Mercenary vs freshman. Choosing the right talent for success

AI & Data Driven Leadership podcast. Richard Blank: Episode 9 - Empathy Over Algorithms: The Future of Customer Service In this episode of AI & Data Driven Leadership, Dean Guida speaks to the President and Bilingual Telemarketer Trainer of Costa Rica's contact Center, Richard Blank. Richard emphasizes the irreplaceable value of human empathy and effective communication in customer interactions. He shares insights on hiring practices, training methods, and the importance of building client relationships. Richard also discusses balancing technology with the human touch, noting that while AI can streamline processes, genuine human connection remains essential. Richard highlights strategies for maintaining high-quality customer service and the significance of empathy in the digital age. The AI & Data Driven Leadership Podcast offers a platform for leaders like you to share your experiences and strategies with a dedicated audience of business professionals and fellow executives from around the world. If you lead a company with at least 30 professional employees, we invite you to join us and share how data-driven decision-making has helped you solve complex problems, align strategic goals, and foster growth within your organization. Each episode of AI & Data Driven Leadership is a celebration of leadership, innovation, and the data-driven tactics that are driving the future of business. We bring forward stories of success and lessons learned from industry leaders who have navigated today’s most pressing challenges and turned them into opportunities for growth. https://youtu.be/suG9Kod45DI Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ AI & Data Driven Leadership, Dean Guida, Richard Blank, Costa Rica's contact Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing contact Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,contact centre, contact centre, contact center,trend, trending Dean Guida Tech entrepreneur and CEO Dean Guida knows there’s a limit to what you can build with grit alone. At sixteen, Dean bought the first IBM PC and fell in love with writing software. He went on to receive a bachelor of science degree in operation research from the University of Miami. After graduating, he was a freelance developer and wrote many systems for IBM and on Wall Street. At twenty-three, he started Infragistics to build UX/UI tools for professional software developers. Seemingly overnight, Dean had to go from early internet coder to business operator—a feat that forced him to learn some of business’s biggest lessons on the job. He immediately began navigating the nuances of scaling a company, hiring and growing teams, and becoming a leader, a manager, and a mentor. Fast-forward thirty-six years, and Dean’s tech company now has operations in six countries. More than two million developers use Infragistics software, and its client roster boasts 100 percent of the S&P 500, including Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Exxon, Intuit, and Bank of America. With over 35 years of experience as a CEO and founder, I am passionate about empowering developers and businesses to build and style immersive user experiences and rich data visualization across all platforms. I lead Infragistics, the world leader in user interface development tools and an expert in user-centered design with a global presence and a loyal customer base. Through my upcoming book "When Grit is Not Enough" and Slingshot, I want to help entrepreneurs/CEOs create agile, data driven learning organizations and win against large funded companies. Ready to take your business to the next level? This book is for you. As an entrepreneur growing your business, how will you respond when things don’t go as planned? How do you keep up with constant technology shifts? How do you successfully scale your teams and strategy as you scale your product? When Grit Is Not Enough is a tactical playbook that has answers to these questions and more. Its lessons show you how to create a strong culture of organizational learning and agility and build high-performing and engaged teams who will thrive in our ever-changing world. This road map will empower you to compete—and win—against heavily funded and resourced competitors. Author and tech CEO Dean Guida, who took his company from a startup to a thriving multinational business, knows well that entrepreneurial grit can only get you so far. Packed with his knowledge from more than three decades of operating in an unforgiving marketplace, When Grit Is Not Enough covers a wide range of topics. Dean Guida - When Grit is not enough The book covers a wide range of topics, including: Creating organizational alignment Setting meaningful measurements and goals Building a data-driven culture Creating a Learning Organization Strategic planning Leadership and coaching Having tough conversations Hiring and retaining valuable team members If you’re an entrepreneur whose hard work and grit have gotten your business off the ground and ready for the next stage, this book will get you there, enhancing your chances of success, happiness, and accomplishment with your company and journey in life. Richard’s journey in the contact center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger contact centers in San Jose. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s contact Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America contact center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. We encourage you to visit one of our contact centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why contact center