And what does Mike Tyson have to do with it?
Technology is often the first place organizations look when they need to solve a business challenge. Poor communication? Implement a CRM. Workflow issues? Add a new platform. Data visibility problems? Install another reporting tool.
But what if technology isn’t actually the problem?
In a recent episode of the Your Business Tech Podcast, Loyality’s Connor Jones sat down with business transformation consultant Jennifer Kosak, founder of Align Partners, to discuss a topic many organizations overlook: understanding the real problem before implementing a technology solution.
The conversation explored everything from organizational change and process improvement to cybersecurity, leadership, and why technology should support a business strategy, not define it.
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Technology Isn’t Always the Answer
One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is jumping directly to a solution before fully understanding the problem.
When employees experience friction, leadership teams often assume technology can fix it. The result is a new software platform, another cloud migration, or a major implementation project that never addresses the root cause.
Instead, Jennifer emphasizes the importance of asking deeper questions:
- What problem are we actually trying to solve?
- Why does this problem exist?
- What processes are contributing to it?
- Are people even using the tools we already have?
Without answering those questions first, businesses often invest significant time and money into technology that fails to deliver the expected results.
Understanding How Work Actually Gets Done
Many organizations have documented procedures and workflows. But there’s often a difference between documented processes and reality.
Jennifer’s approach focuses on understanding how work is actually completed across departments. Rather than reviewing process manuals, she brings teams together to map out what happens from start to finish and uncover where bottlenecks, misunderstandings, and unnecessary work exist.
These discussions often reveal surprising discoveries:
- Employees maintaining reports no one uses
- Redundant approval processes
- Communication gaps between departments
- Technology being used differently than originally intended
Most importantly, they help organizations understand the upstream and downstream impact of every decision.
When departments operate in isolation, it’s easy to optimize for local efficiency. Unfortunately, those improvements can create new challenges for other teams.
The Human Side of Business Operations
One of the most valuable insights from the discussion centered on people.
Many workplace challenges are labeled as technology problems when they’re actually communication or relationship problems.
Departments develop assumptions about one another. Sales blames operations. Operations blames finance. Teams become frustrated without fully understanding the pressures and priorities of their colleagues.
By bringing everyone involved in a process into the same room, organizations create opportunities for understanding instead of finger-pointing.
When employees gain visibility into how their work affects others, conversations become more productive, collaboration improves, and solutions become easier to identify.
Why Technology Projects Fail
The conversation also touched on a common challenge Loyality encounters regularly: organizations investing heavily in technology projects that never achieve their intended outcomes.
Whether it’s a CRM implementation, ERP migration, SharePoint deployment, or cloud transformation initiative, technology alone rarely creates change.
Success depends on preparation.
Organizations must understand:
- How employees currently work
- What processes need improvement
- How information should flow
- What outcomes they’re trying to achieve
Simply moving existing problems into a new system doesn’t make them disappear.
A cloud platform won’t fix broken processes.
A new ERP won’t clean up poor data.
A CRM won’t automatically improve communication.
Technology can amplify good processes, but it can also amplify bad ones.
Creating a Culture Where People Feel Safe to Speak Up
The discussion shifted into cybersecurity and one of the most overlooked elements of security programs: psychological safety.
Most organizations conduct security awareness training and encourage employees to report suspicious emails. The challenge comes when someone actually makes a mistake.
How leadership responds in those moments matters.
If employees are met with blame, frustration, or criticism after reporting an incident, they’re less likely to speak up in the future.
Unfortunately, delayed reporting can dramatically increase the impact of a cyberattack.
Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable admitting mistakes allows organizations to respond faster, reduce risk, and prevent small incidents from becoming major business disruptions.
The lesson is simple:
When an employee reports a problem, the goal should be solving it, not assigning blame.
Lessons From a Real Ransomware Incident
Jennifer also shared lessons learned from leading through a ransomware attack.
Like many organizations, the incident began with a compromise that escalated over time. What initially appeared to be a smaller issue eventually became a much larger event requiring an all-hands-on-deck response.
One key takeaway stood out: communication matters as much as technical preparation.
Disaster recovery plans, incident response documentation, and cybersecurity training are all important. But during a live incident, organizations quickly discover whether employees know their roles, leadership can communicate effectively, and teams can work together under pressure.
As Mike Tyson famously said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
Strong preparation creates muscle memory. Strong communication keeps people aligned when the unexpected happens.
Change Is Hard, But It Doesn’t Have to Be Miserable
One of the more refreshing parts of the conversation focused on how organizations approach change.
Most employees don’t get excited about change initiatives. They’re often viewed as disruptive, stressful, and temporary.
Jennifer takes a different approach.
By encouraging curiosity, celebrating small improvements, and helping teams understand the “why” behind changes, organizations can build momentum instead of resistance.
Whether that’s recognizing collaboration, rewarding thoughtful questions, or simply celebrating progress, positive reinforcement can help make transformation feel less overwhelming.
Because lasting change isn’t about implementing new technology.
It’s about helping people work better together.
Final Thoughts
Technology plays an important role in modern business, but it works best when it’s built on a strong foundation of people, processes, communication, and strategy.
Before investing in another platform, deploying another tool, or launching another project, take a step back and ask a simple question:
What problem are we really trying to solve?
The answer may have less to do with technology than you think.
