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14 minute read
Summary
On this episode of Collaboration Cafe, The Collab Collective's Craig Durr sits down in Oslo, Norway, with Norma Løvhaugen, Head of Product Marketing, Strategy, and Design at Neat. This conversation takes a deep dive into human-centric design, tackling challenges in large meeting spaces, and exploring the ethos behind Neat's innovative product development.
Their Discussion Covers:
- Scandinavian Design Philosophy: Norma explains how Neat leverages simplicity, functionality, and aesthetic beauty to create human-centric video conferencing solutions.
- Innovative Solutions for Large Rooms: Craig and Norma discuss tackling the challenges of collaboration in expansive spaces with Neat’s multi-camera solutions like Neat Center.
- The Role of Dynamic Collaboration Spaces: Norma highlights how Neat fosters creativity and innovation through their design kitchen and prototyping labs.
- Future of Workplace Collaboration: Norma shares her perspective on evolving workplace dynamics and the importance of psychological safety in building high-performing teams.
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Transcript
Craig Durr: How about we do that cup of coffee?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yeah
Craig Durr: Alright, so what is your coffee of choice these days?
Norma Løvhaugen: Cafe Latte
Craig Durr: A cafe latte. I love it.
Norma Løvhaugen: I think it's very predictable for the people working here when they see me.
Craig Durr: And of course, you guys have all these green treats. I think I might have to get one of these.
Norma Løvhaugen: Yeah, that's very much the Norwegian type as well.
Craig Durr: Everyone, this is Craig Durr from The Collab Collective. I want to welcome you to another edition of the Collaboration Cafe. Well, where am I right now? I'm actually finding myself far away from where I normally am. I am in Oslo, Norway, and I'm actually here to visit with a friend who I had the chance to work on a panel with at InfoComm this past year–Norma Løvhaugen is actually the Director of Product Marketing, Product Strategy and Design at Neat.
Now, you might know neat because they burst onto the scene about 2019, 2020, with a debut at Zoomtopia. And since then, they've been building some beautiful video conferencing devices. But I'm not as much here to talk about the devices. Norma, in terms of her role and responsibility, has some wonderful insights. I think it could be really interesting to you. Here within this Oslo area where we talk about Scandinavian design, we're going to have a chance to visit and talk about what is core to their design? What makes it human centric? What are the problems we're trying to solve? She's also going to talk to us about some unique spaces she sees and why challenges such as the large rooms, which we had a chance to talk about at InfoComm, wind up creating good opportunities.
This is my first time in Oslo. I'm a little bit chilly. I think we're going to meet here for a cup of coffee. So come with me. Let's go find Norma and have our cup of coffee.
Craig Durr: Hey, Norma! How are you doing?
Norma Løvhaugen: Hi, good to see you.
Craig Durr: This weather is killing me right now, so I know what to do.
Norma Løvhaugen: You know what they say–in Norway, there's no such thing as bad weather. It's only bad clothing. So this is for you, Craig.
Craig Durr: Is this? I love this.
Norma Løvhaugen: It actually has a little dash of purple.
Craig Durr: Look at that. And a Neat logo there, too. So does this make me feel like a local now?
Norma Løvhaugen: Absolutely. It's also a Norwegian clothing brand called Holzweiler, which is known for the quality.
Craig Durr: I love it. Look, I get more than a cup of coffee–I get to become more like a local. That's even better there. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. You know, it was interesting to actually introduce to our audience about your background and how you came to work in this industry. You have actually been within the video conferencing industry for a long time–all the way back to the legacy of what Oslo is known for. It’s Tandberg, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly, yeah. I started in Tandberg in 2005. June 2005, so more than 19 years
Craig Durr: You remember the date.
Norma Løvhaugen: Oh, yes–June 1st.
Craig Durr: That's fantastic. And then from Tandberg, you were part of the Cisco team, as they were acquired by Cisco as well. Was it in 2000 that you moved over to Neat?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, 2000–June 2000 was when I started at Neat. But I resigned from Cisco around February 2020. So we did the transition from Tandberg to Cisco, and at that time, I was actually Project Manager for Tandberg T3, the immersive system. This was September. We were tasked to make the ultimate experience of a meeting room. And we had already had one immersive solution, the Experia. I don't know if you remember.
Craig Durr: But that was like, the room size experience.
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, three screens. And then with the T3, it was like this whole room of an experience with the blue wall behind and the lighting within the wall to have the best background for any person. And we had a table that was kind of floating in the air. It was supposed to look like that. We had lighting on the table to get the 3D effect. The surface of the table actually had some reflection to also help with the face lighting.
Craig Durr: This is where, I think, the legacy, the history of what I would call the Scandinavian design started and had the origin of its influence and what we do within the video conferencing space, right? But that was an incredible room that was like a $250,000 room to get it installed in some of these locations.
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly. And to your point there, we reference this product, actually, when we talk about what we do at Neat’s. Because with Tandberg T3, it was an amazing experience. Everyone was seen and heard really well, but it was also a very staged experience. We had names on the table to make sure people were sitting where they're supposed to. And it was expensive, like you say, but the experience was amazing.
Craig Durr: Right. You know, what’s a good experience? Coffee. Let's go get a cup of coffee. How about we go this way?
So you went from this opportunity to work on these oversized room experiences, to where you are now talking about devices that actually enable these types of experiences as well, right? So here we are right now. The last time that you and I had a chance to speak was at InfoComm, just this past year. I was lucky enough to have you be part of a panel that I was hosting, and the topic we were covering there was about large rooms, bespoke rooms. That's an area that you're pretty passionate about, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: Absolutely, yeah.
Craig Durr: Tell me about this idea of how these rooms are challenges these days and what's taking place.
Norma Løvhaugen: Right after the pandemic, the focus was a lot on smaller spaces–desk, huddle rooms, and the video to enable any small space. And it still is. But what we also see as a growing trend is that more and more people, when they come to the office–it's actually to spend time with their colleagues in the same room. So then, what happens is that there's not many people in the same room.
Craig Durr: It's not about just being within a box or four walls for a meeting experience, right? This collaboration and meetings take place even with video conferencing outside of the space, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly, and in different types of spaces. They want to work together and collaborate together, and they want it to be dynamic, and they want video to adapt to what they do and not having to think about, “Where's the camera and how do we make sure that we bring foreign?”
Craig Durr: So at that point in time, you were sharing with me a new product you guys were just coming out with, which was Neat Center, which was a multi-camera solution that sat in the center of the table paired with the front of room, right? Is this a way to talk about these bespoke rooms, these rooms that are challenges?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yeah, I think so. And we like to talk about Neat Center, as in bringing foreign into the center of the conversation. Okay? So that foreign and them can both see and hear when the conversation gravitates across the meeting room table or any type of the…
Craig Durr: So if I speak to you, there might be an angle picked up. If I'm talking to the front of the camera, they can still see me because we have intelligent camera switching taking place, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly, and that's key–that when we look at foreign, it quickly jumps to the camera where foreign is right on the screen, because that way foreign also feels that when they start talking, we are looking at them–we're not looking away from them.
Craig Durr: It's actually interesting because I think you as a company, Neat, although you’re relatively a small company of 350-380 people, you're international in focus. I mean, you're here in Oslo, Norway. You have your design teams, you have your hardware teams here. But you're dealing with executives that are back in the U.S., sales teams, and what have you, right? You're probably living and breathing this experience right now of trying to communicate through these odd, large spaces to people that aren't in the same room.
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, absolutely. To your point, we're a large team here. We collaborate with people that are remote, whether it's engineering–some engineers sitting in other places or executives in the U.S. What's really good with Neat Center in that way is that it's very flexible, so whether we put it on the table or mount it in the ceiling, it helps us with that dynamic flow. We, who are physically in the room, don't have to think about, “Where's the camera?” It just naturally captures and focuses on people and leverages our Neat symmetry technology,as well as Neat boundary.
Craig Durr: Come on, this is great. This is one of the spaces you use for ideation. You can show me what we can show. This is one of the spaces where your teams will take those common problems and break them down and ideate, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes
Craig Durr: And it’s a safe space for them to try ideas, fail, learn, and try again.
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, absolutely. So here we do a lot of scenario testing. We set up our products in the type of scenario or use case that we want to solve for. We make early prototypes.
Craig Durr: I love it. Don't zoom in on this, but here's some of the ideas of the problems that we're solving here in the world right now. But even some of the ways that you guys do it. And what I love about that is you're doing it in an environment that is very natural. It's your own, it's your own office as well, too, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, absolutely.
Craig Durr: But ideas start here. Ideas might begin here, but then you want to have a physical manifestation of it, right? And that could be the other area that you told me about before as well, too, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, absolutely.
Craig Durr: Let's go work our way up there.
So what you mentioned is that you can go from these ideas of problem discovery to actually creating models to see what things are in place, right? And so this is where this other magic area was that you talked to me about before.
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, so our design team has their own room, their own kitchen. It's the design kitchen. And they say that this is where they cook up the products. This is where it starts. This is how they melt it all together.
Craig Durr: Is this the fish bowl right here? We get to come in here?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yeah, so this is Marcus's home.
Craig Durr: This is the design kitchen?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yeah
Craig Durr: So we're talking about how this is where ideas come to bear, right? In terms of some manifestation. I recognize this. This is the Neat Frame, but this is not the Neat Frame. This is actually cardboard.
Norma Løvhaugen: It’s a very early prototype. Just to test out, to see, to get the feel for the product–understand more of the experience. Can this work? Can it not? What's the eye contact?
Craig Durr: And then here's another one, right?
Norma Løvhaugen: You might recognize that one.
Craig Durr: This is the one that you and I spoke about. This is Center, right? And these are different forms of the outward pieces. So how much time do you wind up spending in here? Is this where the ideas come to bear? Is this part of the frustration? Is this as part of the aha moments? What is this?
Norma Løvhaugen: I don't spend that much time here, but the design team spends a lot of time here. And then we're invited to come and look and voice our opinions sometimes. This is an early version of the purple, first Neat Bar. The design team was testing out different colors. This is the northern lights variation.
Craig Durr: I've heard you guys refer to this as the purple rain version, right? Make it rain purple rain. I love that. That's great.
Norma Løvhaugen: It's a very limited edition. So it was a splash with the purple.
Craig Durr: But it goes back against that same idea that we talked about. The ethos of what you were doing here is around the idea of the full experience, everything from the smallest details that you might see in terms of a curve of a monitor to the light of a color, bringing this all together in terms of a way that you can actually articulate a product that's really unique to the market.
Norma Løvhaugen: Yeah, exactly. And that's also what the market recognizes as Neat design and Neat quality. I think that comes down to that thoroughness of our design team, where they really go into all details and they don't give up.
We're kind of joking about how one time, Simon–one of the other designers–he came to me with four plates, and there were four gray fabric samples on it. And he said, “Do you think the variations of these are okay?” And I couldn't see any difference. I was like, “Are you kidding me?” They looked like the same gray to me, but for him, he could see that, “Oh, there's some more yellow in this one. There's some more kind of pattern in this one.” And, you know, he pointed at them, but I still couldn't see. But it has to do with that overall quality because we want all our products to have the exact same design. If a customer buys products from us, and they stand next to each other, we don't want to have variations in the gray of those products. So his point is spot on, right? It's just that you have to have the designer's eye to actually see.
Craig Durr: So I'm gonna put you on the spot with a question. Maybe you weren't expecting it, okay? I've used this word, but I'm curious how you talk about it. People have used the word ethos to describe what you guys have here, and it's something I've noticed on this trip–that it's almost the heritage of your Scandinavian background that allows you to have this eye for that detail you just described. This need for simplicity and functionality but still aesthetic beauty. How do you describe the ethos when you talk to people?
Norma Løvhaugen: So the design team, they call this “Neat by design.” And what they then refer to is that essence of what they do is providing value for the user. That's the core of it. And then there's all about the simplicity, which is also something that I believe is pretty unique to Neat, and the way that we harnessed that experience. Everything from how you receive the box or even starting before that. You buy from us, that should be simple. So the whole customer journey should be designed in a good way. But also the first impression when you actually receive a product from us should be so easy, so easy to unpack, set up, everything's available, and we guide you. I think that gives a really solid first impression. And then, we need to keep that up for the users and for our customers.
Craig Durr: So it's almost even a commitment to that end user and IT administrator who's touching the products, in addition to that buyer and what have you. I mean, there's no shortage of puns about why the company is called Neat. It's neat by design, by experience.
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly. It’s clean, tidy, you know. It comes with the name in a way.
Craig Durr: So you've been here at this point in time now, you guys are coming on to five years as being a company. And I think you are hitting a point now where the name's known in the market. I think that you've got products in some great people's hands, like I've even seen a picture of Joe Biden, our U.S. president, using the Neat Bar. And I'm sure there's a lot of other things.
Norma Løvhaugen: There’s been a proud user on Twitter.
Craig Durr: Exactly. So you're at this instrumental point. How do you grow from here? What's the next steps? What are you thinking about in terms of taking this Neat idea to more people, more experiences, more places, more rooms, if you will.
Norma Løvhaugen: Great question. So at the core of what we do, we also want to keep our portfolio very tight. We don't want too many products, but we want to make sure that we have a product covering the range of spaces that our customers have. So in all our products, we build capabilities so that it can easily adapt to different types of use cases and easily adapt to different types of deployments.
And we also view our products as building blocks so that they can be combined with features that are coming out now, with Neat Share, where you both have the App Hub. App Hub is also part of that–that we provide even more value to our customers where they can leverage their favorite apps. Any team can use their apps of choice so that then they can leverage our products for more than video conferencing. And then how we combine the App Hub with, for instance, Zoom or Teams. We have a feature coming that's called Neat Share. We can share from App Hub into Zoom and Teams. It’s the same with the Neat Center right. Neat Center is a building block that helps our customers deploy in different types of spaces, but still brings foreign into the center of the conversation with really good audio and video capabilities.
Craig Durr: That's right back to the conversation we had before coffee.
Norma Løvhaugen: Yes, exactly.
Craig Durr: So I think I see this really great, wonderful pattern where, if you are taking this idea of simplicity, of design, of aesthetics, of even a high quality product and now expanding it across the portfolio to different spots–and it's not just about devices, per se, but you're getting into the experiential side as well–the expansion.
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly. Good point. So it's providing more flexibility, both when it comes to different types of spaces and custom spaces, but also more flexibility in terms of applications to run on our devices and how to leverage them. So with all of that, we hope to provide the values for different types of workflow and different ways of working for our customers. And where our products have simplicity, we also want the experiences to be dynamic and as much as possible, automatic. So using our intelligence to understand what is the scenario going on now, and how we can make sure that we provide the best experience–both when it comes to how we capture people on video, as well as how we address dynamic switching between microphones on all the sides.
Craig Durr: Yeah. So okay, I'm going to give you the chance to close out this conversation. We're going to look into our crystal ball, and we're going to try and understand what Norma and our team are thinking about in the future. So we saw your space where you actually look at problems and you try and find interesting solutions around them, where you ideate, where you create solutions and put them in space right now. What do you think are some of the upcoming challenges around workplace collaboration and communication? What are some of the key things that you're feeling are challenges to be solved here in the future?
Norma Løvhaugen: Yeah, very good question. I think it comes down to the fundamentals of what we do. So at the core of our expertise is to help bring people together. And we believe that teams should have really good communication. With good communication, we believe it's also important to have nonverbal communication where everyone can see who's nodding, who's paying attention, who's smiling, as well as good audio where everyone can naturally chime in and say yes and no one is suppressed. And when that conversation just floats very naturally, regardless of if you're physically together, what happens is that teams build trust, they build empathy. And with that, it's easier to bring up concerns or ideas, etc.
Craig Durr: I've heard it referred to as having psychological safety, and the idea at the point in time that I feel that I'm connected to you, whether in the same room, or across the world–Oslo, back to Austin, Texas, where I'm from. If we create that environment that has this element of psychological safety, I think that we can actually break down some barriers, collaborate, communicate, and solve problems together.
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly, yeah. And then how do we keep on evolving there? When spaces are more fluid in a way?
Craig Durr: Look at this beautiful office we're moving through right now, right? Open office spaces, benching taking place, wonderful behind the curtain magic spaces.
Norma Løvhaugen: Exactly. So it's more and more different types of spaces. It's not that predictable meeting room where you have people sitting around the table. It's a lot more different type of shaped spaces, right? And we believe that one thing is the meeting, where you have a formal agenda, you have a plan for what you want to go through. But then you have the other aspect of what makes a good team, and that's the conversations that's happening before the meeting after the meeting by the coffee machine. And it’s about how do we bridge those roles?
