January is a perfect time to reflect on and set goals for the coming year. As I considered my own, I kept coming back to one of the core things that makes Intuit such a one-of-a-kind company – the inspiration, motivation and coaching we get from our leadership every single day.
It starts with our founder Scott Cook, who manages to sustain a view that ranges from the mountaintop down into the valleys. New hires will often talk about how hearing Scott at an event helped drive their decision to join the company. Just listening to him talk about how lean product management is practiced at Intuit or how to be customer driven as we look for the biggest opportunities to solve can give you an idea of why this place is so special.
Scott is still integrally involved in our Intuit Futures Group, which studies problems deeply to see how we can take them on as a business. Even after 35 years as a company, we act like it is Day One. Every Day. Our founder is here to not only remind us of that but keep us pushing forward.
I also think about colleagues like Cassie Divine, Rania Succar, Laurent Sellier, Kurt Walecki, Kashi Kakarla and Saurabh Saxena (to name only a few) who are smart and kind and funny – all strong leaders who pride themselves on delivering for our customers as well as a great place to work.
My own goals for the year are wrapped up in what I see and seek to emulate in all of them.
Leadership at Intuit means leaning into where the newest tech of our time can take us as we all continue to push the boundaries of delivering an AI-based platform at tremendous scale. It also means helping our teams and the individuals on those teams be the best that they can be. The list below isn’t exhaustive, but here are four goals that I plan to embrace this year.
Goal 1. Create a culture of fun for my team. Anyone who has found their calling as a product manager knows that building is fun. My goal for this year is to keep this front and center every day. How fun is that?
Goal 2. Coaching and mentorship is hugely important at Intuit. Setting a goal to prioritize the time I spend doing both things is a way for me to carve out that time and not to get so wrapped in the day to day.
Goal 3. Accelerate delivering innovative and easy-to-use products for our customers – meeting them where they are in their business, particularly during these challenging economic times.
Goal 4. Be the t-shirt slogan on work/life balance. Leading by example is one of my mantras. One of my goals is to make visible to my team how I go about striving for high octane performance while taking the time I need for myself and my family.
Setting goals is easy but achieving them is hard. Watch this space at the end of 2023 for a reflection on how I’ve done.