Scott Tong is a startup advisor and entrepreneur in residence at IMO Ventures. Previously he was head of product design at Pinterest, co-founder at IFTTT, and principal designer at IDEO. Follow him @ScottTong on Twitter.

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Chances are you’ve heard a number of of the next statements at work (or some taste of them):
“We’re an engineering-driven company.”
“We’re a product-driven company.”
“We’re a design-driven company.”
While at first look the statements above could appear innocuous, what they actually suggest is an influence dynamic the place a specific perspective carries extra weight and affect in decision-making than others. How did it get that method within the first place? Was the founder a PM in a earlier firm? Did the primary hires all occur to be engineers? Or does probably the most vocal particular person occur to be from a specific self-discipline? These are some examples of how biases get institutionalized. They can get seeded early and compound over time, or occur shortly as new leaders get put in as the corporate grows.
Whether intentional or not, these imbalances can disempower different disciplines, create fiefdoms, and erode belief between colleagues. Over time, these divisions kill productiveness and high quality. Internal factions waste worthwhile time and vitality jockeying for affect and management, whereas the product will get fragmented and complicated for customers.
On the flip facet, when disciplines and groups are aligned there’s much less worth positioned on which particular person or self-discipline “made the call.” Over time, groups transfer shortly, study collectively, get by means of iteration cycles effortlessly, spend extra time producing high-quality outcomes that attain customers, and fewer time infighting. It’s like being in a state of circulate, however for groups. So what’s it that these high-performing groups align on? You’ve in all probability heard it earlier than, however it’s price unpacking:
The consumer.
Ideally, crucial driver of selections isn’t one particular person or self-discipline in your group—it needs to be your consumer. Your job is to assist them navigate. Everyone constructing the product or making selections about it, no matter self-discipline, ought to perceive who they’re constructing for, and why what they’re doing is contributing to bettering that consumer’s expertise.
User-centric considering is the hallmark of the world-class corporations as a result of they love and obsess about you—the consumer. Amazon calls this buyer obsession. Ideo calls this human-centered design. During my time at Pinterest, crucial firm worth was to “Put Pinners first.”
By specializing in serving the consumer, it removes the stress on any particular person or self-discipline to at all times make the correct name. Focusing on what is true for the consumer, slightly than who is true removes ego from the equation. Users in the end determine anyway—they vote with their habits and attitudes.
Serving your customers higher is a purpose with no end line. Understand that the selections you make will generally enhance their experiences and generally degrade them. Nobody has 100% hit fee, and no person can predict the longer term with full certainty. In a tradition of excellent decision-making, the purpose isn’t to get any single determination precisely proper (though that’s at all times good), however to make persistently good (and higher) selections over time, particularly the vital ones.
So how do you get your organization oriented round customers? Consider three vital elements: (1) folks with the correct mindset, (2) an method to balanced decision-making that begins with customers, and (3) the mechanics and properties of high-quality selections.
1. Identify and empower T-shaped folks
Differences in opinion are inevitable. But in an effort to have persistently productive discussions, debates, disagreements, and in the end selections, you’ll want T-shaped folks. A T-shaped particular person refers to somebody who has a deep area experience in not less than one subject (the depth of their T), in addition to a robust potential to collaborate with folks throughout different areas of experience (the breadth of their T). Here’s some examples of T-shaped folks, who may additionally occur to make a robust workforce:

T-shaped folks are usually the most effective teammates—they’ve deep data that they’re prepared to share and clarify to their counterparts, in addition to a built-in curiosity that welcomes new views. This is particularly vital in management and decision-making roles. What’s extra, their curiosity and empathy doesn’t simply apply to their colleagues, it naturally extends to customers.
What T-shaped folks notice is that no single particular person or self-discipline is extra vital than the opposite, nor ought to they try to be. Sure, there are moments the place one’s experience makes their enter extra credible, however It’s how their collective skills serve the consumer that in the end matter most. People (and hopefully T-shaped folks) are probably the most primary components of your tradition. Choose correctly.
Ways to establish T-shaped folks
Look for curiosity and empathy. Top high quality execution and outcomes are a given, however don’t cease trying there. What was the consumer drawback they have been making an attempt to unravel? How did they arrived at that answer? What have been the insights that led them to take their initiatives in a specific route? What promising instructions did they determine to not pursue, and why? Were they concerned in analysis and understanding the customers? Can they clearly articulate the wants of the shopper? Does it really feel like they know them intimately and care?
Look for humility. On initiatives, what assumptions did they make that have been fully incorrect? How did the consumer or different disciplines present them a special and worthwhile perspective? Do they share the credit score? Did they assist others succeed? Individual expertise is vital, however constructing nice merchandise is a workforce sport.
2. Make balanced selections that begin with customers
User-centered (aka customer-centric, human-centered) considering is a method of framing issues with a transparent start line: understanding and empathizing with consumer wants. If T-shaped persons are your primary components, then the user-centered considering is a recipe—a strategy to mix and improve the components to supply wonderful outcomes. Here’s what it appears like:

Have your workforce begin by asking “what is the user problem we’re trying to solve?” It’s a deceivingly easy focusing mechanism. It could take some rigorous debate to align on the correct drawback, however as soon as that occurs, selections from all disciplines have a transparent tie again to driving consumer worth first—making the product sooner, cheaper, extra environment friendly, extra pleasant, simpler to know—then orienting their collective effort round offering that worth.
Less user-centric groups will do the alternative: search for methods to make their very own work simpler or extra environment friendly, look to optimize their very own sub-team metrics, or fulfill their very own private curiosities—and go away the consumer to orient themselves round their organizational efficiencies. If you’ve ever felt a damaged sign-up circulate or complicated onboarding expertise, then you already know what I’m speaking about.
While user-centric considering begins with customers, no single lens is extra vital than the others. It’s totally doable to fulfill a consumer fully, whereas concurrently killing your enterprise. That’s not determination. Or you can dream up wonderful methods to please your consumer, however in ways in which aren’t achievable with right now’s expertise—that’s no good both. The overlap of  views is what results in efficient selections and nice options. T-shaped decision-makers will know the right way to make these applicable tradeoffs.
3. Make high-quality selections
Evaluating selections by means of a number of lenses is vital to attending to persistently good, balanced selections over time. What determination finest satisfies your consumer’s wants, is sweet for the enterprise (total, not simply to your sub-team or enterprise unit), and technically sound? The overlap is the place high-quality selections are born. But there are further mechanics and properties that make selections high-quality.
In my expertise, high-quality product selections are:
User-centric. First and foremost, rooted in understanding and serving consumer wants. Not simply listening to what customers say or watching what they do, however understanding how they assume and really feel.
Considered. They proactively search enter from, and talk with, related stakeholders and look at the probabilities by means of a number of lenses earlier than making selections. They anticipate speedy results, but in addition secondary and tertiary results as nicely.
Balanced. It’s good for the consumer, good for the enterprise total, and technically sound.
Timely. They don’t take too lengthy, however they aren’t made in haste both.
Calculated. It’s vital to take dangers, however don’t guess the farm until it’s completely crucial. Start small and study. Double down when it really works, readjust when it doesn’t.
Communicated earlier than motion. They are acknowledged as clearly as doable up-front, earlier than taking motion. Their rationale is shared, citing supposed results and flagging main dangers.
Humble. Good selections give attention to what is true, not who is true. They embrace failure as a part of the method, as long as there’s worthwhile studying. For instance, a call could yield a studying that helps you to not pursue a specific route, saving worthwhile effort and time.
Monitored. They are tracked intently to handle each constructive and detrimental results.
Shared broadly. Their outcomes and learnings are examined and shared broadly (and particularly with affected events), whether or not outcomes are good or unhealthy; supposed or unintended—giving future selections a stronger start line.
The case for tradition
Very few corporations, and even fewer startups, stand the check of time. Products and companies right now are all dynamic, and anticipated to evolve with the altering panorama of fickle customers and rising applied sciences. With restricted time and assets, I can already hear folks saying, “this seems like a lot of work” and ask, “can we really afford to invest this much thought and energy into culture?”
The backside line is constructing nice merchandise is tough work. And it’s work that by no means ends, should you’re doing it nicely. Over time, your product will morph in small and massive methods with every new model, to the purpose the place it might be unrecognizable out of your start line. So what’s going to persist, and why? Your tradition—the folks, their shared attitudes, values, targets, practices, and selections—will decide that. So isn’t that price investing in as a lot because the product itself? In the top, they’re one in the identical.