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It's that time, folks. I am looking for beta readers for the next book. I have finished interviewing for the most part (there are still a few of you I would like to talk to), and am about to start writing the actual copy for the next book. I would love to hear if there is anyone that would be interested in reading chapters as I write them, or even particularly interested in reading specific chapters on certain topics. Let me know! I am just happy to get it read pre-publishing however I can. <3

I *love* making things that people actually use, which is why I am stoked that PartnerHero released this workbook to help track your AI QA scores and calculate variance across key metrics. Check out the blog post for some ideas on what to track, and then click the link at the bottom to add a copy of the workbook to your Google Drive!

It’s Katie D. day over on Escalations. Or, it was yesterday but I didn’t post about it so I am now! I *loved* talking with Katie. It felt like I had known her forever—which I think is a really strong sign of a person who is excellent in CX. If someone can make you feel comfortable from the second you start talking to them, what can’t they do? Beyond that, her story of growing from a humble barista to an absolute support operations boss reminded me of my own trajectory (me as barista pictured below). Katie has a level of humility and curiosity which I find incredibly inspiring and I can’t wait for you to read her story and to include her in the book. https://lnkd.in/gvQYBtXF

This has been a really fun project. :)

Why call it "polyworking" when we could just call it what it is? People breaking themselves in an attempt to survive in a system that is primed to deprioritize people. You don't see Forbes talking about a person who works multiple part-time jobs in their local community, giving back and leading a fulfilling life and calling it "polyworking." No, they're talking about tech employees striving to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Don't give a cute name to something that isn't cute. I'm tired of it. Also, just from a linguistic perspective, it is actually ugly as sin. "Poly" is a Greek prefix, and "work" is Germanic. It's about as elegant as gluing a Parthenon column onto a Viking longhouse.

What do bras and scalability have in common? Push them too far and nobody gets the support they need. Ba dum tshhhh. Here's a story about both. I spent two afternoons hunting for bras. Brand A charged top-shelf prices, sent bras that weren't the right fit, gave me an easy return label, and sent me right back to square one. Good experience with the ability to return quickly, but no real drive for me to shop with them again. I looked elsewhere. ThirdLove sent me bras, also pricy, also didn't fit. When the fit was off and I went to return, they made it easy to submit a return but ALSO offered a same-day call with a fit specialist. Fifteen minutes later, a pro broke down why my size missed the mark, suggested the right one, and processed the exchange before we hung up. (Side note, they had an option to do an "instant return" where they sent me the new goods before I even sent back the old ones!!) Here is the wild part: ThirdLove runs that consultative service with just two specialists. Two people. Sixteen calls a day. At a company valued around $750 million. Definitely not “scalable,” yet those calls likely keep a few thousand dollars a day from walking out the door and turn first-timers like me into repeat customers. When your customer is half-dressed (metaphorically or for real life) and frustrated, scalability is the last thing they care about. Stop worshipping scale for scale’s sake. Sometimes the smartest growth move is the one that lets a real human solve a real problem, right when it matters most. Also shout out to you Gloria, ilu and I can't wait for my new bras.

I just short-titled a blog post "Oops, AI did it again" and, not to toot my own horn, I think I deserve some kind of award. A Pulitzer maybe?