Your culture starts every morning

When Crystal D’Cunha walks into a leadership team, she doesn’t bring magic wands or buzzwords—she brings daily huddles, DEI-infused training, and a firm belief that culture isn’t a statement on a wall. It’s what your people do before 9 a.m.

Crystal is the founder of The Inside View, host of Leaders Listen Up, and creator of an award-winning Leadership Experience Excellence program that beat out IBM and Pepsi. She joined Jochem van der Veer to unpack the difference between service and experience, how to train leaders who didn’t grow up in CX, and why transformation starts small—like, eight minutes small.

CX is not a department. It’s how you send the invoice.

One of Crystal’s core beliefs: customer experience is everyone’s job—even (especially) accounting. She tells the story of a construction client who unknowingly tanked CSAT scores just by sending invoices Friday afternoons. The timing clashed with the customer’s emotional high of a finished renovation, creating unnecessary friction.

The solution wasn’t a new system. It was awareness, coaching, and bringing every team into the CX fold. “CX leaders should shine a light on every department,” she says. “So people understand how they impact the customer, even if they never talk to one.”

Most leaders weren’t trained for this. That’s the problem.

Too often, leaders are promoted based on tenure or technical skill—not because they’re wired to develop people or understand CX. Crystal’s training fills those gaps by starting with foundational concepts—like the difference between service (a task) and experience (a feeling).

She teaches the language of journey mapping, agile mindsets, and customer-centricity. And she does it with intention: so leaders don’t just “support” CX from the sidelines, but actively coach and contribute to it.

The most powerful tool in her playbook? The daily huddle.

Forget fancy platforms. Crystal’s secret weapon is an eight-minute daily meeting. Leadership teams hold one first, then each team leader runs their own version. It’s fast, focused, and designed to spotlight values in action, celebrate wins, and tackle blockers.

Over time, the culture changes. Employees start chasing great stories to share. Leaders get a real-time read on morale. And most importantly, CX isn’t a strategy document—it’s something people live out loud every day.

Want accountability? Show up.

The huddle also exposes who’s really in. Crystal’s seen execs lose their roles simply because they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) commit to the kind of culture transformation they signed up for. “You can’t provide a Disney-level experience if you’ve never felt it,” she says. “And if you’re not willing to show up for your team, they won’t show up for your customers.”

That’s why Crystal doesn’t just ignite CX plans—she ignites people. Leaders who truly commit start dedicating hours every week to coaching, creating space for employees, and removing friction internally. Then the external results follow: higher retention, referral rates, and revenue.

Small wins build trust—and momentum.

Crystal doesn’t sell five-year roadmaps. She helps teams define what success looks like in six months and then makes sure they get there. Whether it’s setting up a cross-functional huddle, redefining a customer journey with empathy, or piloting “take a chance” meetings where teams share and learn from failed experiments—progress is the goal, not perfection.

This episode flips the script on how culture, leadership, and CX actually work together—and why changing how your team talks in the morning might just change everything else.

Catch the full episode:
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