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May 3, 2005 4:00 AM PDT
Newsmaker: For Intuit, 'unanswered prayers' spell success
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In 1994, Intuit co-founder Scott Cook figured that he could secure his company's future by turning it into a division of Microsoft. The U.S. Department of Justice thought otherwise, putting an end to that grand merger idea.
But being forced back to the drawing board was the best thing that could have happened to Intuit, because it prompted Cook to lay the groundwork for one of the more remarkable corporate second acts. The company has since established itself as the clear market leader in tax preparation software, leaving Bill Gates to wonder what might have been.
Intuit recently hiked revenue and earnings estimates for its current quarter and fiscal 2005--even before the quarter's official finish. Just after that announcement, CNET News.com caught up with Cook, these days holding down the title of chairman of the executive committee of Intuit's board.
Q: In 1997, you predicted that the companies that would get hurt by the Internet are the ones that "aren't very bright." Lots of companies did get hurt, but what does it say about the survivors' ability to make it in the future?
Cook: I can't predict the future, but let's look at the past. We certainly can't credit luck for the survivors. This was a downdraft of tsunami proportions: Investment funds dried up, marketing channels dried up, employees left town, stock options became underwater and worthless. So those companies who survived had something going--and a few actually had a lot going.
Customers did not change. They still had important problems that needed to be solved, so the demand was still there. You had a lot of riff-raff competitors who may not have had a good business but might have been able to throw money from investors at it. Those have been cleaned out. So in my view, the last few years have been a great time to invent and to put in the foundations for great growth.
Do you think the motivation is the same? Once, there was a feeling that Silicon Valley was invented to change the world. Has the emphasis shifted?
Cook: I think it's pretty much the same. They don't really change from year to year. The best people have real talents, and they want to use those talents to do something truly noble and change the world for the better. That was true in the '60s, and it's true today. The best people want more than a paycheck. Those things pretty much remain constant.
What about from the point of view of chief executive? Is it more difficult to be a CEO in these times than it was when you were starting out?
Cook: I think if you're a crooked CEO, yes--and that's a good thing. Crooked CEOs should go to jail and wear striped suits. Not pinstripe suits, but striped suits.
Do you think there are still many of those types running around the technology business?
Cook: I don't know about them being in the technology business, but I find it so disheartening that every month or two, there is yet another revelation of some skullduggery or just plain moral malfeasance--or worse. CEOs hold a sacred trust, and not just to their employees who believe in the person leading the company and setting the tone. They hold a trust to society.
There is no way that some drug dealer in the street should go to jail and that big-time CEO crooks should not go. Hopefully, justice will be done, and that will serve as a lesson to everyone in the business--that we should live up to the highest moral code.
What about Sarbanes-Oxley? Does the law make it more difficult for CEOs to go about their duties when you know there's a potential penalty if you trip up?
Cook: I think some of the elements of SOX are extremely well-intended, and some of them are quite wise. But there are some parts that are excessive, wrongheaded and a pure waste of money.
But let's recognize why SOX passed. Does it restrict CEOs from doing the right thing? No. The big things that CEOs do are inspiring generations of people to create solutions to problems. Or to improve people's lives and delight customers and make the world better-off. None of that has been changed by SOX. All those things remain.
Do you think the government has found the proper balances for intervention versus nonintervention when it comes to technology? This dialogue between Washington and the Valley has been going on for some time now.
Cook: And it will continue. All kinds of younger growth industries, even older industries, go through the same dialogue. I think that technology companies have generally enjoyed a better regulatory environment than many other industries, thanks to decisions made during the Clinton administration. Of course, there are exceptions,
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Intuit Inc., CEO, suit, merger, talent
While I USED to like thier software, they have joined the
bandwagon of products that expire. Quicken 2002 no longer
accepts data from my bank. Why? to force me into purchasing a
newer copy of Quicken. You'd never buy a car that only lasted
for a few years... you wouldn't buy ANYTHNG if you knew that it
had a very limited lifespan.
Quicken has become so much BLOAT, that MS just as soon own
it. Quickbooks for Mac is such a disaster, and has been for
years.
I think Intuit USED to be good, now they are at the top of my
"Greed Creed" list.
couldn't be happier. Sure, Quicken could use some optimizations,
but what program couldn't? As for the upgrading, one reason for it
is that standards change and banks change. What I mean is, banks
over the years adjust and change how they deliver your data online.
As a result, the products that receive that data must change and
adapt and upgrades are necessary. Overall, if I only have to spend
$30-60 every couple of years, I'm not going complain. They are
solid products and I couldn't be happier for their success.
several times over the years to get one or two
new features. With each upgrade, however, the
product became progressively less convenient and
cluttered. Soon there were mountains of useless
financial advice, the quality of explanations of
certain tax issues became less clearly written,
there were inexplicable dependencies on the
Internet for useless content, etc. All-in-all,
the product simply became more fluff than
function and they lost me as a customer.
For many people, it was the only reason to stick
with Windows. Certainly, it's why we still had a
Windows system image even up until about 18
months ago at the house. Despite it's
popularity, I think it's losing its way and
becoming too complacent. Remove the glitz, boost
the productivity, and port it to Linux / make it
cross-platform; improve the reconciliation
process, start providing decent accounting
services to complement the software, maybe even
work with cash register makers to add a
universal receipt barcode so that I can wave my
receipts past a computer and have them
automagically entered and categorized...
But alas, they are just Intuit...
I would expect to be able to drive my car for more than 2 years. If you bought a car, would you expect it to run forever with out up keep? Financial software is dependent upon changing criteria and up keep is required. Perhaps you should try out some share ware instead of professional software known for its accuracy.
I admire his sense of ethic, the courage he showed while taking the risk to build his business and the amount of work it took him and his team to build Intuit the way it is today. I believe that his constant focus on following his moral values and hope to make a difference in people's life is at the core of Intuit success.
I hope we will be able to follow the same path at SQLFusion, LLC. He is the best example to follow.
- intuit's scott cook
- by May 7, 2005 10:08 PM PDT
- Intuit is a dirty company in regards to it's Canadian Macintosh
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(8 Comments)customers. Intuit buys it's competitor MYOB in Canada, then
provides lousy support. Intuit produces Quickbooks for Mac and
then kills it, Quicken & quicktax a year later for the Mac. It will be a
great day when Simply Accounting comes back to Mac and Intuit
dies. One can only hope.