IT is accountable
Through clear, measurable security and performance data.
Why Does Technology Never Work the Way You Expect?
Most businesses have been burned by a technology investment that didn’t deliver. A new system that was supposed to solve everything. A migration that created more problems than it fixed. A tool nobody uses six months later.
The instinct is to blame the technology. Or the vendor. Or the team that rolled it out. But more often than not, the root cause is simpler:
The business started with a solution and tried to force it into a need — instead of the other way around.
The Wheel of Misalignment
Early in my career, I was part of a small IT department within an organization that brought in a third party to assess our technology. The assessment identified two fundamental problems: a disconnect between leadership and IT, and a tendency to implement solutions before properly defining requirements. Though the insights were simple, this experience was a defining moment in my career, shaping how I approach IT and business. I reference it almost weekly, as its lessons on leadership alignment and strategic planning remain just as relevant today.
I vividly remember a simple yet powerful diagram they shared: a wheel with “solution” on one side and “need” on the other. The key takeaway was clear. When you start with a solution and attempt to force it into a need, failure is almost inevitable. However, when you properly define the needs and requirements and then seek appropriate solutions, success is far more likely.
Want the full framework? Get the guide.
What does misalignment actually look like?
Leadership makes decisions in isolation and hands them off to IT without recognizing that IT could provide valuable insights if involved earlier in the process. Early collaboration with IT would allow for a deeper exploration of requirements, both in terms of functionality and broader business outcomes.
In agile product development, this is akin to defining the story: describe what the result looks like. What problem are we solving? What are the desired outcomes? What’s the thing we’re looking for?
The longer this misalignment persists, the more trust in technology erodes. Employees become discouraged by ineffective solutions, making future innovation more difficult due to low morale. Executives may mistakenly perceive these struggles as failures in adoption or training when, in reality, the root cause is an unstable foundation that stifles success. When innovation is driven by clearly defined needs and requirements, it naturally meets those needs, making adoption far more seamless and effective.
IT is not the driver of a business — but it can be a useful navigational aide, helping the driver make more informed decisions about the hazards and routes on the journey to the destination.
The IT-Business Disconnect
This disconnect extends beyond internal teams to the relationship between businesses and their technology providers. Many IT vendors treat businesses as mere consumers, offering products they find exciting or profitable rather than solutions that truly address business needs. Conversely, businesses often treat IT as just a vendor, placing orders for products they believe they need without fully understanding their actual requirements. This leads to misaligned investments and ineffective implementations.
Collaboration at the planning level is essential to overcoming this disconnect. Ensuring IT has a voice in leadership discussions involving technology leads to more strategic and effective technology decisions and investments.
How do you fix it? Build a collaborative IT strategy.
While not everyone can be involved in every decision, the key is assembling a balanced team: senior IT staff who understand both business strategy and technology, along with representatives from different business units who experience operational challenges firsthand. A small but diverse committee can bridge the gap by bringing together individuals who understand daily business challenges with those who grasp the technological landscape.
This collaboration ensures decisions are well-informed and aligned with business needs. Business representatives understand operational needs, while IT professionals translate those needs into technology solutions. This structured dialogue ensures IT investments drive meaningful business outcomes and increases the likelihood of realizing tangible returns on technology investments.
In practice
In a 30-person organization we work with, the IT committee is three people: an executive who champions technology and is genuinely curious about it, a long-tenured employee who’s slightly more technical-minded and knows how the business actually operates day to day, and a marketing lead who’s responsible for a big part of the organization’s programs and services. Three minds in the room, each with a different perspective and deep institutional knowledge. That’s not a massive governance overhead. It’s a one-hour quarterly meeting that keeps IT decisions grounded in reality.
Aligning IT and business interests
With a clear understanding of IT maturity and a proactive, outcome-driven service model, IT and the business can function as true partners, operating with aligned interests and mutual accountability.
Technology success comes when IT and the business embrace shared responsibilities, fostering a culture of trust, fulfillment, and long-term success.
The business is accountable
For following procedures, observing service boundaries, and collaborating with IT to be proactive and strategic.
Not sure where the disconnect is?
Start with an assessment. Get a clear picture of where IT and the business are aligned today — and where they aren’t.