Annie at SBI

07/16/2025

In SaaS, “this is our best” can sound like a finish line.
But what if it’s actually the starting point?
-Bonus post from the "this is our best" series

Whether you're in CS, Product, Sales, or Ops — we’ve all hit that moment where we know more is possible. But constraints get real:
➤ Bandwidth
➤ Skills
➤ Mindset
➤ Culture

As someone wired to find solutions (and raised to do it with empathy), I’ve had to learn: not every problem is mine to solve.

Sometimes, “their best” is all they’ve got — for now. So we get to choose:
⚖️ Coach with intention?
⚖️ Step back respectfully?

In high-growth SaaS, discernment is as critical as drive. The magic happens in knowing when to push — and when to pause.

How do you help overcome these moments in your organizations?

07/14/2025

When “this is our best” isn’t actually close — how do you respond?
🔹 Post 3/3 - For CSMs: The Individual Contributor Perspective

Do you push harder? Stay quiet? Try to fix it yourself?

As a CSM, it can be gut-wrenching to see a customer (or even an internal team) fall short of what you know is possible.

I’ve always been a fixer — I want to help, guide, optimize. But over time, I’ve learned that not everyone is ready to be coached. Sometimes, “their best” really is the limit of what they can give at that moment.

That doesn’t mean we stop caring — it means we start making intentional choices:

👉 Can I coach them through this without them feeling threatened or shame?
👉 Is this an opportunity to spark new thinking because I care about their success and not my own?
👉 Or is this a moment to accept, adapt, and move forward because it is not my responsibility to own?

Great CSMs balance ambition with empathy. It’s what makes us not just partners, but trusted advisors whether its with customers or internal team members.

07/11/2025

"When 'this is our best' isn’t even close — what do you do?"
Do you push? Do you pause? Do you walk away?
[-Post 2/3 from the "this is our best" series ]

I’m a fixer — a solutionist, if you will. I blame my dad for that relentless drive to make things better, but I thank my mom for teaching me to lead with empathy when doing it.

Maybe that’s why I’ve always been the kind of CSM and leader who refuses to settle for less than what’s possible.

That’s not to say it hasn’t blinded me at times — to progress, to unexpected brilliance, or to the value of letting someone fail forward.

But growth (and frankly, experience) sharpens your instincts. You spot red flags earlier. You realize that “meeting people where they are” is sometimes just recognizing that this really is their current best — based on what they know, what they’ve been taught, or what they have capacity for.

And that’s when the hard choice comes:

Will you step in and coach as an individual contributor? Or will you step back and accept that it’s not yours to fix? Or even let your leader to their job to coach or support?

Either choice is valid — as long as it’s intentional, right?

04/15/2025

It’s 4/15 — know what today is?

Sure, it’s Tax Day.
But did you also know it’s National Glazed Ham Day? 🍖😅

One of those brings joy. The other… well, let’s talk about that.

Today, I called my long-standing tax/accounting provider of 3+ years, expecting support for the service I’ve been paying for monthly.

Instead?
👉 I was redirected to a salesperson, not my accountant.
👉 Told they quietly changed providers at the start of the year — and never informed me.
👉 Then asked to pay an additional annual fee, upfront, to get help filing taxes I’ve technically already paid to have done.

When I asked what this new fee includes, the answer?

“We’ll do your taxes.”
That’s it. No added value, no explanation, no upgrade. Just... “your taxes done.”

Yikes.

It got me thinking — what if your customers were treated like that?
Imagine:

🔁 Transitions without communication
📉 Service changes without context
💸 Price hikes with zero value articulation

That’s why customer transitions matter — whether it’s: ✔️ Onboarding to adoption
✔️ A handoff from one CSM to another
✔️ Updates to pricing or packaging

And most importantly: 🔍 Customers at different lifecycle stages require different care — and communication.

The irony? Turns out I do still qualify for full service. But the experience left me questioning the entire relationship.

So if you want to actually celebrate the better holiday today…

🎉 Head over to Stefano's Golden Baked Hams in

You might not love doing your taxes — but at least you’ll love lunch. 😅

02/25/2025

💡 Hard Questions Drive Real Growth 💡

In L&D for Customer Success and SaaS, we often focus on upskilling teams, driving customer outcomes, and adapting to change—but are we asking ourselves the right questions?

The latest Offbeat article challenges L&D professionals to reflect deeply with 21 tough questions that push beyond surface-level learning strategies. And in CS, SaaS, and customer training, these questions are more relevant than ever:

🔹 Are we measuring success in ways that truly matter—beyond completion rates?
🔹 Are we equipping teams to drive customer outcomes rather than just knowledge retention?
🔹 Are we helping organizations evolve with scalable, impactful learning—not just checking the box on training?

💭 In my own experience, I’ve seen the gap between training and real impact. It’s not about rolling out more courses—it’s about embedding learning into the business strategy, customer journey, and revenue growth.

🧐 If you’re in Customer Success, SaaS, or L&D, ask yourself:
✅ Are we creating learning experiences that help CS teams drive retention, expansion, and customer health?
✅ Are we developing skills that evolve with the industry (AI, automation, and consultative CS)?
✅ Are we aligning training with company-wide business goals?

👉 Check out the full list of questions in this article and challenge yourself to go beyond traditional L&D: 🔗 https://www.offbeat.works/post/21-hard-questions-l-ds-should-ask-themselves?ref=edufellowship.com

💬 What’s one hard question you’ve asked yourself recently that has shaped your approach to learning and development? Let’s discuss! ⬇️

&D

Questions L&D professionals should ask about the future.

02/14/2025

💖 Chalk it up to tradition, but candy hearts are a staple this time of year.

If Customer Success roles had their own conversation hearts to pass out, here’s what they’d say:

💡 Chief Customer Officer (CCO): "BIG LOVE" → Because they set the vision for maximizing customer value and revenue.

🌱 Director of CS: "KEEP GROWING" → Scaling teams, refining processes, and ensuring continuous improvement.

💙 Customer Success Manager (CSM): "HERE 4 U" → The trusted advisor who ensures customers achieve their goals.

💕 Renewals Manager or those owning renewals: "STAY MINE" → Focused on keeping customers engaged and renewing year after year.

🔧 Technical Account Manager (TAM): "FIX IT FAST" → The behind-the-scenes hero ensuring seamless integrations and technical success.

But here’s the twist—Customer Success isn’t just a department. It’s a company-wide mindset. For everyone in Product, Sales, Marketing, RevOps, Support, and beyond, your candy heart might say:

💡 "YOU MATTER" → Because every team plays a role in customer retention, adoption, and satisfaction.

So, what’s YOUR CS candy heart conversation like? Drop it in the comments! 🍬👇

02/04/2025

There are days I still pinch myself that I get to combine my three loves for service, education, and technology into one.

Conferences like The Customer Conference and leading sessions like our super abridged, interactive Customer Journey Mapping Workshop, are in short life-giving.

🛎️ The service side of me is the Disney/Hospitality side, striving to build an experience that excites, entices, and ignites each person in the room to explore, expand and go beyond even their own expectations.

🍎 The education side of me leads with the heart of a teacher, not a lecturer or dictator. Someone who supports inquiry, curiosity , safety in healthy debates, and room for reflection.

👩‍💻 The technology side of me is the nerd, learning new systems, tools, and since I love puzzles, the ability to find connections between pieces laid out in front of me.

I am truly honored to be a position and place in my life to do all three.

Thank you TCC and Growth Molecules for the opportunity and support to grow and learn in a community I love so dear.

Till next time, love you !

01/21/2025

I will be co-leading an interactive workshop in next week, joining some incredible speakers and guests in the and community space for the 1st Success Conference of 2025!

Join me and Emilia on January 30th. Will we see you there?

More details about the event & how to get a discount ⬇️ !

01/21/2025

I had the honor of joining episode 18 of Vitally.io’s One Vital Question, amongst five other leaders answering “What's the biggest mistake you made early in your CS career?"

Boy did I make a few - like we all do and it truly is the only way to learn and grow professionally.

This episode also features...Melissa Garcia, Alex Turkovic, Laura Kightlinger, Emily Garza, and Gozde Gorce who are extroadinary professionals in the CS community.

🎥 Watch it now: https://buff.ly/42o3gMv

Share what mistake 𝘺𝘰𝘶 learned from early in your career - I'd love to hear your lessons learned.

12/14/2024

“Disagree and Commit” ⚖️

I quoted this in 2017 as employee 33 of an edtech startup up I joined in 2012 - a soulmate job/company that till this day truly set my standard for organizations I wanted to be part of moving forward and who I wanted to be as a professional.

We were at that point of growth and maturity that is very natural and equally as sensitive to preserving culture while keeping our mission and values alive. Change was eminent and necessary to achieve our goals of forging bigger impact our customers (ie students and teachers).

But with change and growth, comes really hard conversations. Really hard. And overtime, you may have to a moment especially as leaders in deciding to “disagree and commit”.

For growing company there is only so much conversation, planning and talking it through while also hearing advice, perspectives and collecting feedback, before you actual have to commit to a decision and give it a try. This is that 80-20 rule.

While you may have a difference of opinion or disagree, at some point you’ve got to commit to the change and trust those in your organization. Commit to the plan and be open for greatness.

❌If you don’t, you’ll be part of the change management cycle where emotions of resistance will only hold the team/org back from growth. And now you’re part of the problem.

✅ If you do, you’ll be part of the change management cycle where the team emotionally may be hesitant but they’re more willing to explore and be open to it. Now, you’re part of the process and solution.

So, while you may disagree, choose to commit to the plan. Because when you go all in with people you trust 🔑 , regardless if you disagree, good things tend to happen. 💫