Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Fitting In
Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.
Like me, good; not like me, bad. This pretty much sums up the concept of culture in terms of its more tribal connotation. More than ever there seems to be great attention being paid to the concept of aligning IT to the business. Usually the focus is on aligning the information assets and the support of people using those assets to the needs of the enterprise. However, one fundamental challenge that is rarely addressed is that of IT fitting into the culture that it supports and exists within.
Cultural alignment is critical to IT’s long-term success because it frames how IT and its services will be embraced by the organization. Unfortunately far too many IT organizations tend to create their own culture, one comfortable to technologists, populated by sandal wearing, ponytail sporting, ripped-jean-clad misfits… in other words one suited to geeks and nerds.
Cultural alignment is the art of fitting in, taking on the characteristics of the tribe. As one very wise corporate coach once told me, “It’s hard to fit in when you are a giraffe running in a herd of zebra.” Thriving within an organization inevitably requires conformity, not diversity. Being oblivious to the customs, habits, dress and attitudes of the organization makes it difficult to consciously fit in.
Today, even the hiring process …
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