Technology exists to serve people. How that comes to fruition can vary, but that core concept remains true. How can we improve the lives of our customers and our employees? What problems genuinely need to be solved? Where can we improve the human experience with technology?
Most technology leaders and implementers view technology as a hammer, and they're looking for a nail. They buy or build technology based on a cool thing they hear technology can do, then look to see if they can find a place where they can use it. It's a simple trap to fall into because there is genuinely amazing technology out there. It all promises some form of breakthrough for your customers and/or your organization, and the demos, ads, peers using it, and promises hype you up so much you start to feel like an idiot if you don't pursue something new and cutting edge...
But... for what? What problems in your organization are you solving? I can't tell you how many times the answer to that question turns out to be "none of them."
How is it possible that shiny new tech rarely, if ever, solves the real problems in my organization?
Well, the first thing that fools you is that new technology does do cool, new things that feel great. Maybe it adds new features or offerings to your organization, changes the experience of your customers or your employees in some way, maybe even brings efficiency and increased profits. Those are all great things, right?
Possibly... but what did you not do? You only have so much bandwidth as an organization, and if that bandwidth is spent creating new, cool things, who is taking care of the things that need improvement that you already do that really matter? What do your customers actually want right now? What problems have been neglected while your team plays with new toys?
I'll tell you something that customers HATE– seeing new products, features, offerings, and major announcements when there are crippling problems in what you already do
Nothing says "I don't care about you" like investing your time and money on things that don't solve your customers' problems they've been dealing with every day for months or even years.
When was the last time you meaningfully got feedback and eyes on the front lines of your organization, on your customers? When was the last time you've seen, touched, and experienced what your customers experienced? Delegation is great and, obviously, at various scales, it is the right choice. However, you should still see the results of what you delegated, so the question remains relevant: what are your customers' real problems? What are your employees' real problems?
Often times I'm fairly convinced this may be the single most important thing I bring to the table as a CTO: a refocus on people and solving the real problems those people are experiencing first and foremost. The lives and experiences of those people are the absolute why and forgetting this or at least losing sight of it is an absolute recipe for failure– whether evident now, or in the future.
If your perspective is short-sighted, it's going to be difficult to understand what I'm talking about
Cyber security is a great example of where this doesn't seem obvious. By definition, the tighter the security, the worse we make usability (think logon codes, strict passwords, more general hoops to get to your work), and therefore, makes the general user experience worse. But, worse forever, or just for now?
Big picture, neglecting cyber security is arguably the biggest failure to understand and prioritize user experience there is. Some obvious fallouts from neglect include:
- Data theft
- Identity theft
- Loss of access to critical services
- Missed paychecks
- Down time (customers and internal employees)
- Loss of employment (companies close their doors from cyber-attack regularly)
- Emotional stress and anxiety
- more...
I know I'm beating this into the ground but I'm trying to make it clear– every technology thing we do needs to somehow tie back into the human experience.
So what does that look like?
It looks like your technology leadership understanding your organization as well as your customer support and experience teams understand your organization. It looks like your CTO, your CIO, or your C whatever in technology prioritizing the human experiences as a top priority. It looks like your technical leadership being in constant contact with the front lines of actual experience. It looks like your technical leadership understanding the biggest risks to your organization and prioritizing what gets done to that deep understanding. Most importantly, it looks like your company regularly talking to your customers about what really matters to them.
Where is the most pain? Where is the risk? What do your customers want more of? What do they want less of? Does the money we spend in our technology reflect efforts toward those things? If it doesn't, plain and simple, we're missing it.
Our customers are the only reason we exist as an organization at all
Why do we see so much technology completely disconnected from the human experience when the only reason the organization can exist is for the customer?
One major reason I see is fear. Fear from technical leaders to tell the truth because it's "expensive." Spending from their own wallet instead of the business requirement. I see technology leaders say no more than I see the owners/CEOs of said organizations say no. How is this possible?
I believe it's possible because of a failure to create a culture of customer focus in every delivery area, and a lack of true awareness and leadership skills in discerning cost to benefit analysis
If you, as a technical leader, told any business owner their $10mil company would be dead within 3 years if we didn't invest $500,000 in technology this year, and you can prove it, guess what? $500,000 isn't expensive. It's all relative to the risk and loss it represents.
If you're a technology leader reading this and you believe budget is always the reason you can't get things done, I'd argue that your lack of ability to connect the cost to the business outcome is the reason you can't get anything done.
If you're a business owner reading this, you should take this knowledge to help unlock the potential of your technology leaders by empowering them with this constant reminder– expensive is relative; what risks and opportunities are you not telling me about? I promise, if you ask your technical leaders these questions, you're going to get a laundry list of things you would have otherwise never heard.
Reminder– if you don't have technology leadership, you should, even if it's just for a small engagement to start, fill out my quick form here and we can chat https://fulcruminsights.io
I know all of this is true because I've seen it over and over. Multiple companies, different parts of the world, different industries, same story. A disconnect in what really matters, and therefore a disconnect in allocated budget, communication, and action.
Technical people also just lose sight of what's important
Aside from the fear, we have a perspective problem too. When you live in technology long enough, you begin to view every problem through a technology lens (think back to a hammer looking for a nail). This is why so many incredibly talented technical people fail as technology leaders for your organization.
Yes you get results, but whether or not those results have anything to do with what you needed... well, that's another conversation altogether.
You need leadership that is looking at the business outcomes equally with the technical, and unfortunately, many extremely technical people are so far subservient to that technology lens that they can't see anything else... and I mean literally, they can't see it. This means they'll be very convincing on what they tell you needs to be done, because they truly believe it's the most important. It also means we need discernment and checks and balances to ensure alignment with what truly matters.
Constant reminders of what matters
I think it all comes down to a constant reminder of what really matters. A culture of people over everything. When your entire team is split into different departments, KPIs, outcomes, goals, and deadlines, or even just in fire/fight mode, it's easy for every person to have a different definition of "what is most important." As an owner/CEO, I believe it's our responsibility to constantly remind and refocus on what is most important– people. Everything else is to serve them.
If you ask every person on your team what the most important thing is in their job and the business, what would they say? If you're not sure, I think there's work to be done.
Wrap up
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