Behavioral IT^® - Decoding the Psychology of IT Transitions

Summary

Behavioral IT^® is a term coined and defined by Prem Kamble. He has published several papers on this topic.

Prem Kamble's Behavioral IT® tackles why IT projects fail - blaming human psychology, not tech. It bridges the "corporate digital divide" where industrial-age mindsets clash with software's fragile, linear nature (e.g., ERPs). Myths inflate expectations; glitches spark resistance. Kamble urges a mindset shift for leaders and HR to navigate IT transitions, drawing from his CIO wins - like reviving a PeopleSoft ERP. Behavioral IT blends psychology and IT to cut costs and stress, pushing human evolution for an IT-driven age.

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Introduction

In the rush to embrace digital transformation, businesses often stumble - not because of faulty tech, but because of a silent clash between human minds and the nature of computers. Prem Kamble, an IT veteran and management thinker, introduces Behavioral IT® as a groundbreaking lens to understand and bridge this gap. At its heart, Behavioral IT explores why people resist IT change, why top executives shy away from leading it, and how an outdated industrial-age mindset fuels the chaos of IT implementations sabotaging success in the information age.

Where does Psychology fit into the World of IT?

Human behavior and actions are largely driven by the subconscious mind (premkamble.com/subconc1). This suggests that resistance to IT-driven change also stems from subconscious influences. Just as humanity endured nearly a century of resistance and upheaval during the Industrial Revolution - and ultimately emerged successfu l- we are now facing similar challenges in the Information Age.

Behavioral IT explores the mindset shaped by decades of subconscious conditioning rooted in the industrial era. Encouraged by our success in navigating the transition to the industrial age, and assuming that the advent of computers was merely the arrival of another machine, we applied the same strategies and mindset to embrace this new wave of change. However, the subconscious mind failed to recognize (as we will see later) that computer wasn't the machine – the real machine came hidden somewhere else – and it was in no way similar to the industrial age machine. it marked the dawn of a radically different Information Revolution.

Behavioral IT examines the psychology behind this transition and shows that succeeding in the digital era demands a fundamentally new mindset.

The Corporate Digital Divide

Kamble nails the problem calling it the "corporate digital divide": the big divide between the IT professionals and the users of IT including the top management. Technology sprints at jet speed, while human mindsets crawl like bullock carts. Over 70% of IT projects fail, not from technical glitches, but from human reluctance. Employees cling to old habits, and CEOs sidestep IT leadership, fearing they'll look clueless. Behavioral IT digs into these psychological barriers, arguing that success hinges less on technology and more on rewiring how we think about computers.

Industrial Age vs. Information Age: A Mindset Mismatch

For over a century, humanity mastered the machines of the industrial age - tangible, predictable tools like looms and engines that delivered results with mechanical precision. Shaped by that era, we now tend to view computers through the same lens, expecting them to function as flawless super-machines.

But here's the twist - this mindset is built on two fundamental misconceptions that are the root cause of most IT-related challenges:

The real "machine" isn't the computer - it's the software. Computer is merely the fuel that runs the 'machine'.
Even Software - especially complex business applications that automate corporate processes - cannot be termed a machine in the traditional sense.It is fundamentally different from industrial-age machines.

In his article, "What Top Executives Need to Know About Computers" (premkamble.com/probfull), Kamble unpacks these myths and differences, showing how industrial conditioning sets us up to fail.

Like industrial machines, software is linear - rigidly following instructions, whether right or wrong, like a "faithful dumb person." But unlike a sturdy press or conveyor belt, software is easily alterable – a feature which is a double edged sword. Alterability gives it flexibility and adaptability, but at a cost. It makes it highly fallible. A misplaced comma or full stop can flip its behavior entirely. This fragility clashes with sky-high myths: that computers are infallible or flawless, instant problem-solvers, or effortless to master. When a "dumb goliath" like an ERP spits out a silly error after meticulous setup, those expectations crash. Frustration erupts, trust in IT plummets, and the big divide emerges between the IT professionals and IT consumers.

The Psychological Fallout

Kamble's Behavioral IT unpacks the mess. People don't just resist IT - they're psychologically unmoored by it. Industrial-age thinking preps us for machines we can see and tweak with a wrench, not invisible software that demands precision and patience. Executives, expecting a plug-and-play miracle, balk when reality demands their involvement. Employees, sold on the hype, feel betrayed by glitches. The result? A mess of fear, blame, and stalled projects. Kamble's real-world stories - like reviving a failed PeopleSoft ERP by tackling people issues (premkamble.com/erprestore, premkamble.com/erphrstory) - show how this plays out.

A New Mindset for the Information Age

Behavioral IT isn't just diagnosis - it's a fix. It isn't just analysis; it's action. Kamble calls for a mindset reboot or a mindset shift: see software not as a souped-up industrial tool, but as a unique information-age entity - powerful yet brittle, requiring a fresh approach to change-management. For leaders, it's a soft skill to lead IT transitions with confidence - tackling their aversion head-on without the need to know difficult technology. For businesses, it's a strategy to cut the cost, time, and stress of implementations by aligning human behavior with software's quirks.

Behavioral IT, he argues, is the multi-disciplinary key - blending psychology, IT expertise, and leadership - to navigate the information age without tripping over our own minds.

His seminars (premkamble.com/seminarbehavit) and papers, like "Behavioral IT® – A Multi-disciplinary Approach" (SSRN, 2019, premkamble.com/behavit2), push this as a game-changer for CXOs and HR alike. HR, he argues, should step up as change catalysts, armed with Behavioral IT to ease the IT-driven ride (SSRN, "HR! Discover Your New Role," 2024).

Why Does Behavioral IT Focus on IT Transition?

While behavioral and psychological principles can certainly be applied to various areas of IT - such as system design, user experience, cybersecurity, and human-computer interaction - Prem Kamble's Behavioral IT specifically focuses on IT adoption and implementation. There are two key reasons for this focus:

First-hand Experience: As a CIO with a deep interest in psychology and human behavior, Kamble had the unique opportunity to closely analyse behavioral patterns across all organizational levels - from clerks to CEOs - during IT transitions. This real-world exposure offered valuable insights into the psychological barriers that hinder successful adoption.
Critical Stage of Maximum Risk:Implementation and adoption represent the final and most crucial phase of an IT project. Failure at this stage can result in the greatest losses - both financially and in terms of effort - since organizations would have already invested heavily in earlier stages like system study, vendor or software selection, system design, development or procurement, infrastructure, and manpower.

The Takeaway

Computers don't fail us - we fail them, by lugging an old and obsolete mindset into a new era. Behavioral IT® offers a way out: understand the psychology, bust the myths, embrace software's reality and lead with a fresh lens. It's not just about tech adoption - it's about human evolution in an IT-driven age.

Lessons from the Trenches

Kamble's 30+ years as a CIO shine through in tales like turning idle developers into a solutions powerhouse (premkamble.com/coe). His research (premkamble.com/research) - spanning SSRN papers like "Coping with IT Disruptions" (2021) - ties the industrial revolution's upheaval to today's IT turmoil. Back then, we adapted; now, we need to unlearn old rules and embrace software's quirks to thrive in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world.

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