How might sustainable progress appear when Customer Centricity and Technology Centricity are taken into account?

Imagine a simple chart:

• X-axis: Technology Centricity
• Y-axis: Customer Centricity

If a company goes far enough along the technology axis, it might end up developing ever more sophisticated products without creating proportionate value for customers. On the other hand, if it goes far enough along the customer axis, it might gain a deep understanding of customer needs. However, it will still lack the technological ability to turn those insights into scalable solutions.

The most interesting route is the one that follows the line x = y, along which customer understanding and technological capability develop together.

Progress in this area is by no means smooth; it’s more like climbing a staircase. We gain a better understanding of the customer, after which technology catches up, and a new technological capability appears. Then we learn how to turn it into greater customer value. One step at a time, each side pushes the other ahead. That, for me, is what sustainable innovation looks like.

Rather than deciding between being customer-focused and being technology-focused, one should constantly enhance both.

The problem is not about maximizing a single factor.

The aim is to continue going up the staircase.