Stop, Adapt, Then Adopt: Fix Your Tech Investment
Most technology purchases start the same way: a great demo, a signed contract, and genuine excitement about what's possible. Six months later? That excitement has faded into something closer to regret.
I've seen this pattern play out dozens of times. And more often than not, it's not the technology's fault.
I recently joined Jeff Pelliccio and Erin MacKenzie on the Highly Adaptive podcast to dig into why this keeps happening. More importantly, we talked about how to break the cycle before your next purchase. Here's what came up.
The Demo Effect: Why We Keep Falling for Shiny Objects
It's super easy to get attracted to the shiny. Generally, when you start a demo, you've had a pre-conversation to say you're looking to solve X problem. A good demo is someone who tells a good story. And we all love a good story. That's how we buy in, because we can paint ourselves within the story they're telling.
Here's the problem: we wait for someone else to tell us our story.
We get excited. We buy the tech. We implement it. Then we realize we don't have the internal processes to match what that technology can actually do.
You have to build your story first, then go out and look at the demo.
The Hooks That Drag You In
Walk any staffing industry conference floor. Erin and I have done many miles around those exhibit halls. You'll hear the same pitches:
- "This will make your team go quicker"
- "Replace X number of people doing manual tasks"
- "See ROI in three months"
- "Seven times your investment in two years"
These hooks work because they sound like solutions to real problems. But you need to ask the right questions.
"How is it saving time?"
Is it automating something your team enters into an Excel sheet that they then copy back into another system? Or is it automating it within your core infrastructure? There's a big difference.
"What is ROI to you?"
ROI is a bit of a trigger word for me these days. The software company can't tell you what's beneficial to your business. You have to define those success metrics first. Then you can talk about return on investment. You can partner with the software company to say, "This is what we define as success," whether that's more placements, more customer acquisition, whatever it may be.
The software company needs to be educated about what success means to you, too.
The Framework: Stop, Adapt, Then Adopt
I'm a big believer in real-life examples. It's easy to come up with concepts, but then trying to apply them is another thing. So let me walk you through how this works.
Step 1: Stop
Before looking at any technology, map your current reality.
Let's say you need more revenue in 2026. You look at your sales processes and realize:
- You can't see if salespeople are making calls
- You can't track their emails
- You can't see client lists
Those are three concrete things. Now you know what to look for.
It's really important to not rush into things. Stop and analyze. What problems do I have? Sometimes you may not have any problems. Maybe your process has been optimized as much as it can. But you do need to stop and think: Where do I want to be? Can technology help me? Are we ready to implement new technology? Do we have the resources? Do we have the time?
When you're in that demo effect (I haven't quite coined a term for it, maybe the "candy cane effect" where everything seems so appealing), you've got to take time to pause. No one's going to punish you for saying, "I need a minute. I need to analyze whether this truly fits what we're trying to achieve."
Step 2: Adapt
Once you know your requirements, map them to what technology can actually deliver.
Here's an example. You find a database (I'll call it "Milkstar") that handles emails and client lists but doesn't track calls. So you look for a calling solution ("Creamer Moon") that integrates with your core system.
That's building blocks. Not buying everything at once and hoping it fits.
Before you sign anything, go back to your team:
- Is anyone on vacation in the next three months?
- Are there internal projects that need their attention?
- Do you have capacity for change right now?
Things are gonna go wrong. You've got to accept that. No company is ever completely prepared when implementing new technology. But if you have these mini moments of stop, adapt, adopt, you won't regret having implemented technology with no plan.
Step 3: Adopt
This is where most implementations fail. And it's not because the technology doesn't work.
It's really easy to turn a technology on. The software company will give you hands-on onboarding. But that doesn't translate into the daily reality of the people on the ground.
You need a user enablement strategy. The software company can't build this for you because they don't know how you function with all your other processes. You need someone internal. If you can afford a subject matter expert full-time, great. If not, identify someone who's naturally curious about new technology and teach them to be an evangelist.
I'm going to change "change management" to "user enablement management." People don't necessarily need to change. They need to adapt to what's in front of them and see how it can benefit them. You don't want to force new technology down people's throats because they won't adopt it, and then you'll end up frustrated because you've paid for software no one uses.
I encourage people to run a pilot if they can. Get someone curious on your team to really try and break the tool within your workflows so you can identify problems upfront.
The AI Question Everyone's Asking
Analysis paralysis is real, especially with AI. You can't open your email or scroll social media without getting hit with a million AI messages.
Here's my advice:
Get help. It's like going to the gym or a therapy session. Yes, you could do it yourself. You could work out alone. You could have self-reflective conversations with yourself. But having someone hold up the mirror and course correct makes a difference.
Start small. Maybe AI helps you generate an internal announcement. Get familiar. Get comfortable. Talk to people in your industry about how they're using it.
I don't think AI is simple. There's a big attitude out there of "you have to adopt AI, you have to have AI in your processes, you should be using AI every day." But what there isn't a lot of chatter about is: you need help. You need to know where to start. And it doesn't need to be a big change.
Build Tetris blocks. Stack them one at a time to make your tower.
Finding the Right Partner
If you're looking for a consultant or advisor, here's what I'd look for:
Someone who asks questions. They should want to understand your business. Where a good advisor can really help is asking poignant questions that make you think about things differently.
Someone who wants you to be autonomous. For me, I really want my clients to be autonomous at the end of the day. I want them to feel comfortable managing that technology themselves. You want someone who's going to teach you how to build your own adoption workflow, not keep you dependent on them forever.
Ask about their roadmap. "What key outcomes are you going to achieve in the next six months?" How they answer tells you if they're listening to their customers or just talking. "Yeah, we've got lots of exciting things on the road map" isn't good enough. I want specifics.
Avoid buzzword artists. Ask them: Have you ever been an administrator of a software? Have you worked with software companies to help develop their roadmap? Real experience shows.
You Run Your Tech. It Doesn't Run You.
Here's my core philosophy:
Either you run your business or your business runs you. You run your technology or your technology runs you. I think we have more control than we realize.
If you stop and make core decisions, it reverberates out. Be open with your team. Tell them you're trying new things and you don't have it all right. Ask for their help. That's why they're there. They want you to succeed.
Technology should work for your team. When it doesn't, it's usually not the platform. It's the process.
Key Takeaways
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Stop before you shop. Map your processes, define your success metrics, and know what you actually need before watching demos.
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Adapt to reality. Build your tech stack in blocks. Match solutions to specific problems. Check your team's capacity before implementing.
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Enable adoption. The software company's onboarding isn't enough. Build internal champions and create processes your team can actually follow.
Let's Figure This Out Together
Not sure exactly what you need? That's fine. Most people aren't when they first reach out.
Book a free 30-minute call with me. We'll talk through your situation: your tech stack, your team's capacity, your actual goals. No pitch, no pressure. Just clarity on your next step.
This post is based on my appearance on the Highly Adaptive podcast. Listen to the full episode here.
About the Author
I'm Leanne Courtney, founder of Achieve. I spent 10+ years in tech operations, including 5+ years as a systems administrator at two of Canada's largest staffing companies. I was responsible for making Bullhorn and 20+ connected tools work for hundreds of users every day. When something broke at 8 AM, my phone rang. When a new system needed to roll out, I made it happen.
That experience taught me things you can't learn from vendor training: why users create workarounds, what makes adoption stick, and the difference between a system that demos well and one that survives reality.
Now I bring that practitioner experience to every engagement. Based in Toronto, working with clients across North America, Europe, the UK, and Australia/New Zealand.
Connect: LinkedIn | achievewith.tech
About the Hosts
This conversation happened on Highly Adaptive, a podcast where staffing and consulting leaders learn to outpace change. Huge thanks to Jeff and Erin for having me on.
Jeff Pelliccio is the founder of Allied Insight, a marketing agency and preferred partner to staffing and consulting businesses across the US. He brings sharp questions and a knack for cutting through the noise.
Erin MacKenzie works at Medical Solutions and brings years of hands-on staffing industry experience to the conversation. She's also a friend, a fellow dog lover, and the reason I now know far too much about Australian wildlife facts.