Speak up, think differently

The fix for churn often starts with planning If renewals are slipping or upsell feels stuck, most founders look straight at tools or performance. But in most cases I’ve seen, the real problem is time – and how it’s being used. When I first assess a CS function, I’m not just looking at performance. I’m looking at how they work week-to-week. The biggest gap? No plan. No rhythm. Just noise. Instead, they’re reacting. Waiting for the inbox to fill. Handling support queries. Too s

Why structure needs to come before headcount Most teams I speak to don’t have a hiring problem. They’ve just not had a chance to get clear on what the role really needs to do. We’ve seen it time and again: A founder starts scaling. Pressures build. Someone suggests hiring a Customer Success Manager. The job goes live before anyone stops to ask: “What will they actually be doing all day?” Three months in, they’re chasing support tickets, plugging onboarding gaps, and nowhere n

Why structure beats speed when you’re scaling Hiring before structure is the fastest way to burn money and morale. We see it all the time — growth ramps up, pressure builds, and the instinct is to hire fast. But if you don’t know what the role’s actually for, that new hire ends up firefighting. Not driving value. Here are three things to get clear on first: What do your customers really need right now? Don’t default to hiring for renewals if the real risk is earlier. You migh

Most CS teams aren’t short on time – they’re short on planning One of the simplest but most overlooked fixes for Customer Success performance is planning. If your CSMs can’t tell you who they’re prioritising this week, or what conversations they’re leading – they’re probably working reactively. That’s not their fault. But it is a problem. Too many teams wait for the inbox or phone to light up, rather than stepping back and taking control of the week ahead. The ‘portfolio view

You can’t scale if your team is stuck absorbing noise One of the quickest ways to diagnose a struggling Customer Success team is to look at how they’re spending their time. You might think they’re focused on renewals, proactive outreach or driving adoption – but more often, they’re buried in repetitive support, patching process gaps, or firefighting issues that shouldn't be theirs to solve. The question isn’t “are they busy?” It’s “are they busy with the right things?” Cost-b

Most CS teams are being measured on the wrong things If your Customer Success team’s performance looks off, don’t assume they need more...