Why Smart Adopters Win: Three Key Considerations For Tech Leaders

Shane Behl is CIO at Enterprise Mobility – a leading provider of mobility solutions to make travel easier and more convenient for customers.
When it comes to implementing new technologies, there's a case to be made for the first mover and the fast follower. First movers lead the pack. Fast followers take more time to evaluate technology before investing in it.
Both approaches have their pros and cons. Rushing the implementation of a new technology, for example, may lead to discovering its limitations after the fact, resulting in a minimal return on investment. In my line of business, where tens of thousands of team members come to work every day and millions of customers rely on us to help them get to wherever they need to be, we can't afford this kind of interruption. On the other hand, as IT leaders, we have a responsibility to advance innovation and breakthroughs that improve both customer and employee experiences.
So, how do you balance agility with thoughtfulness to unlock innovation? Throughout my nearly 30 years working in tech, I've seen the most success come from what I call the 'smart adopter' strategy.
The smart adopter strategy helps ensure that new technology happens at the right time for the organization and contributes to success for customers and employees. It maintains a long-term perspective and puts the end user at the center of the transition.
To make the most of this smart adopter approach, I encourage leaders to follow three steps before investing in new technology.
Keep a pulse on the first movers as well as emerging trends and best practices in your industry. It pays to know the challenges and opportunities other organizations are facing, but you also need to understand the unique needs of your customers and employees. Dedicate time to investing in research and development, exploring new ideas and conducting pilots in a safe environment before launching.
Study the market's response to new technologies. This will help you grow your understanding to help prepare customers and employees for adoption. By carefully weighing potential benefits against risks and costs, you can help mitigate risks while still capitalizing on transformative technologies. Many companies are watching strides in generative artificial intelligence (AI) to assess how to apply key learnings to their adoption of the technology.
When the timing aligns with the needs of your customers and employees, take strategic action, whether it's at the beginning or toward the end of the hype cycle. According to McKinsey researchers, '70% of complex, large-scale change programs don't reach their stated goals.' As such, it's essential to continuously adapt and learn from the end users and make adjustments as needed.
There are many examples of the smart adopter strategy at work across my industry, where success isn't linked to being a first mover or a fast follower but from strategically exploring, engaging and executing to create better, effective solutions.
Take, for example, connected vehicles. In the rental industry, many cars and trucks are equipped with technology that transmits vehicle data directly to the rental system. This makes the check-in and checkout process faster by eliminating the need for a rental representative to go inside the vehicle to inspect fuel or mileage. At the start of the hype cycle for this new technology, the aftermarket equipment available was expensive and complex.
Instead of rushing to be the first, my organization took a step back to determine how to implement this large-scale change without disrupting customers or team members. We began by evaluating our long-term goals and mapping out a technology trajectory. Then, we tested our approach on a fleet of 1.5 million vehicles, including a control group of non-connected vehicles. This led to the most valuable step in the process: gathering real-time feedback from customers and team members. Their input helped us better understand what was working and what wasn't.
After extensive testing and learning, we developed a solution that we were ready to share with the entire organization. For vehicles in our fleet, we can connect through and access information directly from the manufacturer. This has enabled us to reduce customer wait times, assist with proactive maintenance and stay on track to transition more than 750,000 connected vehicles by the end of 2025.
Similarly, my organization needed to streamline communications, reduce claims cycle times and automate key operations for its self-insured fleet of vehicles. This led to the development of an integrated software platform that's also used by insurance providers, OEMs and fleet companies. By first testing and deploying this solution internally, we were able to gain firsthand knowledge of workflows and challenges to deliver a market-ready solution. However, the work isn't done. It's crucial to continually update platforms like this as needs evolve and more feedback is provided by end users.
As you introduce new technologies and features, the opportunities to bring enhanced experiences to customers and employees will also increase. But in today's rapidly evolving landscape, organizations must strike a balance between agility and caution. The smart adopter strategy is a measured approach, taking into account industry trends, customer and employee needs and strategic implementation. With this mindset, leaders can confidently embrace technology in an era defined by relentless change.
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