Lagging and leading elements are used to track and measure as key performance indicators (KPIs). Lagging indicators reflect past performance, while leading indicators predict future performance.  Together, they provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s progress towards its goals 3 4 .

Customer A faces cultural and process barriers to adoption. The cultural barrier arises from the employees’ long-standing familiarity with the personalized service, which may make them resistant to a self-serve model.  The process barrier is related to the established procedures and routines around the old meeting booking system, which employees may find challenging to change

Two barriers to adoption within an organization are inadequate knowledge and skills, and organizational silos. Inadequate knowledge and skills refer to the lack of necessary training or expertise among employees to effectively use a new solution.  Organizational silos occur when different departments or groups within an organization do not share information or collaborate effectively, which can hinder the adoption of new solutions across the organization

Payroll is considered an operating expense (OPEX) because it is a cost incurred in the normal course of business operations.  Operating expenses include day-to-day costs such as rent, equipment, marketing, payroll, insurance, and funds allocated for research and development

To ensure successful adoption of new technology, it is crucial to assess end-user readiness, identify any skill gaps, and provide targeted training. This ensures that all users are equipped to utilize the new technology effectively. References: Adoption frameworks within Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation that recommend assessing end-user capabilities and providing training to bridge any gaps.

Risk management is critical to reducing exposure to security events. It involves identifying, assessing, and controlling threats to an organization’s capital and earnings.  Effective risk management ensures that the company can navigate security challenges successfully.  References : Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation 1 .

A lagging indicator is a metric that reflects the success or failure after an event has occurred.  In the context of customer success, an increase in the net promoter score (NPS) is a lagging indicator because it measures customer sentiment after they have experienced the product or service. 

During onboarding, the most important metric for a Customer Success Manager to uncover is the value that the customer expects to derive from the solution. References: Onboarding best practices that emphasize the importance of understanding and delivering value to the customer.

After successful customer value realization, it is important to identify lessons learned and explore ways to shorten engagement time for future projects. This helps in refining the process and delivering value more efficiently. References: Continuous improvement processes within the Customer Success framework emphasize learning from each engagement to enhance future performance.

The value proposition of customer success for customers is the reduced time to value.  Customer success initiatives aim to help customers achieve their desired outcomes faster and more efficiently, thereby reducing the time it takes for them to realize value from their investment 1 .