Cool sh*t in the office isn't the answer

As pace of technology change increases, many leaders and technologists go for the shiny gadgets or the cool sh*t to “future proof” their office. 

It sounds cool. It looks cool. And when someone runs through a demo it's the holy grail.

Unfortunately, too often that describes the extent of the good run the tech will bring you. Right up until people have to actually use it to get stuff done, be productive, communicate and experience the workplace tech at their office.

When you go after the cool sh*t, it's typically a process to outfit the workplace with tech that gets taken over by people who are responsible for implementing it and not using it. 

Here's what we are not doing when we go through a process like this:

• Listening to the users to understand what currently works and doesn't work

• Getting user input on fixing the current state

• Getting user perspective on designing the future state

• Understanding user preferences for learning how to use new tools

• Developing a plan to communicate to users the roadmap to new and better technology

Not getting these inputs to the process to evolve your workplace will get leaders and decision makers focused on the wrong goals. Because once it's hanging on the walls, sitting on desktops and table tops, running on a tablet, laptop, server or in the cloud.....it only matters if people are using it for the ROI that supported the investment. Otherwise it's a monetary investment with further downside as a culture killer.

It's not what you do, it's how you do it.