Point of View Matters - Customer/External and Organization/Internal

Point of View matters in so many contexts when creating experiences, deploying product, or delivering services. And I've found that the predominant POV typically originates with the leader's perspective.

I actually believe the most impactful POV is very simple: Customer versus Organization, or how some have put it, External versus Internal.

Here are some examples where, as a coach, I get a good idea of predominant POVs by listening to language, inspecting success criteria, and analyzing value streams.

• Creating Experiences (Internal) - this is incredible and will allow us to leap frog our competitors.
• Creating Experiences (External) - this is incredible and has increased engagement by 10%!
• Deploying Product (Internal) - great demo, now we can work on that next feature. 
• Deploying Product (External) - great demo, let's get that into production today!
• Delivering Services (Internal) - these status reports really give us a good idea of where we are.
• Delivering Services (External) - did you hear that? I've never heard a client so pleases!
• Analyzing Value Streams (Internal) - that will definitely eliminate waste, even if lead time is the same.
• Analyzing Value Streams (External) - I don't believe that will improve getting this into the hands of our customers, c'mon let's keep looking!

Now, while I realize these may sound contrived, I've heard comments and even more involved conversations along these very lines. When I hear this the image that comes to mind is "team in a bubble." Such an internal or organizational point of view may feel good, be comfortable, and make teams believe they are progressing. But if there is no impact to your customer, then what progress is there really?

Some common leverage points include:

• Definition of Done - does it refer to getting it into customer hands?
• Assessing Impact - how are you measuring the true impact of work completed?
• Measuring Capability - what is the capability of the value stream, not just one component?

As a leader, talk in terms of customer impacts and value - model Customer POV behaviors and language; and as coach, awaken this insight in your team and get them excited about what is possible. As great as internal progress may feel - external, customer progress feels an order or magnitude better, and is necessary for long-term success.