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Why Aren't We Talking About Ethical Leadership When We Talk About Dark Patterns?
We're talking about dark patterns now more than ever, focusing on deceptive design and court cases. But one question remains oddly absent from the conversation: Where are the ethical organizational leaders?

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
Jul 53 min read


Getting Government Unstuck: A Behavioral Science View From The Hague
Employee experience takeaways from my speaking trip to the OECD's recent behavioral science meeting at The Hague.

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
May 242 min read


Dark Patterns vs. Customer Experience Efficiency: HP’s Hold-Time Controversy
When HP intentionally added 15-minute support hold times, backlash followed. Here’s the leadership lesson about balancing customer experience, efficiency, and trust.

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
Mar 152 min read


Your First Customer Experience Book Read of 2026 Should Be Hold
A brief review of the book Hold by Amas Tenumah from a customer experience leadership lens.

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
Jan 151 min read


When Sludge Becomes CX Strategy: Bureaucratic Harm as a Leadership Communication Issue?
Sludge is more than a nuisance. It's a communication choice made by leadership. Sometimes it isn't intentional. Sometimes it is.

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
Jul 4, 20252 min read


Building CX-Savvy Agencies: Notes from the GovLoop CX Community of Practice Webinar
While government agencies aren’t profit-driven, their leaders are still often held to business standards that mirror those in the private sector. That's why CX matters to everyone.

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
Apr 18, 20254 min read


Book review: Why the most important customer experience book of 2022 is a book about sludge.
When you make customers jump through hoops, negative things are bound to happen. One of those negative things is customers eventually stop jumping. When that happens, it shouldn’t be any big surprise. That is the main point of Cass Sunstein’s book, Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do About It. The book rarely mentions the word “customer.” But make no mistake. The book’s 153 pages are about the many ways in which sludge—those pesky hoops that companie

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
Dec 13, 20214 min read


Red Tape: Getting Real About What Keeps Employee Experiences from Being Great
Identifying the root causes of employee experiences that aren't so great.

Stephanie Thum, Ph.D., CCXP
Jul 31, 20214 min read
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