Author: Qaalfa

Innovation should start from the customer (case in point)

We owe it to Marvin Bower (former longtime Managing Director of McKinsey & Co.).  Things seemed to change in management consulting (McKinsey in particular) after his leadership.  Strategic consultancies stopped hiring seasoned executives with long-lasting careers in different industries, and started sourcing talents among the best graduates from STEM universities and MBAs. In the early Nineties, these bright talents played a significant role in advising the first mobile network operators in establishing their GMS franchise. GSM services were targeting mobile [...]
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Treasure customer time

This principle is at the core of any sustainable experience. This applies to all industries from transportation to financial services to retail or government for that matter. Regardless of whether you are serving an end customer or an employee, their time matters more than their money. Treasuring customer time is a way to start with the customer and work backwards. You can’t design any meaningful, sustainable experience if you don’t factor time in. And this is much more than letting [...]
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GITEX 2023 Dubai – last day thoughts

It's the last day of GITEX here in Dubai, one of the largest tech trade shows in the world. Of course, it's humongous and too much to take in at one go. You get exposed to a lot, some not so interesting, some pushing the envelope a bit too far. All of the big players are here. I was particularly interested in Genesys and there cloud CX capability which is taking over the contact center world and Zoom, it's not just online meetings. [...]
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Forget the carrot and the stick. Think onion

In the last few years, new organizational models emerged to cope with a business environment that has become increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Geopolitical seismic shifts, technology, regulatory, and new customer and employee behaviour and expectations are the main theme of change. Led by some of the big techs like Amazon and Netflix, this change has spread to other industries like FSI. A bank like DBS in Singapore is globally leading the pack, proving the even in an error-prevention industry [...]
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AI and CX transformation and leadership in Africa (CEM Africa Conference)

A meaty panel discussion on how AI will/ should impact CX in Africa.  This is worth a listen if you are interested in hearing an African orientation on CX and AI. The panel discussion is with: Anton De Wet, Chief Client Officer, Nedbank Qaalfa Dibeehi, Partner, Human2outcome Simon Broadbent, SVP, NICE EMEA Helen Bywater-Smith, Head of CX Service Design, Ipsos Alex Wörz, CEO, Mr D Sam Tayan, Managing Director of Middle East & Africa, Zoom Moderator: Dennis Wakabayashi See it [...]
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3 Ways AI and Humans Can Create Better Customer Experience (Webinar)

Like it or not, we are all now living in the world of AI. Generative AI and its related machine learning capabilities are here to stay. Contact centers are already applying the power of AI to transform how they deliver customer experiences via data driven CX that enables seamless, personalized, and often predictive levels of service. However, reaping the benefits of AI for CX is not just about the business and their customers. Agents also stand to benefit from AI [...]
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Sustainability, Design Thinking and Customer Experience in Banking: Challenging

When I joined a bank in Dubai in 2018, I actually thought to get a Smart for my commute. Many colleagues frowned in disappointment, suggesting instead I bought a car that reflected my (little) status in the bank’s leadership. They were right: my peers had Porsches, Mercedes, or full-size desert friendly SUVs like Mitsubishi’s Pajero. A Smart would not fit. Hence, I ended up with a Volvo to confuse the voyeuristic Dubai crowd not used to such a piece of [...]
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Human Doing vs Human Being: Finding Meaning and Balance in Life

Have you ever experienced a moment that shook you to your core and made you question the meaning of life? I certainly have. In 2008, while driving my children home, I suddenly felt heart palpitations, chest pains, and struggled to breathe. For a few terrifying moments, I believed my life was coming to an end. The fear intensified because I didn't want my children to witness such a traumatic event. As it turned out, it was a bout of hyperventilation [...]
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Innovation, bad ideas and behavioral economics

Life is too short for bad ideas.  But why do we hang onto them? If you work in the innovation space you have two main problems. First, how do you generate new ideas with the requisite variety that will allow innovation to surface? Or to put it differently, how do you diverge from your usual way of thinking that repackages the same ideas all over again across different domains? Second, how do you decide an idea doesn’t deserve any further [...]
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Empathy Unmasked: Exploring Empathy’s Three Dimensions

Empathy plays a crucial role in establishing deep and meaningful connections with others. This is true for both your personal and business life. It is therefore no wonder that in leadership programs, the development of this skill is being emphasized and even seen as fundamental for effective leadership. Around empathy a common mistake is often being made: some people think empathy has only to do with emotions, and has nothing to do with logic. That is not true! To understand [...]
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