Maximising impact; Hire new leaders in peak. Every September the same questions come up with customer leaders who experience a type of winter peak. Is the contact centre resourced. In 2026 the questions have moved on. Will the systems hold? Is the AI we put into the service layer going to help or hurt? Have we moved far enough since last peak to measure it? Peak has become a proof question. And most businesses are still hiring for it the wrong way round. The old assumption: Don't bring a senior leader in during peak. Too much noise, too late to feel the benefits. Let them start in the new year when it's calm and they'll be ready for next time. Recruit in the slow period, impact in the fast one. Sounds sensible... Yet it’s the option that easily means impact needs to wait 12 months. Measurable impact for senior leaders has shifted from 9 down to 6 months, and in some cases as little as 3 months (the benefits of fresh eyes and board backing!) so there's no longer a need for a 6 month pre-peak integration for leaders. The bigger risk is waiting 6 months for impact that can be felt in 3. A September decision: Brief the search now, gain clarity on what you need and commit to the hiring process, and you could see someone join ready to experience peak first hand and start building on impact immediately. Transformational leaders can be available on short notice and be in time to impact your business performance. One leader put it to me in an interesting way last week: the value is in being there while it's happening. The question for September: Who do you need in the customer function to be there, and actively transforming, through this peak and into the next? If you haven't hired them yet, decide now, while the pressure is visible and the learning is free. Waiting for calm moves the risk a year down the road.