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Innovation isn't a buzzword at ThoughtSpot; it's the lifeblood of our business. It’s woven into our culture, driving us to constantly push boundaries and deliver exceptional value to our customers, our partners, and our team.
Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down with a powerhouse panel of senior functional leaders for an “Innovation Spotlight” session. Our goal? To share how bold thinking translates into real-world impact across the many different facets of our organization.
Let's dive into the insights shared by Micheline Nijmeh (Chief Marketing Officer), Addala Bhargav (SVP of Product Management), Kumar Gaurav 'KG' (Chief Product Architect), and Toral Patel (VP Controller).
Customer centricity: The North Star of innovation
When it comes to innovation, where do we start? For Micheline Nijmeh, our CMO, the answer is clear: customer insight.
“For marketing, it's all about the customer, right? I see customer insight as almost like a guardrail that keeps us from building things no one wants or creating things that no one wants. So, as long as we keep that in front of us, we're always doing the right thing.”
Micheline highlighted that understanding the customer isn’t a one-time event, but an ongoing habit.
“Whether it's feedback from the field, joining customer meetings, talking to partners, listening on Gong calls, and so on, keeping the customer in mind helps us make better decisions,” she explained.
“When it comes to innovating on campaigns or programs, we have to put the customer pain point first and really understand what their needs are. That will keep us grounded in delivering something that is relevant and resonates with them.”
This unwavering focus ensures our innovations genuinely solve problems and create value for our customers.
Balancing bold ideas with business outcomes
Innovation often involves taking risks. But how do you encourage bold ideas while also safeguarding your business outcomes?
Toral Patel, our VP Controller, shed light on the Finance team’s approach:
“We are a little bit more cautious than the other side of the fence, but our biggest thing is to plan it out. We have to make sure we can test it out. We have to have a detailed decision-making process, and then we have a lot of partnerships within our team.”
Toral described a collaborative process where an accounting expert might team up with someone looking to eliminate a manual process or connect disparate systems. “We come in and say let's try to figure out how we can fix it, and we do the step-by-step process. We do the detailed testing, and then we put it into play and see how it works.”
The payoff? “It's always exciting to get rid of manual processes and have our team start to look at a different way of looking at the accounting and looking at it from a review perspective, looking at it from a higher level. They only elevate themselves when this happens. So really it's partnership and getting our hands dirty slowly and cautiously.”
This methodical yet collaborative approach allows ThoughtSpot to innovate responsibly, with new ideas that contribute positively to the bottom line.
Demystifying AI: From misconception to powerful partnership
The conversation then shifted to a hot topic: Artificial Intelligence. What are the common misconceptions about AI, especially concerning its role in innovation?
Bhargav Addala, our SVP of Product Management, addressed a prevalent fear:
“I think AI has unfortunately become so much about efficiency and not anything else. When you hear AI, people say, ‘Okay, AI means fewer humans, ’ right? More AI means AI is here to take your job.
This fear-based sort of rhetoric that is out there, and what that does is it actually makes you want to take fewer risks with AI because it almost feels like if I show that AI can do a great job, I might not have a job.”
Micheline, however, offered a more optimistic perspective, viewing AI as an incredible opportunity for accelerated innovation. "I'm maybe too much of a fanatic with it because I'm so interested in seeing it," she confessed. "I agree with what Bhargav said, but I also see that it can help us and innovate in so many different ways."
From a marketing standpoint, Micheline sees AI as a true partner. "It can be a partner for us to ideate," she said, referencing a book she shared with her team: The AI Driven Leader. "It's not that it replaces their job, but it's more to help them innovate at a much faster pace. Imagine having someone you can brainstorm ideas with all the time. You don't need to schedule a meeting."
She believes that maximizing AI's use can make it "an amazing partner to help us innovate in so many ways.
That balance—addressing the questions AI raises, while leaning into its potential—is exactly why ThoughtSpot was recognized in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™.
Practical tips for integrating AI into your workflows
Given the immense potential of AI, how can individuals begin to incorporate it into their daily workflows?
Kumar Gaurav (KG), our Chief Product Architect, offered two crucial pieces of advice:
1. Treat AI like an intern
AI tools are remarkably capable, but without the correct context, they can’t generate the results you need. You need clear and detailed prompts, structured guidance, and thoughtful direction, just like you’d give a new hire. As KG says:
“I'm talking in the context of a corporate environment that doesn't know anything specific to your context knowledge, but is smart enough to give the right information. If you just write a patchy one-line prompt, like ‘do my job for today’, how will it know what is supposed to be done? You have to help AI to help you.”
2. Verify and take control:
AI can walk you through its reasoning, but it’s critical to have a human-in-the-loop approach, especially for high-impact work. Trust the process, but verify your outputs, as KG puts it:
“Anything critical, please proofread. Please understand what it has to do. These reasoning agents are very good. You ask it, ‘Okay, why did you do this?’ It will tell you how it reasoned and did things in a certain way. And you take control to decide the final outcome. I’m not suggesting this is the state of AI for eternity.”
Turn your AI ideas into actionable momentum
The insights from Micheline, Bhargav, Toral, and KG bring ThoughtSpot’s culture of innovation into focus. It's a culture that embraces customer-centricity, balances risk with responsibility, and intelligently leverages powerful new tools like AI to empower our people and propel our business forward.
See how that culture shows up in the decisions, values, and leaders shaping the future of work—meet our team.
