Home > Interviews >

Phil Terry

Phil Terry knows people. He knows the 'real people' who try to use complicated products and the corporate people who build them. And, even better, he knows how to connect the two. If there is such a thing as an 'executive whisperer,' Phil is it; he's able to coax actually executives out of their offices to watch real customers in action. If you meet Phil at an event, he will immediately think of at least 10 people to introduce you to (for someone like me, who has trouble remembering names even right after I hear them, this seems truly magical). And, for as long as I've known him, I never knew about the depth of his commitment to humanitarianism -- and his rich history before he was dragged kicking and screaming, and luckily for us, into the world of business.

Read the Interview

Excerpts From the Interview

In the six weeks I spent in Nigeria, I felt like my eyes had been ripped out of my head and put back in again. It made me see everything in my life, the Western world, and in Africa in a wholly new, different way. I think if you are open or sensitive to them, those kinds of cultural experiences -- where you are in theatre or you are involved in politics or you are traveling -- make you see different perspectives. I think they push you to acknowledge and see things in new ways, and acknowledge the importance of multiple dimensions.

The central purpose of the Councils and the thing I am most excited about is teaching executives how to ask each other for help. In particular, my goal is having them learn how to ask for assistance that will help them build better, more customer-centered companies. There are two values there, and they are complementary. Part of it is really just simply teaching human beings how to better connect and ask each other for help. I think there's terrific value in creating environments for that. That's what people do naturally. It addresses some of the isolation and bad decisions that get made in our world both at a political level and at a business and cultural level.

More About Phil Terry

Phil is CEO of Creative Good, founder of The Councils, The Reading Odyssey and founder with Mark Hurst of Good Experience. Under Phil Terry's direction, Creative Good's consulting practice has earned a reputation for combining deep understanding of customer experience with a relentless focus on client financial results. In addition, Creative Good's leadership network - The Councils brings more than 400 executives (CEOs, VPs, managers and directors) together in peer groups to help build better, more customer-centric businesses. The Reading Odyssey is Phil's network of general readers and scholars and Good Experience is a media and conference company best known for the Good Experience newsletter, the Gel conference and Web 2.0 application gootodo.com.