Always Invest More in People Than Tech: Lessons from 20 Years in the Field

AI talk is everywhere—drafting emails, summarizing calls, and nudging sales reps. Microsoft 365 Copilot has become the new “enterprise thing.” But adoption isn’t the same as impact. Agents don’t fix broken systems—they amplify them. Over the last 20 years, from my first $400,000 school district rollouts to enterprise AI transformations, I’ve learned the same lesson: technology is never the bottleneck. People and process are. In this article, I share what leaders must do differently—how to invest in people over platforms and five ways to roll out Copilot that actually drive revenue and operational outcomes.

The First Hard Lesson

I still remember the sting of my first big rollout. I was a Director of Technology at a school district, signing off on a $400,000 campus-wide deployment. The platform promised transformation. We moved fast. The work by my team was done, the systems went live, and I did everything right. I still remember thinking that was easy.But adoption stalled. Teachers struggled. Years of developmental debt slowed everything down. Suddenly, the “transformation” of my “Easy” deployment looked broken—nothing seemed to work. The tech was solid; the adoption wasn’t.The truth? The technology wasn’t the problem. I had underestimated the people system. Training. Change management. Process alignment. Without it, the rollout felt like pushing a boulder uphill.

That was my first real leadership lesson: when people and process don’t align, even perfect technology looks broken.

Fast Forward: Today’s AI Revolution

Fast forward to now, and the hype cycle has just found a new name: AI. Everywhere I turn, executives are racing to pilot Microsoft 365 Copilot. It’s being sold as the new enterprise revolution. Some employees fear it. Others have wildly overamplified what it can do.But the truth is unchanged:

AI doesn’t create discipline. It amplifies it. The value is never in the technology itself. It’s in the application and adoption.

Without clear KPIs, strong governance, and investment in people, Copilot just accelerates dysfunction. This is a lesson it took me years—and many scars—to really embrace.

The 70/20/10 Investment Mindset

• 70% People & Process – Training, enablement, change management, governance
• 20% Data – Content stewardship, taxonomy, lifecycle management
• 10% Tech – Copilot licenses, platform integrations, automation engines

Most organizations invert this ratio. They spend millions on Copilot licensing and pennies on adoption. Flip the model, and you’ll unlock the actual ROI.

Four Leadership Questions That Still Apply

Before rolling out Copilot, leaders need to sit with four brutally simple questions. I run them weekly with my clients, and they’ve saved millions in wasted spend.

1. Do our KPIs cascade clearly?

If your frontline can’t connect their daily work to enterprise outcomes, Copilot will automate confusion.

• Example: In one sales org, reps asked Copilot to “prioritize leads.” But “qualified opportunity” wasn’t consistently defined. Copilot amplified misalignment.
• Lesson: KPIs must be crisp and visible—cascading from the boardroom to the frontline.

2. Is our data trustworthy?

Copilot pulls from SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. If your house isn’t clean, it will surface the wrong answers.

• Example: At a healthcare client, Copilot drafted policy emails based on outdated documents buried in SharePoint. Employees trusted the AI, and compliance risk skyrocketed.
• Lesson: Before licenses, invest in stewardship. Clean the content. Assign ownership.

3. Do we have flexible governance?

Governance isn’t about control; it’s about cadence. If you over-restrict, adoption dies. If you under-regulate, risk explodes.

• Example: A financial services client built an AI Governance Council that met biweekly. They adapted policies in real-time, rather than waiting for annual reviews.
• Lesson: Governance should flex, not freeze.

4. Are we resourcing people more than platforms?

Budgets are upside down. 80% tech, 20% people. That’s why adoption fails.

• Example: At one client, we shifted the focus to 70% people, 20% data, and 10% technology. We built role-based Copilot playbooks, invested in change champions, and trained leaders to model usage. Adoption soared.
• Lesson: If people don’t own it, tech ROI never shows up.

Five Ways to Roll Out Copilot That Actually Work

Instead of abstract frameworks, here’s a five-step playbook that I’ve seen deliver faster adoption, more substantial ROI, and better revenue cycles:

1. Start with leaders, not licenses. Train managers first. If leaders don’t model Copilot, no one else will.
2. Build role-based playbooks. Don’t just say “Copilot can draft emails.” Show sales, HR, finance, and ops what their Copilot workflows look like.
3. Create Copilot champions. Identify early adopters in each department to test prompts, share wins, and coach peers.
4. Clean the content house. Audit SharePoint and Teams. Archive junk, update policies, and curate sources. Copilot is only as good as what it can see.
5. Govern in a two-week rhythm. Launch a biweekly AI council. Review adoption insights, surface risks, and iterate policies in real time.

Do these five things, and you won’t just roll out Copilot—you’ll operationalize it. That means faster adoption, measurable outcomes, and a revenue cycle that actually improves.

 Leadership in the Margins

After 20 years, here’s the leadership truth I can’t ignore: Technology multiplies what’s already there. Copilot will not create alignment, clarity, or discipline for you. It will simply amplify what exists. That’s why people > tech every time. So, if you’re wrestling with Copilot adoption, or you’re wondering how to move from pilot to production without stalling, let’s talk.At Visual Edge IT, we’re hosting executive-level roundtables and workshops to help leaders like you successfully implement Copilot with the right balance of governance, enablement, and adoption.Please feel free to contact me if you're interested. Because what you do in the margins is what defines you as a leader.