Chapter 1, The Space Between — Author Read | Pivoting to Technology Adoption: Mind the Gap

About this episode

Donna P. Mitchell discusses the reasons behind the failure of technology transformations and the importance of understanding the gap between deployment and adoption.

It was never the technology. In this solo author read, host Donna P. Mitchell reads Chapter 1 of her book Pivoting to Technology Adoption: Mind the Gap — the case for why 70% of technology transformations fail, and what the 30% do differently. Deployment is an event. Adoption is a process. The distance between them is where organizations lose millions and billions of dollars every year. Drawing on 49 years across five industries — from the Bell System to US Airways to Johnson & Johnson — Donna names the gap between what leadership thinks is happening and what actually happens on the floor. TOPICS COVERED - Why most digital transformations fail — and why it was never the technology - The difference between deployment and adoption - Allen Martinez’s "shadow ledger" and why 84% of AI failures trace to leadership - The $31M IVR lesson: design for real behavior, not assumed behavior - Why AI is restructuring every industry at once in 2026 - The human cost of the adoption gap — careers, livelihoods, and trust CHAPTERS (parentheses for Spotify clickability) (00:00) Welcome and series introduction (00:34) Dedication: it was never the technology (00:45) Chapter 1 — The Space Between…

People in this episode

Host: Donna P. Mitchell

Topics covered

• technology adoption
• digital transformation
• leadership
• AI failures
• deployment vs. adoption
• organizational behavior

Keywords

• technology transformation
• adoption process
• digital failures
• leadership gap
• AI restructuring
• organizational success

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bell System, US Airways, Johnson & Johnson

More episodes of Pivoting to Technology Adoption

• The Simplicity Trap — Rohit C. Nambiar on Why Technology Is Over-glorified in Transformation · June 3, 2026 · 37 min
• System First, Tools Second — AI Sales Leadership with Greg Grand · May 27, 2026 · 35 min
• People, Processes, Platform — Why Most Tech Transformations Collapse | Dusty Gulleson · May 19, 2026 · 42 min
• Behavioral Science Meets Technology Adoption — Will Leach, Mindstate Group · May 12, 2026 · 45 min
• Adoption Matters More Than Sophistication — MEST Africa · May 5, 2026 · 50 min
• The Adoption Gap Is Widening — And the Big Four Confirmed It · April 29, 2026 · 10 min