Summary
In her talk, Karin reflects on her journey at Intuit from 2003 to 2014, detailing the challenges and successes she faced in driving customer-centric design. She begins by defining legacy as the lasting impact one has on others, emphasizing the importance of intentionality in creating that impact. Karin recounts the founding of Quicken by Scott Cook and Tom Pru, illustrating how a focus on customer insight led to revolutionary products. She discusses the shift in culture at Intuit over her tenure—initially grounded in user experience, the organization became siloed and distracted, leading to a decline in design quality. Karin shares stories from her efforts to revitalize the company's customer focus through initiatives like "Design for Delight" and the creation of "innovation catalysts." Her experiences underscore the need for executive buy-in, embracing customer emotions, fostering collective engagement, and establishing a strong design culture to make lasting change. Ultimately, Karin reflects on the lessons learned and the ongoing journey of becoming a truly design-driven organization.
Key Insights
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Legacy is about having an impact that lasts, not just creating for immediate effect.
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Focus on customer experience and ease of use to drive success.
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Tools like usability benchmarking can reveal gaps in product performance.
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Emotions play a crucial role in customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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Having executive sponsors is essential for driving cultural change.
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Empathy and user stories can significantly shift organizational priorities.
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Innovative strategies should be adapted and integrated into the existing company framework.
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Encouraging collaboration among teams can lead to more impactful solutions.
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Investing in design leadership and talent is key for sustained improvement.
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Scaling design thinking across the organization can create lasting organizational change.
Notable Quotes
"Legacy is about having an impact that lasts."
"The right question is to think about what is the impact that I want to have."
"When I looked at our competitors, we were about average."
"Executive sponsorship was essential to the success of our initiatives."
"Getting people's emotions and their hearts engaged is crucial to drive change."
"We decided we were going to be bigger and bolder."
"We found that when we gave D for D away, we were much more impactful as a group."
"When you have a partner in crime, you're much more willing to engage in risky behavior."
"At Intuit, being design-driven became a part of the company's DNA."
"We had to articulate our vision and keep going forward when knocked off course."
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