The only difference inSilicon Valleyis that there havent been many iterations or generations of leaders.
Thefounders story isnt in thearchives, and neither is thefounder.
Manyfoundersare still involved with thecompany.
40% off TNW Conference!
I brought those worries and assumptions with me when I stepped into the role of chief innovationofficer at Intuit.
But looking back, I now realize that hisactionscontributed as much to my success as my ownactions.
In very shortorder, he became vested in me as a mentor, afounder, and afriend.
My objective was simple: to shadow Scott, meet with the local teams, and uncover new opportunities.
I was there to learn from him, and I assumed to be evaluated by him.
And after our first day of meetings, Scott and I sat down for a debrief.
His plan for that discussion was something that I didnt expect at all.
I was getting ready to ask Scott how I performed during the day.
Instead, Scott asked me: How did I do in our meetings today?
I initially thought that Scotts ability to listen and seek feedback was innate to who he was.
He has an ingrained sense of humility to know what hes doing wrong and what he could do better.
Listen with discipline
It seems simple, and yet it can be the toughest roadblock to overcome.
By speaking toward the end, Scott creates a forum for a fully open discussion.
Needless to say that I have fully adopted this technique!
Teach methods, not tactics
Scott has taught me the importance of creating and teaching methodologies, not tactics.
Methods teach your employees how to think to solve problems, tactics tell employees to implement solutions.
He thought smallerteamswould move nimbly, lean on each other more and collaborate more effectively.
It would force us to keep the problem we are solving uncomfortably narrow.
He was right, and it became a model that still serves us well today.
We call ourselves customer-obsessed, and Scott models that.
Weve learned to fallin lovewith the problem, instead of the specific solution.
And in fact, its the insights on the problem that fuels thedesignfor delightmethodologythat we use throughout thecompany.
I know that I have benefited immensely from Scotts mentoring.
And yes, there is still a little aura when he walks the campus.
And maybe thats the real creative genius of our founder, Scott Cook.
Story byBharath Kadaba
Bharath Kadaba leads Intuits Technology Futures group and serves as Intuits Chief Innovation Officer.
Early in his career he led research and development on Gigabit Internet Routers at the IBM T.J. Watson Labs.
Bharath earned a Ph.D. in Information Theory and Networks from the University of Hawaii.
