We have seen the clever application of technology “change the game” for companies both big and small. Our personal narratives are full of truths hard won and answers bought with failure — we firmly believe that success teaches very little besides the unique circumstances of that success, whereas when everything goes wrong there are a myriad of lessons for those who can stand to learn them.
Very often failure comes from focusing on the “easy part”. The technology itself is often the “easy part”. Much harder, in our experience, are the commensurate changes in process, work styles, and team composition required to successfully deploy technology. This is where the bulk of our efforts are spent. Communicating change is four fifths of the challenge of change.
Growing more and more skeptical of the “technology first” approach offered by companies who at the end of the day are selling — surprise surprise! — licensed software, we decided to chart a different course.