From Loyalty Programs to Leadership: What 20 Years in CRM Taught Me About Organizational Growth

From Loyalty Programs to Leadership: What 20 Years in CRM Taught Me About Organizational Growth

Mon, May 11, 2026 | Posted by Anka Twum-Baah

 

Executive Takeaways

  • The principles that build customer loyalty work just as well on your best employees and partners.
  • Salary and bonus are table stakes. What keeps top performers are the moments that make them feel like insiders.
  • Internal friction is as damaging as friction in a customer journey — and just as fixable.
  • Generic recognition retains no one. Tailored moves do.

Loyalty programs taught many of us how to turn casual buyers into raving fans. My 20 years in CRM and loyalty for brands like Marriott, Amazon, and American Express—and leading a $3B customer platform—taught me something bigger: The same system that keeps customers coming back also keeps your best people from leaving.​​ When growth stalls, most CEOs reach for the usual levers: more demand gen, more recruiting, more channels.

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