Jan Young, MBA, CSPO, CSM

Project Manager

I help Heads of CS become VPs and get a seat at the Executive Table | Customer-Led Growth Advisor | 2X Top 25 CS Influencer | Top 50 CS Influencer | Top 50 Women Leaders in CS | Top 100 CS Strategist | Investor

Why do some CS leaders command executive respect, while others, despite strong results, keep fighting to be heard?

I've been in Tech for 20+ years and been through two exits as VP Client Services. Here's what I've learned:

✨ EVERYTHING has changed.

The speed. The AI transformation. The business models. The way we need to lead.

I see CS leaders working until midnight, delivering great results... and still getting told "we need to cut CS headcount."

Sound familiar?

The old playbooks stopped working.

AI is reshaping how we work, how we go to market, how we serve customers. Your 2023 playbook is irrelevant.

Today, you need SYSTEMS.

Here's what I know from coaching hundreds of CS leaders:

Those who break through have mastered The Modern CS Growth System, 4 pillars of executive impact:

💡 Modern Management & Change Leadership - Lead in the AI era  
💡 AI Fluency, Automation & Autonomy - Transform operations, pricing, GTM
💡 Business & Customer Economics - Speak profitability, not just retention  
💡 Repeatable Customer Revenue & Team Systems - Build scalable frameworks, not heroic firefighting  

This is a systematic approach to demonstrating executive-level impact in the language your fellow executives understand.

👉👉 This is what CS Business Leaders master. Not pieces. The whole system.

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WHO I WORK WITH

CS leaders who've built a department but aren't getting traction:

✔  You deliver strong results, but executives still see CS as a cost center
✔  You're excluded from strategic decisions where your insights would be valuable
✔  You’re told "do more with less" instead of getting resources
✔  You know modern CS should look different, but you're stuck in outdated frameworks

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HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

⚡️ CS BUSINESS LEADERSHIP ACCELERATOR - Master the 4 pillars and build the Modern CS Growth System specific to your goals/challenges through executive peer community + project-based frameworks + personalized coaching.  

🔗 https://go.stepupxchange.com/csbl-accelerator

📬 NEWSLETTER:  I publish a weekly newsletter on modern CS strategies

📧 DM me and I'll share which resources fit you

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RESULTS

✅ Become an award-winning executive
✅ Reposition your team as a strategic revenue driver
✅ Transition from firefighting to repeatable, scalable systems
✅ Innovate with AI to drive profitable customer revenue growth

The modern CS leaders who succeed aren't keeping up with change: They're leading it. 

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📬 Newsletter: janyoungcx.com/#newsletter  
📧 DM me: discuss your challenges  
🎯 Follow for daily insights

Founding Member

RevRoom is a trusted space where curious revenue leaders are collaborating on the future of B2B Go to Market alignment and GTM-Led-Growth.

We were all asked the same question independently. We all gave the same answer.

When ChurnZero asked a group of CS leaders for our 2026 predictions, we didn't compare notes beforehand. 

We had limited space and were told to be specific.

Yet, a clear pattern emerged across the board.
🔸  AI was the theme throughout.
🔸  We didn't talk about playbooks. We talked about Systems. 
🔸  We didn't just talk about CS + AI. We talked about Revenue & Profitability.

A huge thank you to ChurnZero for asking me to contribute alongside such incredible leaders. 

Here is the reality I see coming for our industry:

“Customer success is the frontline of survival for both traditional SaaS and AI-first startups, shifting the mission from simple adoption to high-precision Value Engineering.

To win, leaders are replacing generalists with specialized GTM squads, using Forward-Deployed CSMs and Consumption Leads for high-touch growth, while AI CS Ops and Program Managers architect the data-driven systems that power scaled, touch-free renewals and expansions.

As AI agents automate the routine, the human CSM role will become elevated, requiring the deep EQ and business acumen necessary to turn experimental AI budgets into the predictable, profitable revenue our boards now demand.”

📌  The consensus is clear: 
AI is forcing us to restructure our teams, our roles, and our unit economics to survive in a new market model.


🚨  But there is one trend I think is still flying under the radar:  Agentic Suggestion.

👉  Right now, we prompt AI. By the end of 2026, AI will prompt us.

We are moving toward systems that understand our goals and suggest work, anticipating needs before we even articulate them. 

This will require massive Change Leadership, not just for our teams, but for ourselves.


📌  I’m digging into these trends and How to Take Action in my newsletter this Saturday, AND I have some live events on these themes in the next two weeks.

Get the Insights: 
👉 Read the ChurnZero 2026 Forecast: https://lnkd.in/gEj3Bvu2 
👉 Get my Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gBrhN3As

📆  If you are ready to build the system that supports this future, join my StepUpXchange NexGen CS Leadership Masterclass and learn about the Modern CS Growth System on Jan 20th:  https://lnkd.in/gsETU8a2

📆  If you’re really serious, join the StepUpXchange VIP Inner Circle. You’ll get an exclusive invite to Fireside Focus on Jan 15 that is usually reserved for members of the CS Business Leadership Accelerator. 

📢 This will be an intimate conversation with Ralphie (Ralphette) White, VP CS of Deepgram.  Ralphie is one of the leaders who has been at the forefront of the AI + CS [r]evolution. If you don't want to miss out...
https://lnkd.in/gpxwVFWB

Rachel Provan

I spent 15 years leading Customer Success teams, and I learned this the hard way: being great at CS doesn't prepare you to lead a revenue-generating department.

Most CS leaders are stuck proving their value to executives who expect them to generate revenue the way sales does, without understanding what post-sale revenue actually requires. You're told to drive expansion, reduce churn, and prove ROI - but no one taught you how to do that without morphing into Account Management or BDRs.

That's where I come in.

I HELP CS LEADERS DO THREE THINGS:

Build revenue-generating CS departments | Get promoted | Land their next role

🔹 CS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (CSLA)
For anyone leading (or about to lead) a Customer Success team - from founding CSMs and team leads to managers, directors, and VPs.

✔ Build a revenue-generating CS department without turning your team into "Sales 2.0"
✔ Get promoted - over one-third of clients get promoted within 6-12 months
✔ Prove your value to executives who don't understand Customer Success
✔ Get out of reactive mode, build scalable processes, and strengthen your executive presence

Built on behavioral psychology and neuroscience, not corporate management theory.

🔹 DREAM JOB PROGRAM
For CS leaders who need to land their next role.

✔ Access the 80% of roles never posted online - optimize your LinkedIn so hiring managers reach out to YOU
✔ Executive resume makeover that shows revenue impact (even without exact numbers)
✔ Figure out exactly what's holding you back in interviews
✔ Master final presentations and salary negotiation - clients average $10k-15k above initial offers

🔥 WHY I'M DIFFERENT:
I don't teach theory. I teach what works in the messy, real world - the psychology that lets you influence cross-functional leaders and the executive suite, the strategy that drives retention and expansion, and the systems that let you scale without burning out.

👉 LET'S WORK TOGETHER:
📧 Apply to CSLA or Dream Job (links in Featured section)
💡 Grab my free CS Leader Onboarding Checklist
🎯 Subscribe to The CS Psycho for weekly CS leadership insights - backed by psychology

Founder and CEO

1-on-1 Customer Success Leadership coaching, Customer Success Job Hunting and Career Counseling

A lot of CS leaders won’t say it out loud.
But they’re worried.

About layoffs. About budgets. About getting cut.

Not because they don’t know how to lead... but because they’re stuck cleaning up after everyone else.

Sales overpromises. Product doesn’t listen to feedback.  And CS is expected to quietly clean it all up AND drive revenue.

(Because that works...)

If your team is stuck in reactive mode, buried in escalations, and constantly justifying your value... this is for you.

I’m running a free training that walks through the 4 stages every CS department goes through.

You’ll learn how to figure out:
 
- what stage you’re in 
- what’s holding you back; and 
- what to focus on if you want your org to start taking CS seriously.

Jan 14 @  1PM EST: https://lnkd.in/eECchnsD
Jan 15 @ 1pm EST: https://lnkd.in/eimJweBU

Two time slots. Zero fluff. 

Walk away with a plan you can use immediately.

Rachel Provan 🧠

I help CS Leaders kick ass at their job & get promoted - using Psychology | 15 years leading CS teams | Creator of The CS Leadership Academy & Psychology of Customer Success Podcast | Speaker

January 1:  OMG I'm going to achieve so much this year!
January 5: Crap. I have 567 emails and 15 projects I put off...

If that's you too, I have a way to dig out of this - AND make progress on your goals from day 1 anyway.

Normally I save this for my clients in the CS Leadership Academy, but I figured what the hell?  

It's the only way I know how to make measurable process every day AND still leave room for the inevitable 8 hours of chaos.

I call it the focus formula and you can grab it for FREE here this week: https://lnkd.in/eXPevgD6

Breathe.  You've got this.

Ever tried looking up how to build a CS dept? 🤦‍♀️

Talk to your customers
Build a team
Use data (reminds me of recipes on The Great British Baking Show… “Make the cake”)
Create onboarding materials
Scale
Iterate

Ummm… thanks?

It’s explanations like this that make people think building a CS department should be relatively easy.

That should take what -- six months?

Sure, you can get a CS department STARTED in that time. But if you think you’re going to create the results of a mature, revenue-generating CS department in six months…

Honey. You’re in for a rude awakening.

🏆 What you need are the REAL steps. In the right order.

Not just a mish-mash of CS initiatives you’ve read about.

✅ Yes you need a customer journey.
✅ Yes you need segmentation.
✅ Yes you need a CS tool.
✅ Yes you want a Customer Advisory Board.

But do you know WHEN to do those things so you don’t make a huge mess?

That’s exactly what I’ll teach inside my FREE masterclass: The CS Leadership Formula.

📅 Wednesday, January 14th or Thursday, January 15th

Register here: https://lnkd.in/eXPevgD6

🚧 The exact steps — in the right order — to build and scale a durable growth engine.

Moving up means saying “No” ❌

A lot. Even to your boss.😬

Scary, right? It doesn’t have to be.  It's actually part of your job now!

Here’s how to say no to your boss without burning bridge:

When you’re feeling overloaded, make a list with three columns:

⭐️   Project    |   Outcome   |  Priority   ⭐️

Put a 1 next to everything you think is a top priority right now. (Note - guess how many things can be priority #1...)

Then schedule a meeting with your boss to confirm some priorities. Show them the list you’ve made, and then say:

“As you can see I’ve got a lot on my plate. I want to make sure I’m effective and focusing on the right things. As I understand it, my top priorities are these outcomes (e.g. driving Adoption/GRR/NRR) - here's what I think will move the needle the most."

They will either highlight something you may be missing or (most likely) agree with your assessment. 

👉 Then you can confirm that you will be putting the other projects on the back burner to focus on these.

As a leader, you are trusted to prioritize.

You know what you need to achieve, and it’s up to you to manage your time.

No one is monitoring how much is on your plate.🍛

And you can’t achieve big goals by saying yes to everything.

PS - Still too much to do?

Get the cheat sheet hundreds of CS leaders have used to make insane progress every quarter here:  https://lnkd.in/eECchnsD

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Jan Young, MBA, CSPO, CSM

Rachel Provan

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The Battle

Jan Young, MBA, CSPO, CSM

Rachel Provan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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