Your CS
Resource Guide
Here, I've curated a collection of insightful podcasts, books, and assets designed to empower businesses and leaders on their Customer Success journey.
What You'll Find Here ...
Unlock your full potential with this comprehensive collection of Customer Success resources! Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, my Resource Center is packed with everything you need to thrive—templates, guides, courses, and downloadable tools, all designed to help you drive customer value, streamline processes, and elevate your career.
Explore best practices, master key strategies, and gain the insights needed to turn challenges into opportunities. Dive in, and let’s take your Customer Success journey to the next level!
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Kristi's Favorite Things
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Are you looking for the right influencers to follow? Best events to attend?
Books to read? Podcasts to listen to?
I’ve pulled together my ultimate guide to all things awesome in Customer Success. Whether you’re looking for inspiring influencers to follow, books that spark new ideas, podcasts that keep you ahead of the curve, or events that connect you with the brightest minds in the industry, this list has you covered. It’s everything you need to stay inspired, informed, and at the top of your game in Customer Success. Check it out and start exploring!
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Books
Our curated collection of must-read books
The Strategic Customer Success Manager
This book is a practical, no-nonsense guide for Customer Success professionals who want to move beyond firefighting and become strategic advisors. It distills frameworks, tools, and real-world advice to help you build trust with customers, lead strategic conversations, and grow your impact at every stage of your career.
Atomic
Habits
Atomic Habits is a transformative guide to building better habits and breaking the ones that hold you back. James Clear shows how small, consistent changes lead to remarkable results by focusing on systems over goals. Practical, clear, and actionable, this book gives you the tools to create lasting improvement in your work, routines, and life — one tiny habit at a time.
The Customer Success Professionals Handbook
The Customer Success Professional’s Handbook is a practical guide for building skills, scaling teams, and driving growth in Customer Success. It offers real-world advice from industry leaders to help practitioners succeed at every stage of their Customer Success career.
The Seven Pillars of Customer Success
The Seven Pillars of Customer Success breaks down a clear, practical framework for building and scaling Customer Success programs that drive results. Rooted in real experience, this book offers guidance on creating the structures, processes, and habits that help customers achieve their goals — and help your business grow.
Podcasts
Our curated collection of must listen podcasts
After the Close
Podcast
After The Close is an honest, no-fluff podcast about what really happens after the deal is signed. Real stories, real lessons, and real talk on Customer Success, leadership, and growth.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Am I building a real career in Customer Success, or am I just getting through the work?
If I’m being honest, this question usually shows up when someone is doing “well” on paper but feels exhausted underneath it. Customer Success can very quickly turn into a never-ending cycle of meetings, follow-ups, and fire drills. And if you’re not intentional, years can pass where you’re incredibly busy but not actually growing. A real career in CS should stretch you. You should be getting better at understanding the business, communicating impact, navigating complexity, and influencing decisions. If all you’re doing is reacting and executing, you’re surviving, not building. And survival mode is not a long-term strategy.
Is the work I’m doing actually making a measurable difference?
Are you feeling uneasy at the end of a packed week where you wonder what you actually moved forward? Being busy is easy. Driving impact is harder. Impact in CS means you can clearly connect what you did to a customer outcome or a business result. Retention. Expansion. Adoption. Risk reduction. Something changed because you were involved. When CSMs can’t draw that line, it’s not because they’re not adding value, it’s because no one has helped them define what value actually looks like. And when impact isn’t visible, it’s very hard to feel confident in your role or your future.
Are my customers genuinely successful, or are they just not complaining yet?
We don’t ask ourselves this question often enough. Quiet does not mean healthy. I’ve seen far too many renewals fall apart because everyone assumed things were fine since there were no tickets and no noise. Real customer success shows up in progress, alignment, and momentum. Are they moving toward their goals? Are the right people engaged? Do they see you as a partner or just someone who checks in occasionally? If you can’t confidently answer those questions, there’s probably risk hiding under the surface. And ignoring it doesn’t make it go away, it just delays the conversation until it’s much more painful.
Am I spending my time on the right work, or am I just buried in busywork?
This question comes up when you’re giving everything you have and still feel behind. And most of the time, it’s not a personal failure, it’s an operational one. CSMs end up absorbing inefficiencies from broken handoffs, unclear processes, and tools that don’t actually support how the work gets done. Your time should be spent thinking, planning, guiding, and influencing, not manually updating fields or chasing internal clarity. When operations are designed well, they protect your time and focus. When they’re not, even the best CSMs burn out trying to compensate for systems that don’t work.