Value system perspective inversion

Why "Who Creates Value" Depends on Where You Stand

One of the most common arguments in product and business discussions sounds deceptively simple:

"Who creates value here?"

The problem is not the question itself - the problem is that it is often asked without defining the value system in which the answer is supposed to exist.

This is where Value System Perspective Inversion becomes critical.

Value is not absolute

Value does not exist in isolation. It exists inside a value system, defined by:

• a goal
• a boundary
• and a point of observation

Change the system - and the direction, meaning, and even sign of value flows can invert.

The classic company–product–customer view

In the most common framing:

• the company receives value from customers in the form of money
• the customer receives value from the product in the form of utility

This model is convenient, intuitive, and operationally useful - inside that system.

Money flows in. Product value flows out.

Inverting the perspective: the customer as a value system

Now remove the company from the center and look at the customer as an independent value system. From this perspective:

• money is not incoming value
• money is consumed value

The customer spends money to: save time, reduce effort, lower risk, increase effectiveness, enable their own value creation elsewhere.

The product is no longer "the value". It becomes an enabling element in the customer’s own production chain.

The same flow. A completely different meaning.

The same value converter - opposite interpretations

This is the key insight:

The same value converter can have opposite interpretations of value flows depending on the chosen value system.

What is:

• revenue for the company
• is cost for the customer

What is:

• product value for the business
• is an efficiency investment for the user

Neither view is "more correct". They simply belong to different systems.

Why this matters in practice

Most strategic and product mistakes happen when:

• one party argues from one value system
• the other responds from another
• and neither side realizes the mismatch

This shows up as: pricing conflicts, failed monetization, "users don't appreciate the value" narratives, internal debates about "who we are building for".

Without explicit system definition, value discussions degrade into ideology.

A simple rule that changes everything:

Never discuss value without naming the value system.

Before asking:

• Is this valuable?
• Who creates value here?
• Where does the value flow?

Ask first:

• For whom?
• Inside which system?
• Toward which goal?

Only then do value flows become meaningful - and measurable.

Value system perspective inversion as a design tool

Once you embrace inversion:

• products are designed as value enablers, not value containers
• monetization is treated as value extraction, not entitlement
• optimization shifts from "maximizing capture" to preserving system sustainability

This is not philosophy.

This is a practical lens for product, pricing, and strategy decisions.