Makers #2: Michael Tokoph & Nour Tabet

To that point, what Michael and I worked on last year was mainly under the realm of design operations and building a healthy and happy environment—to set up McDonald’s to grow their design capabilities internally. It wasn’t only product work that we did. We also had to focus on what their new leadership cared about and then partner on ways we could show up to support these new goals, as good strategic thought leaders.

For example, when our clients began asking about generative AI we quickly introduced them to our AI SME Emily Wengert. Our ability to demonstrate expertise and share farsighted perspectives opened the door for ongoing collaborative workshops and subsequent thought leadership presentations. We set those up on a monthly basis to discuss various relevant design and tech topics, where we engaged in highly intellectual conversations about trends and important considerations in the industry. These sessions ultimately led to our involvement in a series of McDonald’s events that focused on socializing design as a capability, upskilling their team and also in a hackathon that we hosted at Dock 72!

For the hackathon, the aim was to simulate a product lifecycle in which McDonald’s product managers and technologists would get immersed in the design process. We worked on a fictional prompt around the McDonald’s loyalty program. Over three days, we observed a significant transformation in how the engineers approached their work. They moved away from a focus on rigid requirements and began to empathize with user problems and insights as a starting point instead. It was so nice to see our contribution to that—help shift the culture towards broader, user centric and innovative thinking.

The partnership.

Michael Tokoph:In the year and a half I got to work with Nour I learned so much—mostly about how to manage things at the account level. She reframed my perspective, from being an individual contributor to being able to set our team up for success.

For instance, we did a diary study for this project. But Nour made it so the whole team participated, putting ourselves in the shoes of the McDonald’s user. This experience gave us such a mountain of ideas to work on over the next couple of months, improvements, pain points… We had just so much better conversations even internally because we had that real first-hand experience that we could mutually compare.

Nour Tabet: We had a very nice partnership. I had never met Michael before and we met behind the screen, so it was naturally awkward at the beginning. But then we quickly found that nice chemistry and cadence on how to work together because we had a common goal: to make the client succeed in their vision with our help. And in the end, our partnership culminated in some very inspiring initiatives that we presented to the client.

One of the things that we worked on was a perspective on how to elevate their brand across their digital channels. That was a very cool challenge that we took on. We locked ourselves in a room all day, whiteboarding on how to map out all existing initiatives versus the creative ideas that our team was coming up with. I’ll always think fondly of that time, especially working remotely now—Michael and I just jamming in an (eventually stinky) room with post-its galore, putting together a story that weaves creative ideas into a strategic narrative.

Michael is a well of information. He really is! Whatever idea I have, he's able to match it to an insight that he's read or heard in the halls. He is always in the know of the latest updates on the business around the world.

What I most enjoyed working with Michael is that there are never any dead ends nor bad ideas. It's always a ping-pong of, “Hey, this is what I'm thinking. What do you think? Yeah, cool, I read this the other day that could help you. Maybe focus more on this, pull the brakes on that, etc.” Working with Michael always made me feel like I'm working towards a bigger picture.

As a creative, you always want to make something cool at the end of the day, but this approach brings meaning and purpose, and it’s a nice reminder for us creatives that our work doesn’t live in the ether. It's informed. So it was nice to be in a partnership that underscores that.

Michael Tokoph: I really appreciated that in the beginning we just had a really direct conversation around how we wanted to work together. And during our partnership, I always tried to be mindful of the fact that I had been on the account for so long, and we had tried and done different things. So when Nour came onboard with new perspectives, I was very aware of the difference between saying, “No, we've already done that, it's not going to work” versus, “This didn't work in the past, but I like your idea because it's a little bit different.”

I think it was about making sure to be very direct and confident about what you know to be true (and you have data to back it up), and being honest about what you don'tknow. Saying, “This is true. This is the data. But I have no idea what this other thing is. I need your help thinking about this.”

I'm now very excited to be able to work with Nour again in the future projects. I think there's an upcoming project that there's a possibility we're gonna work together on, and just knowing that makes me want to be here because I want to work with her again. She's a special one.

Nour Tabet:I know! Me too!It’s the best to be able to work with someone you have full trust in to speak your mind, to know that they’re going to hold you accountable nonetheless, but will not make you feel judged if you’re throwing random lame ideas… and if one day you just don’t feel inspired and need to take a break! So, cheers, Michael!