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Joseph Michelli

Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., CSP

Joseph Michelli, Ph.D., is a best-selling leadership and customer experience author, psychologist, and organizational consultant. He’s best known for helping organizations turn human connection into a measurable competitive advantage.

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Price range

  • $22,500
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Expert

  • Business Growth
  • Customer Service
  • Empowerment
  • Innovation
  • Leadership
  • Profitability
  • Sales
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  • About
    Joseph brings something most customer experience consultants can’t offer: the perspective of a Clinical and Systems Psychologist. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and spent years studying how human behavior, emotional connection, and operational design shape the experiences organizations deliver.
    Drawing on this background as a Clinical and Systems Psychologist, Joseph can help your organization understand why service initiatives stall, why culture gaps persist despite training investments, and what it takes to build consistency across your team and customer journeys.
    Joseph helps brands integrate high-tech efficiency with the high-touch human connections that drive long-term loyalty and referrals.
    Author, Advisor, and Global Thought Leader: Joseph is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek #1 bestselling author of thirteen books on leadership, customer experience, and service excellence. His insights have influenced leaders and organizations around the world and are frequently cited across business, healthcare, hospitality, and service-driven industries.
    He holds the Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) designation, is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) through the National Speakers Association and has been recognized by Global Gurus as a Top Customer Experience Thought Leader. His work has been featured in Forbes, Customer Experience Update, and Fit Small Business. He delivered a TEDx talk in Sarasota and serves on the Forbes Coaches Council.
    His consulting, speaking, and research continue to focus on helping leaders translate strategy into behavior, so culture shows up consistently where it matters most for your organization.
  • Video Clips
  • Topics

    Keynote | Educational | Technical | Motivational

    Based on Joseph’s book All Business Is Personal, this keynote reveals how the most admired organizations win by pairing human connection with operational discipline. Joseph explains that memorable experiences happen when leaders and teams create personal bonds and design processes that deliver consistently. He explores how technology and AI can augment—not replace—human service, enabling teams to anticipate needs, simplify transactions and free up time for genuine connection. Attendees leave with actionable ideas to build cultures where emotional connection and operational excellence work hand in hand to drive loyalty, referrals and long‑term growth.

    Keynote | Educational | Technical | Motivational

    Within days of COVID-19 disrupting the business world, Dr. Michelli began asking senior leaders at major companies about their specific challenges and how they were meeting them, getting raw yet thoughtful real-time insights into the greatest business crisis in generations. In this presentation, Dr. Michelli shares the invaluable wisdom and practical insights from 150+ top global business leaders on all aspects of leading through and beyond COVID, including crisis management, keeping employees and customers safe, maintaining a culture of engagement, rapidly innovating, and more. In this highly customized presentation, Dr. Michelli will provide winning leadership methods based on his conversations with Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, United Way, RBC, Verizon, Southwest Airlines, Goldman Sachs, and H&R Block.

    Keynote | Educational | Technical | Motivational

    In 2007, the founders of Airbnb had a roommate move out of their San Francisco apartment. To pay rent, they placed air mattresses in a spare room and created a website where they listed the sleeping space. Within a decade, the company was valued at 38 billion dollars. In this presentation, Dr. Michelli outlines the process of creating a 21st-century customer experience that is technology-aided and human-powered. He offers tools for disrupting or averting disruption by creating customer belonging, designing for trust, and maximizing team member and customer empowerment.

    Keynote | Educational | Technical | Motivational

    Many businesses were not created on a customer experience or customer service foundation. They started from a founder’s passion for a given product or industry. These types of businesses might have innovative products, operational excellence, and even great marketing. However, they often lack a consistent and emotionally engaging customer experience that lives up to their product quality. In Driven to Delight, Dr. Michelli looks at how an iconic brand with the motto “best or nothing” set sights on being one of the world’s best customer experience providers. Moving from the middle of the pack among luxury automobile manufacturers on customer satisfaction surveys toward levels that rival a brand like The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, leaders at Mercedes-Benz USA created a compelling transformational vision while aligning and mobilizing people, processes, and technology. If you are on a cultural journey to be Driven to Delight, this message will inform and resonate!

    Keynote | Educational | Technical | Motivational

    Let’s assume you have an engaged workforce and a consistent experience that drives staff and customer loyalty. How will you sustain and build on that success? For example, how does your business remain relevant to your existing customers while continually developing products that attract diverse customer segments? In Leading the Starbucks Way, Dr. Michelli touches upon key drivers that led to Starbucks’ meteoric success. He also emphasizes actionable takeaways born from the wisdom of Starbucks leaders as they leverage technology, mobilize the interpersonal connection through social media, expand offerings into the consumer product goods space, and increase sustainability and global relevance. If you are looking for lasting success built on a passion for product and people, Leading the Starbucks Way is for you.

    Breakout | Educational | Technical | Motivational

    Culture, culture, culture! This presentation highlights tools that have created a rich and unorthodox service culture at Zappos. Against all odds, this online business (known primarily for selling shoes in playful and emotionally engaging ways) has revolutionized social media strategies, developed an environment that has earned it a consistent spot in the top ten of Fortune magazine’s best places to work, created zealous fans, and attracted Amazon.com as a purchaser for more than $1.2 billion. In this keynote or workshop, Dr. Michelli outlines the five principles leaders, and frontline workers can use to “zappify” enduring success (Serve a Perfect Fit, Make it Effortlessly Swift, Step Into the Personal, S T R E T C H, and Play to Win). It’s time to integrate (not balance) work and fun. It’s time to benefit from the unique and effective employee and customer engagement techniques of Zappos!

  • Testimonials
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    “Joseph Michelli is the most powerful change agent I have ever encountered. Following his Starbucks book, he spoke to our management group. I knew immediately that I needed more of Joseph’s influence in our organization.”

    Oracle Health David F.
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    “From the very beginning, Joseph was easy to work with and intentional about understanding who we are—our mission, culture, and values. He shared his presentation in advance and actively sought our insights and input. The result was a keynote that elevated our conference, energized our leaders, and left a lasting impact on our organization.”

    Western States Lodging and Management Marshall P.
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    “Joseph brings a rare combination of deep expertise, humility, and energy. He connects with audiences instantly and leaves them inspired to take action.”

    Pandora Jewelry Scott B.
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    “Joseph understands people, teams, and culture at a level few speakers do. His work has shaped how we lead and how we care for those we serve.”

    Renewal by Andersen Jeanne J.
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    “One of the key experts I turned to for insights throughout the years was Joseph Michelli, a consultant to and writer of numerous books on some of the world’s most beloved brands. Joseph has spoken for us at our large regional meetings and helped us achieve human-centric success. He has an extraordinary ability to translate complex challenges into simple, powerful actions. He elevates performance wherever he goes.”

    Amazon One Medical Amir D.
Joseph understands people, teams, and culture at a level few speakers do. His work has shaped how we lead and how we care for those we serve.
Renewal by Andersen Jeanne J.