts globally, including being named as one of SuccessCoaching’s Top 100 Customer Success Strategists in 2020, and one of SmartKarrot’s Top 50 Customer Success Influencers in 2021. Having delivered training and consultancy to many hundreds of businesses and thousands of technology professionals in over 30 countries across four continents, Adams is now based in the rural west coast of Ireland where he lives with his two dogs Zeus and Teri. His current interests include helping individuals and companies develop strategic best practices in customer success management and in business outcomes focused selling.
