Creating Impact by Leading with Delight
Chat with Jonathan Rochelle, Co-Founder, CPO at Lutely, Former VP at LinkedIn, Zapier, Google
Jonathan’s journey through the tech industry is a testament to how moments of delight can shape products, drive innovation, and transform entire industries. From his early days as a Wall Street software engineer to co-founding Google Workspace’s collaborative tools, Jonathan has consistently sought to surprise users with solutions that solve problems, but also bring joy.
A pivotal moment for Jonathan came in the early 2000s, when his company developed technology that converted spreadsheets into web applications. This innovation caught Google’s attention, leading to the creation of Google Sheets and, ultimately, the entire suite of Google’s collaborative tools, which were a foundation of the Google Workspace suite. The core problem these products solved was something users struggled to articulate but deeply needed: a better way to share and collaborate on digital content.
When I asked Jonathan about the most delightful feature he worked on, his answer was clear: real-time collaboration in Google Sheets. “Real-time collaboration always delighted people, it created a joyful surprise, and it was constant,” he explained. The impact was so profound that Google rewrote the original version of Google Docs to match the collaboration experience of Sheets. However, this success became both a breakthrough and a challenge, as the team was constantly expected to replicate that level of delight in future products.
Jonathan’s approach to building delightful experiences goes beyond feature development; it’s rooted in deeply understanding user pain points. He doesn’t just rely on user requests but believes in “living with the user or being the user.” This philosophy was instrumental when he helped launch Google Classroom. The platform drastically reduced teachers’ workloads, not just improving efficiency but genuinely enhancing their quality of life. Teachers, often burdened with late-night grading and planning, became passionate advocates, spreading the word about Google Classroom even before it was widely adopted. Their organic enthusiasm quickly fueled the product’s growth, proving that solving real, painful problems leads to success.
When I asked Jonathan how to convince leaders to invest in delightful features, he shared a compelling story from Google Docs. Initially, when users shared documents via links, their email addresses were exposed, leading to privacy concerns. The team needed a quick fix without disrupting collaboration. Jonathan tasked a product manager to think outside the box, and the result was a proposal to replace user identities with quirky “anonymous animals” icons, some as whimsical as chupacabras.
Though unconventional, the idea struck the perfect balance between functionality and delight. It preserved privacy while adding an unexpected element of fun. Jonathan reflects on this as a crucial lesson in leadership: taking risks and letting other people know you want them to take risks to innovate are essential to creating delight. Too often, leaders play it safe, fearing failure, but true innovation comes from bold, unconventional ideas. In his current work, he applies the same mindset; he pushes designers, product managers, and engineers to infuse delight into products through aesthetics and design of interaction.
The key lesson from Jonathan’s experience is that creating delightful products requires more than technical expertise; it demands empathy, observation, experimentation, and the ability to address unspoken user needs. Whether making collaboration seamless in Google Workspace or simplifying administrative tasks for teachers, the goal is always to surprise users with solutions that make their lives better in simple but meaningful ways.
The full interview and more stories about delight are available in the Product Delight book. You can get your copy on Amazon Now.