Jan Young, MBA, CSPO, CSM

Project Manager

I help Heads of CS become VPs and get a seat at the Executive Table | Customer-Led Growth Advisor | 2X Top 25 CS Influencer | Top 50 CS Influencer | Top 50 Women Leaders in CS | Top 100 CS Strategist | Investor

Why do some CS leaders command executive respect, while others, despite strong results, keep fighting to be heard?

I've been in Tech for 20+ years and been through two exits as VP Client Services. Here's what I've learned:

✨ EVERYTHING has changed.

The speed. The AI transformation. The business models. The way we need to lead.

I see CS leaders working until midnight, delivering great results... and still getting told "we need to cut CS headcount."

Sound familiar?

The old playbooks stopped working.

AI is reshaping how we work, how we go to market, how we serve customers. Your 2023 playbook is irrelevant.

Today, you need SYSTEMS.

Here's what I know from coaching hundreds of CS leaders:

Those who break through have mastered The Modern CS Growth System, 4 pillars of executive impact:

💡 Modern Management & Change Leadership - Lead in the AI era  
💡 AI Fluency, Automation & Autonomy - Transform operations, pricing, GTM
💡 Business & Customer Economics - Speak profitability, not just retention  
💡 Repeatable Customer Revenue & Team Systems - Build scalable frameworks, not heroic firefighting  

This is a systematic approach to demonstrating executive-level impact in the language your fellow executives understand.

👉👉 This is what CS Business Leaders master. Not pieces. The whole system.

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WHO I WORK WITH

CS leaders who've built a department but aren't getting traction:

✔  You deliver strong results, but executives still see CS as a cost center
✔  You're excluded from strategic decisions where your insights would be valuable
✔  You’re told "do more with less" instead of getting resources
✔  You know modern CS should look different, but you're stuck in outdated frameworks

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HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

⚡️ CS BUSINESS LEADERSHIP ACCELERATOR - Master the 4 pillars and build the Modern CS Growth System specific to your goals/challenges through executive peer community + project-based frameworks + personalized coaching.  

🔗 https://go.stepupxchange.com/csbl-accelerator

📬 NEWSLETTER:  I publish a weekly newsletter on modern CS strategies

📧 DM me and I'll share which resources fit you

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RESULTS

✅ Become an award-winning executive
✅ Reposition your team as a strategic revenue driver
✅ Transition from firefighting to repeatable, scalable systems
✅ Innovate with AI to drive profitable customer revenue growth

The modern CS leaders who succeed aren't keeping up with change: They're leading it. 

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📬 Newsletter: janyoungcx.com/#newsletter  
📧 DM me: discuss your challenges  
🎯 Follow for daily insights

Founding Member

RevRoom is a trusted space where curious revenue leaders are collaborating on the future of B2B Go to Market alignment and GTM-Led-Growth.

We were all asked the same question independently. We all gave the same answer.

When ChurnZero asked a group of CS leaders for our 2026 predictions, we didn't compare notes beforehand. 

We had limited space and were told to be specific.

Yet, a clear pattern emerged across the board.
🔸  AI was the theme throughout.
🔸  We didn't talk about playbooks. We talked about Systems. 
🔸  We didn't just talk about CS + AI. We talked about Revenue & Profitability.

A huge thank you to ChurnZero for asking me to contribute alongside such incredible leaders. 

Here is the reality I see coming for our industry:

“Customer success is the frontline of survival for both traditional SaaS and AI-first startups, shifting the mission from simple adoption to high-precision Value Engineering.

To win, leaders are replacing generalists with specialized GTM squads, using Forward-Deployed CSMs and Consumption Leads for high-touch growth, while AI CS Ops and Program Managers architect the data-driven systems that power scaled, touch-free renewals and expansions.

As AI agents automate the routine, the human CSM role will become elevated, requiring the deep EQ and business acumen necessary to turn experimental AI budgets into the predictable, profitable revenue our boards now demand.”

📌  The consensus is clear: 
AI is forcing us to restructure our teams, our roles, and our unit economics to survive in a new market model.


🚨  But there is one trend I think is still flying under the radar:  Agentic Suggestion.

👉  Right now, we prompt AI. By the end of 2026, AI will prompt us.

We are moving toward systems that understand our goals and suggest work, anticipating needs before we even articulate them. 

This will require massive Change Leadership, not just for our teams, but for ourselves.


📌  I’m digging into these trends and How to Take Action in my newsletter this Saturday, AND I have some live events on these themes in the next two weeks.

Get the Insights: 
👉 Read the ChurnZero 2026 Forecast: https://lnkd.in/gEj3Bvu2 
👉 Get my Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gBrhN3As

📆  If you are ready to build the system that supports this future, join my StepUpXchange NexGen CS Leadership Masterclass and learn about the Modern CS Growth System on Jan 20th:  https://lnkd.in/gsETU8a2

📆  If you’re really serious, join the StepUpXchange VIP Inner Circle. You’ll get an exclusive invite to Fireside Focus on Jan 15 that is usually reserved for members of the CS Business Leadership Accelerator. 

📢 This will be an intimate conversation with Ralphie (Ralphette) White, VP CS of Deepgram.  Ralphie is one of the leaders who has been at the forefront of the AI + CS [r]evolution. If you don't want to miss out...
https://lnkd.in/gpxwVFWB

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