Iam often asked by customer service leaders how to get the CEO to care about customers. They are convinced there is a missed tactic that, if implemented, would have the C-suite camping out in the contact center and inviting customers to board meetings. When I outline a number of possible approaches—translate customer-service yardsticks into the metrics of the bottom line, provide concrete links between customer affinity and the ROI, find ways to bring the voice of the customer into the conversations in the boardroom—they usually tell me, “We’ve done all that.”

It reminds me of the legendary retailer, Les Wexner, renown as a savvy entrepreneur. I was working as a consultant with Victoria’s Secret. The hottest product about to be launched was the “Perfect Silhouette” bra patterned after the look of the pinup star of World War II, Betty Grable. The plan was for a controversial NBA star to lead the edgy ads for the bra. Wexner, CEO and founder of Limited Brands (now L Brands), the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, wanted to place a large order of one million bras to sell in the stores and online.

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