Why Software Rollouts Fail: It’s Usually People or Process, Not the Software
Why software rollouts fail is rarely a software question. On Ep. 63 of Construction Hot Takes, Adam Cooper, Greg Gorman, and Jeff Robertson react to Greg’s LinkedIn post on what it really takes to transform a business, and to the comments it sparked. When a company buys the new system, spends the money, and nothing changes, the hosts argue the real problem is usually people or process, and the team may have changed the wrong thing.
They frame it as a three-legged stool of people, process, and technology: you can’t change one without rippling through the others. A back-office employee may see a new ERP as a threat to their job, and transformation never really ends, as markets shift, new hires arrive, and tools like AI keep moving. Kodak and Nokia show what happens to companies that stop evolving.
The hosts then break down the three camps in every company (early adopters, fence sitters, and resistors) and why planning who will champion a change, and who will resist it, matters. A viewer challenges them to start with what the organization is trying to achieve, which leads to symptoms versus root causes, workarounds that quietly become the real process, and a simple rule: turn the light on before you move the furniture.
In This Episode
- A rollout can go fine technically and still fail, because the real issue is often people or process.
- People, process, and technology are a three-legged stool: change one and the others move.
- Transformation never really ends: markets, hires, and technology (including AI) keep changing the work.
- Every company has early adopters, resistors, and a fence-sitting majority. Plan for each before you launch.
- Start with the outcome you want, then fix what blocks it. Workarounds like the secret spreadsheet become the real process.
Read Greg’s original LinkedIn post that started the conversation.
Episode Chapters
- 00:00 — Cold Open: “What If the Problem Was People?”
- 00:30 — Greg’s LinkedIn Post on Transformation
- 01:16 — It’s Never Just One Thing
- 01:38 — The Three-Legged Stool: People, Process, Technology
- 02:28 — When the New ERP Feels Like a Threat
- 03:49 — Transformation Never Really Ends
- 05:00 — “The Only Constant Is Change”
- 05:34 — Kodak, Nokia & Companies That Didn’t Evolve
- 06:44 — The Mountain Without a Top
- 07:17 — Your Comments: Misalignment Doesn’t Happen Overnight
- 08:11 — What If You Changed the Wrong Thing?
- 09:13 — Why Rollouts Fail
- 10:03 — Finding People Hungry for Change
- 10:40 — Early Adopters, Fence Sitters & Resistors
- 13:01 — Planning Who Will Champion It (and Who Will Resist)
- 13:45 — Picking the Right Champions
- 15:34 — A Challenge: Start With What You’re Trying to Achieve
- 17:16 — Symptoms vs. Root Causes
- 18:53 — When Workarounds Become the Process
- 19:18 — “The System Works Exactly as Designed”
- 19:53 — Homegrown Tools & the Secret Spreadsheet
- 20:43 — Turn the Light On Before Moving the Furniture
- 20:55 — Wrap-Up
Notable Quotes
“Transformation is rarely just about one thing. It is an untangling of people and processes that are combined with technology issues that have become misaligned over time.”
“The system works exactly the way it’s designed, whether you did it intentionally or unintentionally.”
“You can’t see what you’re doing. How about just turn the light on first and see what you got.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why software rollouts fail: is it the software, the people, or the process?
Often it isn’t the software. The hosts point out that an implementation can go fine and the rollout still fails, because the real problem is people or process. If a company changes only the technology, it may have changed the wrong thing.
What are early adopters, fence sitters, and resistors?
They’re the three camps in any company. Early adopters jump into change, resistors have very low tolerance for it, and fence sitters in the middle follow the crowd and want proof it works. The hosts estimate roughly 10% fall on each end, with most people in the middle.
How do you pick the right champions for a software change?
Name your likely early adopters up front and talk to probable resistors beforehand so they don’t poison the well. Technical skill is a given, but optics matter, and the hosts say to keep checking: someone hungry at the start can sour halfway through.
Why does transformation never really end?
Markets change, new hires arrive, and new technology, including AI, keeps shifting processes and responsibilities. Even after you fix a process, you have to make sure everyone follows it. The hosts cite Kodak and Nokia as companies that failed to evolve.
What should a company define before changing its systems or processes?
Start with what the organization is trying to achieve and what is preventing it, rather than assuming the answer is people, process, or technology. The hosts add that a working homegrown tool may not need replacing, and say to turn the light on before moving the furniture.
Hosts
Adam Cooper, Greg Gorman, and Jeff Robertson are principals at Ascent Consulting and co-hosts of the Construction Hot Takes podcast.
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