Tool Addiction is Killing Your Company Culture

Technology promises to solve every business problem, but what if the tools themselves are creating the chaos? Susan Finch and Lany Sullivan explain some reasons why organizations continue to struggle despite investing in the latest software, platforms, and systems.

The pattern is predictable: Someone attends a conference, hears about a game-changing tool, signs up immediately, and brings it back to the team without considering compatibility, redundancy, or whether anyone will actually use it. Or worse, a new executive arrives and forces their favorite tools on everyone without understanding existing workflows.

Before reaching for another software solution, companies need to answer fundamental questions about mission alignment, internal communication, and who will own the implementation. The disconnect between leadership vision and team reality creates friction that no amount of technology can fix.

They break down the patterns they see repeatedly: reactive purchasing, shiny object syndrome, and tools piled on top of unresolved problems. They offer a framework for slowing down, asking better questions, and ensuring your team is aligned before spending another dollar on software that might just become expensive shelfware.