What is an individual’s role in her company? When we pose this to ourselves, we may start spouting out the OKRs assigned to us this quarter. Or listing down the roles and responsibilities specified in our job description when we joined. In the process, we forget the fundamentals.

My job exists because there is a real world problem for the company’s customers that has to be simplified.

That’s the crux of it. Every individual in the organization simply plays a part in achieving that goal. The sales team collates the voice of the customer. A product manager visualises an experience to simplify the customer’s problem. Engineers build an app that meets the customer’s needs.

But we lose sight of this most foundational goal when we get caught up in the daily spreadsheets, presentations, numbers and meetings. Processes and architecture strategies should enable us to bring together these pieces of the orchestra to create a single simple harmony, not conflate them into a sophistication nightmare that makes us lose sight of our basic purpose.

How can I simplify the experience for my customer?

This should be the only question we ask ourselves everyday.