As far as I can tell, almost nobody, whether engineers, product owners, sales people, or sometimes even executives, has a firm grasp on how a company creates value for its customers. Sometimes this is because the company destroys value instead and everybody’s trying not to know it. But even at productive companies that should be proud of their products and services, most people can’t explain how the business works.

This is bad. If you know why you’re making money, it’s a lot easier to make the right decision.