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If you’ve ever felt like your CX team is pushing water uphill—mapping journeys, conducting research, collecting insights, and yet… nothing really changes—this one’s for you.
Because I’ve had that feeling too. And when I spoke with Rob about how they flipped that script at PostNL, it reminded me of something we all tend to forget: CX is a business tool, not a business goal.
Here’s what I learned from our chat—and why more CX professionals should be willing to pause their next journey map and instead ask one question first: “Is the business truly ready to act?”
When Is a Journey Not Worth Doing?
Let’s start with the elephant in the room.
Rob was brutally honest about something most CX teams tiptoe around. If the business isn’t serious about solving the problem, they simply don’t start. Period.
Sound simple? It is. But it’s also radically different from how most CX teams work.
“We used to jump in whenever someone asked for help with a journey,” Rob told me.
“But often, the project would fade out halfway—no budget, no time, no execution.”
So they flipped it.
Before starting any journey project, they go into what they call the prepare phase. It’s not research, it’s not co-creation. It’s a tough, honest check-in with the business. What’s your goal? How big is the pain point? Will you prioritize it when the going gets tough?
If the answer is maybe, the journey doesn’t start.
Yes, even if the team is enthusiastic. Even if the insights are promising. Even if it would look great in a quarterly presentation.
Because enthusiasm doesn’t pay for execution. Priorities do.
Top-Down vs. CX-as-a-Service
This all became possible when PostNL made a fundamental shift: from bottom-up expert support to top-down transformation teams.
Before, the CX team was called in like a SWAT team: “Hey, we’re doing something with onboarding—can you help us map the journey?”
And yes, they created great maps. But those maps didn’t always lead to change.
Now? They start from business priorities set at the executive level. Journey teams get a clear mandate, including a defined budget, cross-functional staffing, and a commitment to bold moves—not just small optimizations.
And here’s the kicker: each journey team has a three-to-five-year scope. They’re not just fixing friction today. They’re designing the future.
Let that sink in.
We’re not talking about “how can we improve this email?” We’re talking, “what’s the ideal journey for this segment in 2028?” and then working backward to define the big, bold changes needed to get there.
So How Do You Know It’s Worth It?
Back to the million-euro question: how do you know if the business is actually ready?
Rob’s team asks two deceptively simple questions in the prepare phase:
Will this problem be prioritized—even if other sexy projects come along?
Will you say ‘yes’ to the hard decisions we need to make when we bring you back findings that cost time and money?
And if the answer isn’t an enthusiastic yes?
They don’t move forward.
It’s not cold or cynical. It’s kind to the organization. It’s kind to your team. Because nobody signs up to design change that never happens.
The CX Team That Builds, Not Just Maps
One of the most important shifts I heard in Rob’s story is this: their CX team doesn’t just analyze. They build.
That might sound obvious, but I know many CX teams that are stuck in what I call CX purgatory—forever mapping, presenting, inspiring… but never executing.
What PostNL did was embed functional leads in their journey teams. These are people who, after discovery and design, can take the bold moves back into their own IT, product or operations teams—and actually get them built.
“We design here, but we don’t build here,” Rob explained.
“So we made sure the builders were in the room from the start.”
No handovers. No translation errors. Just aligned ownership from day one.
My Favorite Example? Ask the Driver. Literally.
The most concrete case Rob shared made me smile—and nod vigorously.
Customers would often call customer service saying: “Hey, your app says my package is delivered, but… it’s nowhere to be found.”
Before, customer service had to open an investigation.
Now? The app lets the customer ask the driver directly.
“What happened at number 42?”
“Oh! I left it in the backyard behind the bins.”
Fast. Transparent. And brilliant in its simplicity.
What I loved most? It wasn’t just better for the customer. It improved driver satisfaction and reduced cost. A triple win.
And that’s not a one-off. That’s what happens when journey teams are grounded in real needs, business priorities, and execution reality.
So… What Can You Learn From This?
I often say: the problem with CX isn’t that we don’t care. It’s that we start in the wrong place.
We start with the customer.
Sounds weird, right? But if you start from insights without understanding the business need, you’re working against the current. Not with it.
Start with the business. Ask: “What are your top 3 problems?”
Then—and only then—bring in your CX toolkit.
Because when you position CX as the fastest, most effective way to solve their problem, you get traction. You get budget. You get execution.
You move from support to strategy.
Final Thoughts: The Courage to Say No
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from Rob’s story, it’s this:
Sometimes the most powerful CX move is to not start the project.
Not because you’re not ready. But because the organization isn’t.
And that’s okay.
What’s not okay is spending six months creating insights that die in a PowerPoint deck.
What’s not okay is burning out your team on change that never happens.
And what’s definitely not okay is pretending that mapping journeys is the same as delivering business value.
So take a breath. Check your prep. And ask the tough questions up front.
It might just save your CX team—and your credibility.
Want more examples like this? Or curious how to build your own journey factory?
That’s exactly the kind of work we dive into in the Academy and in our consulting programs. Let’s keep pushing this field forward—one bold move at a time.
