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Leveraging The Four Workarounds in Customer Service

Paulo Savaget, Entrepreneurial Engineer, Author of The Four Workarounds, and Professor at Oxford

We constantly encounter complex problems at home, in our places of work, and in society at large. Even if we had all the time and money in the world, sometimes no good solution can be found. So, what should we do, especially when we can’t wait? The answer: a workaround.

For ages, global corporations have been lecturing small organizations on how to get things done. As it turns out, it should have been the other way around. In this presentation, award-winning researcher Paulo Savaget will show how the most valuable lessons about problem-solving can be learned from the scrappiest groups.

Savaget will draw most of his examples from small organizations that have proved themselves adept at achieving massive wins with minimal resources. Through his research, Savaget identified the four workarounds that these groups commonly employ: the piggyback, the loophole, the roundabout, and the next best. With vivid and fascinating examples, he will demonstrate how each one works and how to know which one to use when. These lessons can revolutionize the ways we approach the challenges we encounter every day.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how to achieve major impact by creatively navigating obstacles with limited resources.
• Understand the Four Workarounds, and when to apply each effectively.
• Rethink Problem Ownership by understanding why innovation and agility often flourish in scrappy environments.

Paulo Savaget

Entrepreneurial Engineer, Author of The Four Workarounds, and Professor
Oxford

Paulo Savaget is an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford, jointly appointed to the Department of Engineering Science and the Saïd Business School. His work focuses on entrepreneurship, systems change, and innovation management, particularly in addressing complex sustainability challenges such as poverty, climate change, and global value chains. With a PhD from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Scholar, Paulo brings a systems-thinking approach to transforming unjust and unsustainable systems, especially under conditions of urgency and resource scarcity. He previously held roles as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Assistant Professor at Durham University.

Beyond academia, Paulo has worked as an entrepreneur and consultant for corporations, governments, and international organizations. He is the author of the award-winning book The Four Workarounds and has received numerous accolades, including the IBM Business of Government Award and the Green Talents Award. Passionate about bridging theory and practice, Paulo actively collaborates with practitioners to co-develop solutions that drive real-world impact.

Creating Value Through Interconnected Experiences

Aarthi Murali, Customer Experience Leader

In today’s rapidly changing world, delivering excellent customer experiences requires more than front-line excellence; it demands an organization-wide approach that connects every part of the business. In this session, Aarthi Murali will share how interconnected experiences can create meaningful value for customers, employees, and communities alike. She will explore how breaking down silos, democratizing data, and aligning teams around a shared purpose builds a strong customer-centric culture. Participants will hear how empowering employees with real-time insights cultivates empathy and drives decisions that positively impact customers. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for unifying their organizations to create seamless, human-centered experiences. Join this session to learn practical strategies for weaving interconnected experiences into the fabric of your business.

Key session takeaways

• Interconnected experiences unify customer, employee, and community value into one strategy.
• Democratizing customer data empowers employees to act with empathy and purpose.
• Breaking down silos builds a customer-first culture across every touchpoint.

Aarthi Murali

Customer Experience Leader

Aarthi Murali is an award-winning customer experience executive. As EVP at Holman, a leading automotive and fleet management provider, she shaped their customer engagement strategy and led transformation across its fleet businesses.

With 20+ years in the financial sector, Aarthi previously served as M&T Bank’s first Chief Customer Experience Officer, overseeing Experience Design, Voice of Customer/Employee, Experience Engineering, and Journey programs. She also spent nearly 18 years at JPMorgan Chase, most recently leading Customer Experience for the Global Commercial Bank, where she championed human-centered transformation. Aarthi’s impact has earned her numerous honors, including American Banker’s “Most Powerful Women in Banking” (2022, 2023), Forrester’s Customer-Obsessed Leadership Award (2023), and inclusion in the CX Network’s Top 50 CX Influencers (2024). At Holman, she fostered a culture of service excellence rooted in empathy, innovation, technology, and AI, while addressing today’s customer needs and anticipating tomorrows.

Winning Through Influence: The CX Capability That Changes Everything

Zack Hamilton, Founder, Host, and Strategic CX Advisor, Unf*cking Your CX

In today’s experience economy, data is everywhere, but action is rare. That’s because the most essential CX capability isn’t taught in universities, and it isn’t tracked on dashboards. It’s influence.

In this provocative and practical session, Zack Hamilton, creator of The Experience Performance System™ and The CX Case Maker™, unpacks the single most important skill every CX leader must master to drive real business change: the ability to influence cross-functional partners to own customer friction.

You’ll learn how to shift from reporting insights to mobilizing action, using a simple but powerful tool (the 1-page business case) to reframe customer pain as a business priority. This session will help you stop chasing “buy-in” and start earning strategic alignment by translating CX into P&L impact.

Key takeaways:

• Why influence, not insights, is the real unlock for CX leaders.
• How to turn customer friction into a business case executives can’t ignore.
• A proven structure to build cross-functional champions and accelerate action.

Zack Hamilton

Founder, Host, and Strategic CX Advisor
Unf*cking Your CX

Zack Hamilton is a leading voice in customer experience (CX) innovation and go-to-market (GTM) transformation. As the creator of the Experience Performance System™, Zack helps high-growth SaaS companies and enterprise brands achieve 7x sales velocity, scale cross-functional execution, and drive Customer Lifetime Value through buyer-led, frictionless GTM systems. With over 20 years of experience as a CXO, SaaS growth leader, and retail strategist, he has advised more than 200 global brands—including Walmart, Macy’s, and SEPHORA—on integrating CX, EX, and post-purchase experience into cohesive total experience strategies. A member of the Forbes Business Council and Fast Company Executive Board, Zack is also the host of Un*fcking Your CX, a platform challenging legacy thinking and elevating CX leaders into strategic business drivers, and author of the forthcoming book The Experience Performance System, on driving revenue, retention, and results through CX performance, available this Fall.
 
 

Practical Strategies for Sustainable Customer Experience Impact with AI

Sara Taheri, Strategic AI Enablement, PolyAI Innovative Leader in AI, Northwestern Mutual

This session provides participants with a practical roadmap for leveraging AI to revolutionize customer experience and service. Sara Taheri will share how AI impacts the world around us, when to leverage classical vs. generative AI, operationalize AI concepts in financial services & customer experience, specific applications of AI, and pitfalls to be on the lookout for as you introduce this technology and continue to mature in this journey.

Key Takeaways:

• Distinguishing AI types
• Adopting a problem-solving mindset
• Implementing key operational strategies with the customer in mind
• Guiding participants towards sustainable growth and exceptional customer interactions.

Sara Taheri

Strategic AI Enablement, PolyAI Innovative Leader in AI
Northwestern Mutual

Sara Taheri is a recognized leader in AI-driven business transformation with deep expertise in customer experience, digital innovation, and operational efficiency. Named one of the Top 100 Women in Conversational AI by Project Voice and a Top 100 CX Leader by Poly.AI, she guides organizations in shaping AI strategy, crafting visionary product roadmaps, and executing high-impact programs. Sara has led transformative initiatives across contact center modernization, RPA, accelerated and fluid less underwriting, and electronic health data integration, while fostering inclusive, high-performing teams that turn insights into strategic action.