Have you ever asked yourself whether focusing on “journeys” really matters—especially if you’re an executive juggling growth metrics, employee engagement, and digital transformation? I get it. Sometimes “journey mapping” sounds like a buzzword or a trendy process that’s destined to fade. Yet, time and again, I’ve seen it work wonders in organizations around the globe, from changing how employees feel about their roles to boosting customer advocacy in a big way.
The Origins of a Customer Experience Passion
Before we dig into the nuts and bolts, here’s some context. My guest (and co-conversationalist) Joanna has this incredible backstory that brings multiple threads together—investment banking, journalism, consulting, and ultimately, years at Forrester helping organizations reshape themselves around customers. Why does that matter?
Because it shows that building a journey-centric culture isn’t about specialized jargon or expertise alone. It’s about understanding people, processes, and purpose all at once. In Joanna’s own words, “We realized digital transformation on its own wasn’t enough. We had to look at the entire customer experience.” I love that. It’s a powerful reminder that real transformation means seeing beyond just one function—like marketing, finance, or technology—and focusing on how humans truly interact with your brand.
Journey-Centricity vs. Traditional CX
Let’s start with a quick definition. Traditional CX often gets stuck in the weeds—focusing on metrics like NPS without tying them back to overarching strategy. As I see it, that’s “operational CX”: measure, tweak, repeat. It’s important, but it’s not transformational.
Journey-centricity is a step above. It’s about structuring your organization, people, processes, and culture around the real steps customers (and employees, and partners!) take to accomplish their goals. That’s where we see genuine transformation, because suddenly you’re not just patching holes in a siloed funnel—you’re reshaping the entire way your business thinks and acts.
Human-Centric by Nature
When we talk about “customer journeys,” we’re inevitably talking about human beings—why they do what they do, what blocks them, what excites them. The same process applies to employee journeys. After all, employees are humans, too. If we want to deliver a standout customer experience, we also have to design experiences where employees are equipped and empowered. That’s why journey-centricity is fundamentally people-focused. And that’s precisely why it’s such a beautiful synergy with human-centric leadership.
Why CEOs, CFOs, CHROs, and CIOs All Need This
You might be thinking: “Sure, but how does journey-centricity really connect to my role?” Let’s break it down:
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- Crafting a bold vision that truly resonates with customers’ core needs and aspirations. Journey-centricity paves a path to live up to that vision because it aligns everyone around human goals, not just business processes.
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
- Journey improvements aren’t just “feel-good” projects; they’re a proven way to reduce churn, increase cross-sell/upsell, and optimize internal costs. As Joanna pointed out, some of the biggest CX transformations have actually been led or sponsored by CFOs who grasp the ROI angle.
- Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
- Aligning employee journeys with customer journeys. If employees don’t have the right information, tools, or sense of purpose, that friction shows up in the customer experience. When you address both simultaneously, you see huge gains in engagement.
- Chief Information Officer (CIO)
- Tying journey-centricity to digital transformation ensures you’re not just “going digital,” but actually focusing on the human flow. Whether it’s self-service portals, chatbots, or data analytics, they all become infinitely more effective when guided by real customer and employee journeys.
From Vision to Reality: The Three Phases of Journey Transformation
One of the biggest questions leaders ask: “How do we actually get this off the ground?” Here’s a framework Joanna shared—the Activate, Connect, Extend model.
1. Activate
- Find a Sponsor & Evangelize
Maybe it’s a CFO, maybe it’s a head of marketing, maybe it’s you. Whoever it is, activate that initial energy. Paint a clear picture of why focusing on journeys matters. Show how it ties to your brand promise and business model. - Create Your Journey Atlas
This might be the single most practical step you can take. Map out, at a high level, the handful of critical journeys that define your customers’ or employees’ interactions with your organization. Resist the urge to list 200 journeys; keep it to about 10–20. Then choose two or three to focus on first—ones where you can quickly demonstrate value (think: “small wins”).
2. Connect
- Establish Cross-Functional Ownership
At this stage, the business (not just the CX team) needs to start feeling responsible for specific journeys. Often that means forming cross-functional “tiger teams” or even more permanent journey teams. It could be marketing + operations + IT + finance working together on a single journey. - Link Data & Processes
Journey-centric work thrives on real-time insights—so you’ll likely need to invest in a few tools and platforms. But it’s just as much about connecting people as it is about connecting data. Align (or “connect”) silos so everyone sees the big picture instead of clinging to departmental KPIs.
3. Extend
- Integrate with Your Broader Operating Model
By the time you reach this stage, journey-centricity isn’t a “program” or “pilot”—it’s an embedded way of working. You have a single prioritization forum that accounts for all major projects through the lens of journeys. You’re also exploring more sophisticated practices, like journey analytics or journey orchestration technology. - Scale Across Partners and Deeper into Employee Journeys
This is where you start reaping the full benefits. You can link partner journeys to customer journeys, making sure the entire ecosystem works seamlessly. You might also hone in on employee processes, removing manual tasks so they can focus on higher-value, human-centered work.
Celebrating Wins and Fostering Fun
I’ll admit, “transformation” can sound intimidating. But a huge part of making it successful is injecting playfulness and celebrating the journey itself. That might mean:
- Small Celebrations: Did a journey team reduce the time it takes for an employee to reset a password by 40%? Throw a mini party—virtually or in person—and celebrate that success.
- Experiential Learning: Take a page from Mercedes-Benz’s book and have teams experience exceptional service elsewhere—like visiting Tiffany’s or a top-tier hotel—to discover what genuine hospitality feels like.
- Storytelling: Recognize and share stories of where employees triumphed or solved real customer pain points. This not only boosts morale but also creates a sense of human connection across the company.
Why is fun so critical? It fosters playfulness, connection, and flow—the three ingredients that empower people to embrace change, keep learning, and push boundaries.
ROI: Why All This Is Worth It
If you ever need to convince a skeptic, just point to the measurable gains:
- Higher Customer Advocacy: By nurturing truly satisfying journeys, you earn customers’ trust and loyalty—leading to better retention, higher cross-sell, and natural word-of-mouth promotion.
- Cost Savings: Identifying and removing inefficiencies in the employee journey or the customer journey means reducing rework, friction, and redundant spending.
- Employee Engagement: When your people know why they’re doing what they’re doing—and how it ties to real customer outcomes—they’re more motivated, creative, and resilient.
That’s real business value. And if you’re a CFO reading this, you’ll be happy to know that many of the most successful journey-centric transformations started with a thorough business case—one that linked improvements to top-line growth and/or cost savings.
Where to Begin—Practical Tips
Let’s say you want to dip a toe into journey-centricity. Here are three quick wins:
- Map an Employee Journey First
If customer complexity feels overwhelming, start internally. For instance, map your onboarding journey. Make it human-friendly, reduce steps, streamline technology—whatever it takes to give your new hires an inspiring start. You’ll build a success story that can cascade into external customer journeys. - Co-Create & Experiment
Pick one micro-journey—a single pain point that employees or customers face—and form a small cross-functional team to tackle it. Gather data, design a fix, measure the result. Once you see positive change, celebrate and share what worked. - Align on Metrics & Goals
Sit down with your CFO or whoever controls the purse strings. Together, define what success looks like (e.g., a reduction in repeat calls, an increase in NPS for new product sign-ups). When everyone sees how improvements tie to real business results, alignment gets a lot easier.
Final Thoughts: One Journey at a Time
Yes, journey-centricity is a multi-year investment—it’s not a “one-and-done” project. But as you move from activate to connect to extend, you’ll start seeing tangible shifts in employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and overall financial performance. And that’s what makes it all worth it.
My hope is that more leaders see that transforming around journeys is about so much more than process. It’s about people. It’s about designing experiences where humans—customers and employees—thrive. The beautiful side effect? You create a culture of innovation and resilience that propels the entire organization forward.
So here’s to embracing the journey ahead! Let’s see if we can spread more seeds of positive change across the business world—one mapped experience at a time.
