Two comedians are interviewing for a job at a comedy club. The first comedian tells the owner how funny he is and how often the audience laughs at his jokes. The second comedian tells the owner a really funny joke. Who do you think got the job?

It has been about 12 years since Dr. Fred Reichheld wrote his original article in the Harvard Business Review entitled The One Number You Need to Grow, which later led to an entire book on the topic. This seminal work has had a profound and lasting impact on the CX industry.

If someone traveled in time from 1956 to visit us today, they would be convinced the world had contracted a virulent form of contagious schizophrenia. Everyone is talking to objects rather than people. Today we talk with our cars, hand held devices, and even appliances. What would send our 1950s fedora festooned time traveler over the edge? When they talk back.