The Challenge

Fuel Continuous Innovations in a Hyper-Growth Company.

• Need for New Thinking: SharkNinja, a $3B+ powerhouse in home appliances, faces constant pressure to outpace competitors in a saturated market.

• Globally Siloed Organization: With over 1,000 employees across engineering, design, and operations, daily tasks overshadow bold idea generation.

The Ask: Design and facilitate immersive Hack Weeks where teams pause normal operations to swarm on disruptive product and process innovations.

My Role

Team Guide and Instructor. As a guide, I steered teams through human-centered design principles, ensuring ideas were grounded in user needs while also pushing boundaries.

Process: Transformed the Hotel Commonwealth into a buzzing innovation hub, complete with collaborative spaces, prototyping materials, and guided methodology training in topics like storytelling and prototyping.

The Results & Impact

A Culture Shift Driving Tangible Growth

• Ideas Advanced to Market: Several prototypes evolved into launched products, contributing to Shark/Ninja’s 25+ annual releases.

• Employee Engagement Boost: Over 1,000 associates participated across cycles, breaking silos and fostering a “hack mindset.”

• Business Impact: The Hack Weeks reinforced Shark/Ninja’s competitive advantage in consumer goods, helping to maintain double-digit growth.
  
  ”Hack Week is where we shut down to speed up, clearing calendars to prioritize breakthrough innovations.”
  
  CEO Mark Barrocas