Design is the Differentiator: Bringing New Design Innovations to a Very Antiquated and Very Large Industry
Summary
Technology and design are at the heart of the innovations Compass delivers to thousands of real estate agents. Compass Founder and CEO Robert Reffkin and Sr VP of Design & UXR Greg Petroff chat about the industry and the opportunity for design to make a difference. Learn how technology and design make Compass stand out and deliver digital innovations in a massive industry. Hear about the Compass culture of learning and collaboration that is at the core of high-performing design teams. See how design scales its efforts with the help of product and engineering partners and a powerful set of entrepreneurial principles.
Key Insights
-
•
Focusing on maximizing strengths instead of compensating weaknesses was a pivotal career realization for Robert.
-
•
A solutions-driven culture avoids killing ideas with 'no' and instead proposes alternative paths to keep momentum.
-
•
The 'movie montage' mindset is a mental trick to positively reframe hard work and persistence in challenging periods.
-
•
Compass views real estate agents as entrepreneurs who orchestrate complex, collaborative workflows involving many stakeholders.
-
•
Designing for Compass users requires accounting for extreme diversity in age, experience, and socioeconomic background.
-
•
Collaborative workflows that integrate multiple roles and views will define the next decade of design in real estate tech.
-
•
Robert champions learning from reality by asking customers what they want and integrating existing ideas rather than inventing blindly.
-
•
Compass’s four key design focus areas are building a mobile-first platform, video-first content creation, AI-based recommendations, and seamless collaboration.
-
•
Having a CEO actively involved and invested in product and design accelerates innovation and user empathy in Compass.
-
•
The 'rocking chair test' encourages considering long-term life satisfaction when making day-to-day work and personal decisions.
Notable Quotes
"Stop trying to make your weaknesses a strength, just minimize weaknesses and maximize your strengths."
"People say no, and it sucks the energy out of the room. Instead, offer three ideas to keep the ball moving."
"I live my life like it’s a movie, visualizing the montage of hard work turning into transformation."
"Real estate agents are entrepreneurs at the center of the most collaborative workflow I know."
"There are 700 software providers selling to two million agents; most didn’t work until they did."
"The greatest advantage you have in life is the speed at which you learn."
"Most business winners are not the inventors but great integrators of existing ideas."
"Mobile-first is critical because real estate is the largest mobile profession without a full app for business."
"Collaborative workflow with permissions, task assignments, and multiple stakeholders is the next big design challenge."
"The rocking chair test helps you evaluate if you’re living a life you won’t regret when you’re old."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Slack channels with live feeds and tagging let busy developers catch key observations asynchronously."
Joanna Vodopivec Prabhas PokharelOne Research Team for All - Influence Without Authority
March 9, 2022
"Public sector work is about broadening your reach and delivering outcomes to everyone, not winning market share."
Louis Rosenfeld Lashanda Hodge Senongo Akpem Chris HodowanecBecoming a Civic Designer: Making the Move from Private to Public Sector
November 17, 2022
"Please put your questions for a specific speaker in the associated thread for the talk."
Bria AlexanderDay 3 Welcome
September 25, 2024
"Yesterday we touched upon topics like chatDBT, chatbots, trust, intentionality, agency, and even alien interns."
Uday Gajendar Louis RosenfeldDay 2 Welcome
June 5, 2024
"We often say don’t make me think. When that’s not possible, reuse and recycle those learnings."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
June 7, 2023
"The post-offer period isn’t HR’s alone; hiring teams must stay in touch and keep the candidate engaged."
Russ UngerOnboarding: The Ecosystem, not the Afterthought
November 7, 2017
"It almost feels like cheating because your users are showing and telling you what they need. It's almost too easy."
Catherine DubutBridging Physical and Digital Spaces: Approaches to Retail Service Design
March 18, 2021
"Bespoke UI can generate interfaces on the fly based on immediate need or intent."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Design: New Postures for AI-Mediated Experiences (2nd of 3 seminars)
January 29, 2025
"I made an explicit choice: we’re not making any offers until we’re interviewing women."
Dantley DavisLeadership & Diversity—A Fireside Chat with Dantley Davis
September 17, 2020
