Mike Bauldree

In my experience, if an organization is just starting out with CS, it's best to first be very nimble because pretty much anything goes at that point. But, it's super important to design a framework based on the long-term vision. Through my years I've seen where CSM teams were built very quickly but without very much operational framework for the team to execute against. So, think about where you want the CS org to be in 3-5 years and build a framework that allows you to grow into that model: engagement models (high, low, digital), compensation models (base+bonus vs. base+variable vs. flat base), what the charter of the CS team is (adoption vs. adoption & retention vs. adoption, retention & growth)

The intangibles: assertiveness, strong sense of ownership, business acumen, very strong communication at the exec level, soft-sales experience, technical acumen (at a high level), All of these are important, but honestly without assertiveness & sense of ownership - the others just relegate the CSM down the stack in terms of customer engagement - i.e. at the admin level. Sales will not let you at the exec level of customer engagement unless you can really lean in and demonstrate business value to the customer.