17/12/2025
Today, we would like to give you some insights into the CSI philosophy and vision through our special Interview with our Founder, Ms. Lysa Malka Sheinina:
[Stella Enchetama] What inspired you to found Customer Success Institute, and what problem did you feel truly needed to be solved?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] After more than a decade in hyper growth startups and governmental organizations, in 2021, I saw that the world is on the verge of global massive digitalization, and many people and organizations will need help with embracing new technologies.
Unlike traditional professions, such as lawyers, bookkeepers, doctors, teachers, and even programmers - there is no proper educational path that can help people become professional Customer Success Managers.
On the other hand, the role, which combines care for digital products' users and customers with efforts to increase usage and adoption of new technologies, is becoming more and more in demand.
Seeing me as a leader in the CSM domain, people started turning to me, asking for help, and one of the main questions was: :"How do I enter the CSM world, how do I become a CSM?"
Trying to find the solution for these people, I founded CSI: the place that helps men and women learn properly and confidently about Customer Success Management and its approaches from experienced CSMs, complete initial career orientation and agile CSM training, and either introduce CSM into their organization with our materials and handbooks, or land a CSM role in an established CSM organization.
So far, we were able to help about a dozen organizations on this mission, and I am very proud of it!
[Stella Enchetama] Customer Success means different things to different companies. What does it mean to you at its core?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] For me, CSM means being strategic about your customers' success with your product or technology. It means thinking beyond customer requests, looking to solve problems others don't care or dare to solve, and being business and technology smart. You need to be smart to work as a CSM, you need to stand behind your suggestions and your numbers. You need to be able to sell (solve) it for the customer, and show them the way in a very hectic business world where everyone fights uncertainty on a daily basis.
[Stella Enchetama] Was there a defining moment in your career when you realized this institute had to exist?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] Yes, back in 2019, a friend came to ask for a career advice. And we realized there is "a chicken and an egg problem": in order to get a role in CSM, you need to have had 2 years of experience in CSM. We give people the first stepping stone, and experience to improve their confidence as CSMs. We also prepare people for CSM interviews, help them rewrite their CVs and redefine their stories. It all pays back - our clients' success is our most valuable business currency!
[Stella Enchetama] What makes Customer Success Institute fundamentally different from other training or consulting organizations in the market?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] We are offering agile CSM and Digitalization education services to people and organizations via in-house developed agile training materials. We are serving the Global market and are adding cross-cultural communications expertise into the mix of CSM experience, which is especially valuable for organizations serving international customers of various cultural backgrounds. Our Cross-Cultural Communication tools are also a great add-on for international CSM teams working together who need to improve their communication and conflict resolution abilities.
[Stella Enchetama] Who is Customer Success Institute really built for, and what kind of transformation do you hope your learners or partners experience?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] CSI is built for men and women who want to get trained to be CSMs in an agile mode, who want to make the "career aptitude check" before they invest into another degree (sometimes taking a degree in Management or Technology is required to become a CSM, and aptitude check is the shortest way to decide whether the path is worth a big investment), and for top managers who want to introduce CSM practices into their teams and organizations.
[Stella Enchetama] What are the most common mistakes companies make when approaching Customer Success - and how does your institute help fix them?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] Perhaps, one of the major mistakes is thinking CSM can substitute or replace Customer Support. CSM is a more strategic role that must be separated from technical role of Customer Support (dealing with tickets, answering clients' requests).
In fact, most organizations I have accompanied, went through a whole ocean of mindset shifts when they embraced CSM. They suddenly started realizing that there are things much deeper than simply "solving client requests" - to truly excel in CSM, the organization must be ready to solve PROBLEMS, and do with the highest customer interest in mind, and a lot of integrity.
Perhaps, the best CCOs I have seen have a very deep level of integrity and are taking mindful risks to "be there with the customer" in both sunny and rainy days. As CSMs, we hold responsibility over our customers' success, and we coach our customers and grow them, and perhaps grow with them in every way possible!
[Stella Enchetama] How do you personally stay ahead in such a fast-changing world of technology, AI, and customer expectations?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] I keep my mind and my heart open. Traveling, going through in-person and online training and coaching, attending global and local conferences, especially on AI and Management practices. I also deliberately change rooms and groups of people to stay alert on major changes.
All these help me to keep up and change with the world. I also like immersing myself into very alien topics such as spirituality, finance and management. And of course, discussing news and trends with colleagues, business partners, friends and ChatGPT helps a lot!
In the Middle East, where Customer Success Institute has been originally established, we live in a cyclical world where many events are seen as repeated on the canvas of time, and we observe the change on a background of cyclic repetition.
Embracing this worldview of time being an upward opening spiral full of predictable events rather than a direct line into "nowhere" where everything is unpredictable really makes it easier to accept the change and change with the time. Here - one year ago around the same time I was at place X doing Y, and now I am at place Z giving you an interview. What a beautiful change it is! How great!
[Stella Enchetama] What values guide your leadership and decision-making as a Founder?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] I am an international, so cross-cultural leadership and the willingness to understand the pain of the customer are perhaps my major values when it comes to business and work.
I also believe in "dream jobs" and profession aptitude. So, with CSI we are aiming to help people actually discover more about their dream job and unpack what it means for them. Some people are hearing many myths about CSM, and we are here to show them the practical realities of this career. It is a tough career, demanding many skills and talents to be combined in one head.
When people and organizations turn to us, I want to make sure they understand our value proposition and the values we are guided by.
Finally, Customer Success Management as a philosophy focuses on customer growth and development, and on churn prevention as some of its key values. So, we are putting an effort to make sure every customer has the potential to become a long-term business partner and returning client. Luckily, a lot of CSM strategies are working around proactively seeking to serve our customers more, and this means that even when the market need changes - we have more and more resources to offer to balance for the change.
[Stella Enchetama] Looking ahead 3โ5 years, what is your vision for Customer Success Institute and its global impact?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] CSI is at the stage where it can grow substantially. We have a working model that combines a learning community, proven didactic materials that can be adopted to any market and language, and an amazing technology that is being developed to support our clients' technology learning process at speed. Now like never people need to be carefully onboarded into the Digital Economy domain, since a lot of money are being channeled into this domain via some of the biggest companies on Earth. It's never to late to start your integration into the Digital Economy, there is so much space for everyone: administrators, artists, techies, teachers, lawyers. Everyone can find the right product they can support. You need to be a very proactive person to make it work!
[Stella Enchetama] If you could give one piece of advice to professionals who want to grow in Customer Success today, what would it be?
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] Listen to your inner calling and understand where you want to be in the digitalization process and in the digital economy. According to many official sources, the Digital Economy is growing exponentially. So, if you are attracted to technology to the same extent as you are attracted to people, and you are willing to be a servant and build the bridge between technology and peoples' hearts and minds - CSM can be a great career for you! Find your niche, learn the language - and enjoy the ride!
At Customer Success Institute, you can receive one of the best agile training in the domain, and a lot of cross-cultural and international expertise we bring with our experts.
[Stella Enchetama] Thank you very much for this conversation, Lysa. It's been really interesting to hear your perspective on the business, and the pain you are solving to your customers!
[Lysa Malka Sheinina] Thank you Stella, the pleasure was all mine :)
