Leapfrog CX Strategies

Dave Michels

It's time to Leapfrog CX. Join enterprise communications analyst and industry provocateur Dave Michels (Founder of TalkingPointz) as he cuts through the hype to find out what truly drives world-class Customer Experience (CX). In this candid, executive-level podcast series, Dave sits down with C-Level executives from leading CX vendors, cutting-edge implementors, and innovative enterprises. He doesn't just ask about the vision—he demands to know the reality. Every episode uncovers cost-effective, real-world strategies on how to deliver a compelling customer experience that also drives business results. The Hard Questions: Dave asks the tough, no-BS questions about profitability, implementation pitfalls, and the real ROI of your CX technology stack.Executive Insights: Hear directly from the leaders making the critical decisions in the CX space—learn what's working, what's failing, and what's next.Actionable Strategies: Get past the marketing slides and discover the practical strategies you can apply to immediately improve your own customer engagement and operational efficiency. Tune in to Leapfrog CX Strategies and get the independent, incisive analysis you need to make the right decisions for your business. Because in the battle for the customer, you can't afford to be a step behind.

  1. May 21

    Checking In with Jeff Lawson

    I’ve always admired Jeff Lawson. I vividly remember the first time he tried to explain Twilio to me. He still had hair back then. I will admit that it took me a few of these sessions to understand Twilio, but I knew Jeff was brilliant. Not only did Jeff build an amazing company with a strong culture, but he also created an entirely new segment in communications. After 16 years of running Twilio, including an IPO, Jeff hung up his coding gloves. The next stop, surprising (at first) was The Onion. He shares the story in this interview. Spoiler: The Onion is doing well and back in print. Moving from a multi-billion-dollar comms powerhouse to a satire publication may not seem intuitive. Poetic is a better description as he transitioned from messaging to the message. One can respect Lawson, Twilio, and The Onion — it’s a happy journey. I have always considered satire as a critical form of storytelling. It is one of the hardest forms of comedy because it requires so much awareness. The Onion is an important source of truth, which is more than Jeff would say about CRM. Speaking of CRM, Lawson’s views of CRM haven’t changed. I asked him if his views have changed since SIgnal 2022. Where he declared CRM a "$69 billion failure." Spoiler: No. For decades, CRM giants promised a dream of unified customer data, but Lawson says the evidence speaks for itself. Lawson shares how Salesforce, born as a B2B deals tracker, was shoehorned into a broader B2C CRM tool with disastrous results. He says companies pay through the nose for the privilege of having their data held hostage. He is now watching Salesforce pivot to a #Headless model, similar to what Twilio built years ago. Lawson is very suspicious of how the CRM industry will deliver headless. He doubts it will be the disruptive alternative that’s needed.  Our conversation covers a lot of ground, including the future of human agents, the never-launched Billio service, consumption-based pricing, the speed and height of the current hype cycle, council AI, and even fusion energy.  As we navigate an era defined by decision fatigue and algorithmic noise, we are left with Lawson’s central provocation: Is your relationship with technology actually serving your well-being, or are you just paying through the nose for hype that fails to deliver?

    57 min

  2. Jan 21

    Vasili Triant, CEO of UJET.CX

    In this inaugural episode of Leapfrog CX Strategies longform interviews, host Dave Michaels discusses with Vasili Triant, CEO of UJET, the evolving landscape of customer experience (CX) technology. Vasily shares insights from his extensive career, spanning companies like Shoretel, Serenova, and Cisco, before taking the helm at UJET. **Key Discussion Points:** - **Industry Background:** Vasily’s journey through various tech companies, highlighting the transition from on-premise solutions to cloud-based services. He reflects on his time at Shoretel as a formative experience, noting the company's significant growth and eventual impact of the cloud transition. Serenova is recalled as a company with potential that faced a challenging path. - **UJET's Evolution:** Vasily discusses his role in UJET's growth, including navigating fundraising rounds and his recent promotion to CEO. He touches upon the company's strategic pivot towards AI-driven CX transformation, emphasizing the integration of conversational analytics and virtual agent capabilities. - **AI in CX:** The conversation delves into the impact of AI on the contact center industry. While acknowledging the excitement around virtual agents, Vasily expresses a nuanced view, suggesting that while AI enhances efficiency, the human element and personalized customer experience remain crucial. He cautions against an overreliance on automation as a sole cost-saving measure, advocating for a balanced approach that leverages AI for proactive and efficient customer engagement. - **The Google Partnership:** Vasily elaborates on UJET's strategic partnership with Google, discussing how it has influenced the company's go-to-market strategy and product development roadmap. He highlights the symbiotic nature of the relationship and the potential for future collaboration, particularly in leveraging Google's reach to drive AI adoption in CX. - **Workforce Management (WFM) and Quality Management (QM):** The discussion addresses the acquisition of Authority, a WFM/QM solutions provider. Vasily explains the rationale behind the acquisition, emphasizing the strategic importance of integrating these capabilities to offer a more comprehensive CX solution. He differentiates between the evolving QM space, which he believes is ripe for AI disruption, and the more established WFM market. - **Future Outlook:** Vasily shares his vision for UJET, focusing on continued innovation in AI-powered CX solutions, strategic partnerships, and expanding into new markets, including a growing presence in Portugal. He expresses a passion for genuinely transforming customer experiences by leveraging technology to create more proactive, efficient, and personalized interactions. This episode provides a deep dive into the strategies and vision driving a key player in the CX technology sector.

    1h 28m

  3. 08/12/2025

    Dave and David on Headsets

    The Daves discuss the state of the headset world. Lots of types and considerations. Things you should know - from bluetooth to dect to over-the-ear to earbuds.

    46 min

  4. 06/02/2025

    Chatz: June 2025 Infocomm and Seachange

    In this episode of TalkingPointz Chatz, Dave Michels and David Danto unpack a series of “sea changes” sweeping across tech and communications. They start by examining how AI engines are replacing traditional search tools, reshaping how users find information. The conversation shifts to LinkedIn’s emergence as the dominant professional social platform in the wake of Twitter’s decline. Most notably, they dive into the evolution of meeting room technology – from proprietary video appliances to streamlined BYOD/BYOM setups – and highlight the manufacturers that are embracing this shift, including Barco, Jabra, Logitech, and others. It’s a fast-paced, thoughtful look at how user habits and enterprise tools are adapting in real time.

    15 min

  5. 02/08/2025

    TalkingPointz Channel Insightz #2

    In this episode, we talk about the AV channel and upcoming ISE conference. Featuring Dave Berlin, President & CEO at Visual Image Display; Eric Snider, Chief Technology Officer at CTI; and Danny Rogers, Vice President Global Accounts at AVI-SPL.

    56 min

  6. 01/20/2025

    Channel Insightz Jan2025

    Dave and David chat about the channel with John Cognata of SoftTel amd William Rubio of Calltower.

    38 min

  7. 12/27/2024

    2024 Review

    Dave and David discuss and reflect on 2024.

    27 min

  8. 10/07/2024

    Insider Report September 2024

    Ever wonder what's in a monthly Insider report? The September 2024 report included this: Hey Google, Tell Me About It: Google’s NotebookLM uses LLMs to convert lengthy text from articles, research papers, and other documents into knowledge. NotebookLM has a new trick that turns knowledge into an audible story: an AI-generated podcast that includes playful conversations between male and female ”hosts.” It’s a new summarization trick, this time with voices. Making generative AI trustworthy is the progress we need. This podcast episode is an autogenerated podcast based on the sole input of the September 2024 Insider Report.  Subscribe for the full, written reports.  https://talkingpointz.com/insider-report-for-september-2024/

    9 min
See All (119)

4
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

It's time to Leapfrog CX. Join enterprise communications analyst and industry provocateur Dave Michels (Founder of TalkingPointz) as he cuts through the hype to find out what truly drives world-class Customer Experience (CX). In this candid, executive-level podcast series, Dave sits down with C-Level executives from leading CX vendors, cutting-edge implementors, and innovative enterprises. He doesn't just ask about the vision—he demands to know the reality. Every episode uncovers cost-effective, real-world strategies on how to deliver a compelling customer experience that also drives business results. The Hard Questions: Dave asks the tough, no-BS questions about profitability, implementation pitfalls, and the real ROI of your CX technology stack.Executive Insights: Hear directly from the leaders making the critical decisions in the CX space—learn what's working, what's failing, and what's next.Actionable Strategies: Get past the marketing slides and discover the practical strategies you can apply to immediately improve your own customer engagement and operational efficiency. Tune in to Leapfrog CX Strategies and get the independent, incisive analysis you need to make the right decisions for your business. Because in the battle for the customer, you can't afford to be a step behind.

Information

  • Creator
    Dave Michels
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    119
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Leapfrog CX Strategies
  • Show Website
    Leapfrog CX Strategies

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