Citrix — Rudi O'Meara

Citrix

Challenge /

The Citrix project was really an exercise in helping shake people out of their comfort zone. The company—makers of GoToMeeting and a whole host of communication and collaboration tools for the SMB—had seen their business start to falter. Having nailed one big, complicated idea—virtual conferencing with screensharing and video—back in the day, they’d watched as a bunch of competitors came out of the woodwork and did for free what they charged a premium for. It was time to instigate a movement to out-innovate themselves from within—but they’d lost touch with what the big vision was.

The big idea was hazy at best.

Solution /

Me and my team started off working (first with a core team of six, then with a group of 30 from all across the org) to find out what consumers actually wanted and needed. Turns out, people don’t really want more tools, more technology, or more knobs. They just want to feel good about themselves, work well with others, and get shit done. They just want tech that actually works—and helps them be understood. We helped the folks inside Citrix remember that and agree on some simple, shareable rules to move forward with as a team.

So, yeah. Essentially an exercise in noise reduction…

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Genentech