3 Great Books for Service Leaders from the Service Council Executive Symposium

Service leaders and industry innovators gathered in Chicago for the 2024 Smarter Services Executive Symposium. The event focused on how organizations blend human interaction with technology to reshape customer service.

Among the many great takeaways, a few must-read book recommendations stood out. Whether you're diving into AI, customer experience, or leadership, these books offer valuable insights to help you stay ahead in the industry. Here's a quick overview of the top three recommendations shared during the event.

The Digital Transformation Roadmap

If you're wondering how your business can stay ahead in a world where technology evolves faster than ever, The Digital Transformation Roadmap by David Rogers is a must-read.

Surveys show that 70% of DX efforts are failing. Rogers offers lessons from these failures and provides a practical roadmap for joining the 30% of businesses that are succeeding.

In his book, Rogers examines the biggest barriers to DX success and provides a five-step guide to overcoming them. Alongside case studies from giants like Disney, Mastercard, GE, and John Deere, this book provides practical strategies for transforming your business.

What is Digital Transformation (DX) and why it matters

Rogers defines DX as "Transforming an established business to thrive in a world of constant digital change." DX means using digital tools across all parts of your business. It's not just about adopting new tools—it's about rethinking how your business operates, how you serve your customers, and how you stay competitive.

As Rogers puts it, "Transformation is the rule, not the exception." He highlights that businesses must be flexible and forward-thinking or risk falling behind and seeing their industries disrupted by new, digital-native companies. Focus on solving business problems. The technology will follow.

The biggest barriers to DX success

Rogers outlines five key barriers that companies often struggle with:

• No shared vision: Without a clear, unified vision, DX efforts are scattered and lack focus.
• No growth priorities: Companies often focus on tech for tech's sake, losing sight of what drives growth.
• No focus on experimentation: Over-planning and playing it safe can kill innovation.
• No flexibility in governance: Rigid processes make it hard to pivot and take advantage of new opportunities.
• No change in capabilities: Sticking with outdated systems and skills keeps businesses from truly evolving.

The roadmap to success

There is no simple list of steps or steps that every company can use. Your company has a history, strengths, and challenges that belong to you alone. Each company will have its starting point and path to digital transformation. However, there are some common blockers every company will need to overcome.

Rogers has developed a framework of five steps that will help you chart your path to success using DX.

• Define a shared vision that everyone in the organization can rally around.
• Focus on the biggest business problem you need to solve.
• Test new ideas and learn what works through experimentation.
• Manage growth strategically as your company adapts to the digital age.
• Grow tech talent and culture so your team can keep up with the pace of change.

Servitization Strategy

Servitization Strategy by Tim Baines, Ali Ziaee Bigdeli, and Kawal Kapoor, is a practical guide on how to shift from traditional product-based business models to service-oriented ones. The authors provide a comprehensive framework on how businesses can adopt Servitization to create more value by focusing on outcomes rather than just selling products.

Through examples like Goodyear's Proactive Solutions and Rolls-Royce's Power-by-the-Hour, the book illustrates how advanced service contracts, like Outcome-Based Contracts (OBC), can drive business growth.

What is Servitization?

The authors define Servitization as "…Transforming a
firm to also complete through offering 'outcomes' to customers." You don't just deliver the product itself—you deliver outcomes through things like ongoing support or maintenance and performance guarantees to ensure the product performs as expected over time. This approach helps you build stronger, long-term customer relationships by focusing on the results they value, not just the initial transaction.

The importance of outcome-based thinking

The book's core concept is moving beyond just selling products to providing solutions that deliver customer-centric outcomes. This shift isn't just a transition but a transformation of how companies deliver value. The authors argue that products hold little value unless they help customers achieve the desired results.

Outcome-based thinking (OBT) helps you set goals and measure success based on the desired impact rather than the actions taken to achieve them. As the authors said, "You might focus on making it and moving it, but the customer only gets value from using it!"

Advanced services

The authors present Advanced Services as a crucial strategy for companies to stand out in a competitive landscape. These services go beyond traditional maintenance or support—they provide long-term service agreements that ensure a specific outcome for your customers.

A key example is Goodyear's Proactive Solutions, which offers ongoing monitoring of tire conditions to prevent downtime and ensure optimal performance for its customers. This shift toward offering measurable outcomes allows businesses to create ongoing value and differentiate themselves in a competitive market.

Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues, and Everyone Else You Meet

Uplifting Service by Ron Kaufman is an actionable guide for creating a sustainable service culture. Kaufman challenges the idea that delivering good service is only about customer interactions. Instead, he believes that exceptional service must be ingrained in the company's DNA, transcending every department and function.

In his book, Kaufman shares a five-step framework that you can follow to begin delighting customers with your service.

Step 1: why

The foundation of any service culture begins with understanding the why. Ask yourself why you want to improve your service. This reflection leads to clear, well-defined goals that align with your mission and values.

Step 2: lead

In the Lead step, Kaufman highlights the importance of leadership at all levels, not just at the top. He explains, "True service leadership means creating an environment where every member of the team can lead—from the top down, from the bottom up, and from every position in the org."

Empower your employees to take the initiative to deliver great service by prioritizing service in every interaction, whether with customers or colleagues.

Step 3: build

Every organization is unique, but they all share common service-related challenges. During this step, you'll construct a strong foundation for service by addressing weaknesses and leveraging strengths. This involves identifying key areas for improvement and strategically prioritizing them.

Step 4: learn

Learning is essential for sustaining an uplifting service culture. In the Learn step, Kaufman advocates for practical service education programs that engage employees and encourage them to adopt service-focused mindsets.

Kaufman argues that reading about service isn't enough—employees need to learn to think and act in ways that continually create value. "It’s a curiosity to listen intently to appreciate others, a commitment to taking action and creating value.”

Step 5: drive

The final step is all about momentum. Kaufman explains that successful service cultures are driven by leaders committed to ongoing improvement. They keep their teams motivated, steering their organization forward through enthusiasm and a relentless focus on service goals.

These three books offer more than advice; they provide actionable strategies to help you stay ahead in the changing service landscape. Whether you're focusing on digital transformation, shifting to outcome-based services, or building a service-driven culture, these insights can help you take the next step. 

Circuitry.ai and digital transformation and servitization

Circuitry.ai enables manufacturers to accelerate the journey of digital transformation Servitization, and elevation of customer experience with decision intelligence to improve quality, consistency, and velocity of high-impact and repeat decisions in service. Circuitry.ai’s mission is to optimize sales, service, and customer outcomes for discrete manufacturers of complex products with decisions powered by.

Contact Us now to schedule a demo and learn how you can enable your service teams to deliver superior customer service. You can also get a digital version of one of the three books, compliments of Circuitry.ai, if you schedule a demo with us.