Michelle's Story

"You're on the org chart!" said a friend and former colleague. I told him, "Thank you. I know you're building a dream team, but I'm not even looking for a job. I love owning my business and creating reference packages for executive job seekers." He said, "I know, but your experience is perfect for what we need here right now, and you already know the team is amazing. Why don't you meet some team members, think it through, and decide." 

I am so glad that I followed his advice. During my conversations with my future team, I quickly understood how unique this opportunity was. The team was incredible, the customers and their stories were inspiring, and I had much to learn and contribute. What fun! 

I set aside my business and immersed myself in customer storytelling and every surrounding aspect, commonly known as "customer marketing." I reimagined the future of customer references and developed a 5-year plan that set a vision for the future that met the needs of the business. I'm happy to report that our team has delivered results beyond expectations. We earned trust and advocacy from C-Suite executives of well-known brands and drove a high volume of participation from hundreds of customer advocates worldwide. We worked hard and became a close and tight-knit team, like family, and we loved every minute along the way!

I've always known that I loved people's stories, and I discovered that I have a deep passion for customer stories. Our customers and the work that they do is fascinating! They are serving the needs of their communities, improving people's lives and changing the world. To be a part of an organization that helps them drive their business success is what gives us purpose as customer marketers. It is meaningful to elevate people and shine a light on their fantastic work. Whether it be a senior leader of the company who talks about their vision for a better tomorrow or the practitioner who has the technical expertise to implement the plan that makes the vision real, these are the stories that make us proud of the company we work for and the work that we do to help our customers achieve their goals. 

I am a lifelong learner and have enjoyed forays in event planning, product marketing, partner marketing, content marketing, marketing research, storytelling, and sales. My professional experiences span startups to small and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises worldwide. My depth of experience across many facets of business gives me a deep appreciation for the needs of internal company stakeholders and the motivation behind customers who opt-in to being advocates who openly share their stories and experiences in working with our people and technology. 

Another unique differentiator is that I am an actively engaged leader. Don't mistake this for micromanagement—I do not micromanage. I will help solve a problem or meet a tight deadline with my team. I am by their side, doing whatever it takes to achieve the goal. I also support open and honest communication, even when we know it will be a tough conversation. 

My team leadership dynamic offers a safe space to identify things that don't make sense and celebrate the presentation of creative ideas to resolve challenging problems. The culture of our team breeds innovation as each team member is encouraged to speak up and share their best ideas to achieve results far beyond expectations. We successfully support the entire company, from intern to CEO, to share customer stories at every opportunity because of this leadership model. 

My team members are seen, heard, valued, respected, and protected.  We are in it together. We work hard together. We have fun together. We achieve together.

Stakeholders are the teams within our organization who benefit from customer stories. We all benefit from and enjoy customer success stories. The top teams that we support for their specific needs include executive communications, internal communications, sales, marketing, events, brand, content, analyst relations, public relations, investor relations, product marketing, communities, customer advisory boards, social media, alliances and third party reviews. 

Storytellers are the customer advocates who share their experiences and stories of success privately and publicly. 

I enjoy building the systems and connective framework that brings these stakeholders and storytellers together.

People talk about the "force multiplier" in their business model.

For me, it's simple: genuine care, curiosity & gratitude.

Care deeply about your stakeholders and storytellers and what matters most to them. Engage in conversations full of your natural curiosity to understand what they do and why they do it. Be grateful for the stories shared, the people interested in them, and what we have learned. For this to work, you must have a natural passion for customer stories and shared benefits amongst storytellers and stakeholders. Your authentic approach to customer marketing ignites the force multiplier and ensures that it works. 

Would you like to hear about real-world examples of this force multiplier? Ask me about Chevron, Lockheed Martin, Nubank, adidas, IBM, BlackRock, Pixar, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, to name a few.

Family

I have two teenagers in high school, and it's not lost on me that they will go to college before we know it. Therefore, I am present for them and attend to their big moments.

They attend a public school that ranks #1 in the State and one of the top schools in the nation. Their community, school spirit, love of learning, work ethic, and dedication to doing what's right are admirable and an excellent example for all. 

Fun

I enjoy spending time with family and friends playing tennis, pickleball, golf, skiing, hiking, traveling, and walking our dog. I also coach my kids' high school tennis team whenever I can.

I am one of the lucky business professionals who loves my work. Through positivity and inspiration in storytelling, I get to solve painful problems and spark innovation and achievement. I am forever grateful to the people who believe in me and open the door to opportunities to capture and share customer stories. Thank you!