CarMax Chief Information Officer Shamim Mohammad joined InnoLead on stage at our Impact 2024 conference last October. Among the topics he discussed with InnoLead co-founder Scott Cohen:
- Recognize the need for change, even when you’re the market leader. Mohammad emphasizes that being on top can breed complacency, but it’s crucial to acknowledge when the environment is shifting. He notes that CarMax realized they needed to adapt quickly to new technology and changing customer expectations, despite their success.
- Integrate business and technology strategy so they are indistinguishable and drive transformation together. Mohammad describes how CarMax’s three-year strategy was developed with technology and business leaders working side-by-side, ensuring that both were fully aligned.
- Overcome organizational inertia by “shocking the system” — physically redesign office spaces, co-locate cross-functional teams, and break down silos. CarMax removed traditional office cubes and physically placed teams from different departments together. This fostered collaboration and made it clear that the company was serious about working differently.
- Move from a project mindset to a product mindset, with cross-functional teams measured on experimentation and business outcomes. Instead of focusing on short-term projects, CarMax organizes teams around products, encouraging ongoing experimentation and learning. Teams are evaluated on their ability to deliver value and adapt, not just complete tasks.
- Engage the board and C-suite in the transformation journey by providing regular product demos and showing tangible business outcomes.
- Empower teams with clear goals (OKRs) tied to company strategy, but let them figure out the “how” to foster innovation. Teams get ambitious objectives linked to the company’s overall strategy, but are trusted to determine the best way to achieve them. This autonomy encouraged creativity and ownership at all levels.
- Mohammad believes that innovation shouldn’t be confined to a single department. By embedding innovation into every team’s mission, CarMax ensured that new ideas could come from anywhere in the organization.
- The company runs “Innovation Garage” events where teams work on new ideas for several days, culminating in presentations and awards. These events temporarily free employees from their regular duties to focus on passion projects, often resulting in breakthrough ideas and even patents. The competitive, celebratory atmosphere helps build a lasting culture of innovation.
To watch highlights from the session, click “play” above. Our next Impact conference is coming up this June 8-10 in Cambridge, MA.
