Back in my Industrial Engineering days, I learned a simple but powerful concept: People, Process, and Technology, are the key to any meaningful change. It makes intuitive sense. Progress used to come from individuals mastering their craft. As they improved their work, teaching others to do the same required describing the how into a Process – ways to achieve repeatable excellence. Tools and technology then came in to support and reinforce those processes, making success more effortless.
As industries become more advanced and complex, organizations develop physical and information systems to accelerate the growth. It is a journey of continuous improvement and optimization. The critical insight: It has to start with the right order—people first, then process, then technology. When these elements are aligned and congruent, the whole system works harmoniously.
Transformation projects tend to fail not because the technology’s capability, but insufficient upfront work of defining business requirements properly or missing people and process integration support through the change. As a result, we may live with large scale systems that are overly complex – we would only use a subset of their functionalities, while paying the complexity taxes in dollars and time. Or we have processes that are either unclear or too rigid for the environment we operate in – resulting in the need for workarounds.
People, Process and Technology are like gears of transformation. They need to operate in optimal speeds for the whole organization to run smoothly. Otherwise, grinding will occur, causing friction and wasted energy. The machine can continue to run, but at the risk of long-term damage or, worse, accidents. As seen in the 2023 FAA near-miss incidents: Air traffic systems (Tech) and protocols (Process) advanced, but chronic understaffing and burnout (People) created systemic risk.
Fast forward to now, Technology has advanced rapidly. AI can now build personalized software that can automate routine tasks. We can pull Process best practices from vast bodies of researches and playbooks (e.g. Total Quality Management, Lean, Six-sigma, Integrated Business Planning, etc.) and apply to core functions instantly, avoiding starting from scratch.
But here’s the challenge: despite these technological leaps, we have not invested at the same pace to reflect the delicate balance on our People. Our work norms and principles - how we learn, communicate, collaborate, have largely held similar patterns and evolved in reaction to shockwaves such as the establishments of global/diverse teams and remote/hybrid work.
Why? Because the accumulated investments in processes and systems over the years have been enormous. Since the commercialization of Generative AI, trillions have been or will be spent on data centers, research and development, and optimization. These investments are powerful, and the temptation is strong (because every company is doing it), but they only work when aligned with the people who use them, in support of the relevant processes.
Picture the imaginary dials on People, Process and Technology. In pursuit of innovation and efficiency, organizations have been cranking up the Technology and Process dials. Budgets flowed into new platforms, automation, and AI. Processes were redesigned, streamlined, and optimized. Meanwhile, the People dial—investment in training, space for true team-building, and opportunities for meaningful collaboration—was too often dialed down. When the margin pressure was on, these were the first to go.
When organizations crank up the Technology and Process dials while dialing down the People dial, the gears of transformation begin to grind. We are now seeing the real-world effects of that imbalance. Even with cutting-edge tools and efficient processes, teams find themselves stuck in silos. Change initiatives stall, not because the systems are lacking, but because people aren’t fully engaged or connected. Employees report feeling more isolated, less in sync with each other, and further from the mission that is supposed to unite them.
To address the incongruence between people, process and technology, we can dial up our people by:
The good news? Turning up the People dial doesn’t mean you’re falling behind on the others. It means you’re finally getting the full benefit of everything you’ve already put in place. When teams are congruent - aligned in purpose, equipped to collaborate, and empowered to challenge and improve the system - technology and process improvements start delivering returns you can see and feel, not just measure. And the results will be a multiplier, ensuring all the gears of your organization turn smoothly and powerfully in unison.