Defining Value

In this episode of The Value Stream Show, hosts Andrew Davis and Steve Pereira discuss the vast reach of value, how we define it and how we can measure it. They explore the complex nature of value and the many different factors that influence it. Steve and Andrew talk about the importance of distinguishing the difference between the value of inputs versus the value of the output that’s produced. They also talk about how understanding value can create an opportunity for growth and the potential to reclaim past losses in an organization, a market, or as an individual.

Host Bios

Andrew Davis is a DevOps and Salesforce specialist and author of the book Mastering Salesforce DevOps. As Senior Director of Research and Innovation for Copado, he leads methodology and training for Copado's customers and partners. He's spent his life working at the intersection of technology, psychology, and culture change, including 15 years as a Buddhist monk. He's working towards a world in which we can all be at peace amidst constant change, and bring energy, creativity, and care to every part of our work.

Steve Pereira is a veteran of software delivery and operations. He founded Visible Value Stream Consulting in 2018, and serves as a board advisor for the Value Stream Management Consortium, a contributor to the Value Stream Management Interoperability Technical Committee, and as a Value Stream Management strategist for Copado. He’s always looking for ways to bring business and technology together by facilitating visual collaboration.

What You’ll Learn

What is Value?

The elements of value

Building individual, customer, and organization value

Distinguishing between input value and output value

Quotes

“Organizations are defined by value streams. The network of value streams that compose the organization and the outcomes those generate result from the activity of individual contributors. Individual contributors will default to working and moving in different directions unless they’re aligned around the value stream.” -Steve [07:37]

“We have different time horizons for our understanding of value. My experience of what is valuable immediately is usually to the detriment of what is valuable to me in the long term. This is the tension of time and visibility. It is an interesting dimension to consider in the context of value stream management.” -Steve [15:03]

“Value at the end of the day is feeling. How an individual feels about something. But then of course we have to make decisions as a group. So how do we feel as a group about something? Or how does the market feel about something?” -Andrew [03:05]

“There is a phenomenal amount of efficiency that can be reclaimed from company processes if we connect with employees’ intrinsic motivations. If your employees are not feeling profoundly engaged with the company's mission to serve your customers for the greater good of the organization, they will consciously or subconsciously be dragging their feet and unmotivated.” -Andrew [13:22]

Timestamps

[00:27] Intro

[00:57] What is value?

[05:47] Value applies to the macro

[07:59] Defining value in a business context

[10:40] Relationships between the business, customer, and contributor

[15:57] What is not value

[18:18] The values of the input and output

[23:07] Outro

Resources

Inside Out: The Power of Value Stream Clarity

Book: Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies