Aug. 28, 2023

Ep.149 CIO Playbook: Proactive Strategies for Customer Service Success

Ep.149 CIO Playbook: Proactive Strategies for Customer Service Success
The Public Sector Show by TechTables
Ep.149 CIO Playbook: Proactive Strategies for Customer Service Success

Show Notes
Featuring John Fowler, CIO, and Kenny Wright, Chief Process Improvement Officer at the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation, and Darrell Tompkins, CIO, Texas Water Development Board

🔗 Connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-fowler-1182926b/

🔗 Connect with Kenny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenny-wright-a50990a3/

🔗 Connect with Darrell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrell-tompkins-0992132/


🎙 About the episode

In honor of our Live Podcast Tour taking place during the NCAA Final Four Tournament in Houston, we were curious about whether, like Tournament-winning coaches, CIOs also have go-to plays and strategies to help them win in the technology end-user service game. John, Kenny, and Darrell opened up their playbooks to share with our listeners a bit about how they coach their teams to best serve their communities of reach, including:

  • The tip-off: Customer-Centric Approach
  • Under-the-basket inbound play: Anticipating Customer Needs
  • “Sub!”: The importance of change management
  • Half-time locker room talk: Long-Term Vision to win
  • Full-court press: Vendor Partnership Qualities
  • And more!

🎙 Q&A Highlights

  • 19:07 Meg Hare, Accenture
  • 22:50 Joe Toste, TechTables
  • 27:59 Kindra Allen, Deloitte


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