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July 7, 2025 | 4 Mins Read

As AI Unlocks the Promise of IoT, It’s Time to Double Down on Service Innovation

July 7, 2025 | 4 Mins Read

As AI Unlocks the Promise of IoT, It’s Time to Double Down on Service Innovation

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By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

I wrote my first article on IoT more than 15 years ago. The buzz around the term then wasn’t entirely dissimilar to the buzz around AI today. However, the buzz around IoT faded because there didn’t yet exist capable enough ways to digest and analyze the data, nor scalable ways to action the insights gleaned from it. The era of AI we’re in today changes all of that and will (finally) unlock the promises of IoT.  

Last week, I welcomed to the UNSCRIPTED podcast Amir Pasdar, Senior Manager for Intelligent Connected Solutions at Henny Penny and Intelligent Equipment Connected Solutions Leader at the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM), to discuss this evolution and the future of connected solutions.

Like myself, Amir remarked that the journey from simple connectivity to advanced AI-driven solutions has been a long one. He recalled his early days in the industry, working on smart meters and predictive sensors for smart grids. Over the years, he’s witnessed the focus shift from basic automation and connectivity to condition monitoring and big data analysis. We both find it exciting that, today, we stand on the brink of a new era characterized by AI and agentic AI, where the analysis of vast amounts of data enables valuable real-time insights, powerful opportunities to improve efficiency, and unprecedented insights that allow businesses to anticipate and prevent issues, offering a proactive approach that was previously unattainable.

Think Beyond Efficient Service Delivery

Looking ahead, Amir envisions a future that is increasingly intelligent and self-healing, capable of diagnosing and fixing issues autonomously. “The role of agentic AI will expand, with different AI agents handling various aspects of customer service and maintenance, working together to provide seamless and efficient service,” he shares. “This evolution will not replace human roles but will augment them, allowing for more complex problem-solving and innovation.”

However, I see many businesses hyper-focused at the moment on how AI can bring an entirely new type of efficiency to operations – and not much else. This was reinforced in my recent conversation with Amer Iqbal, a sought-after speaker who has spent the last 20 years leading innovation at some of the world’s top companies including as the Head of Digital Transformation, APAC at Meta and Director of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Deloitte Digital. He explained that consulting clients are coming to him in droves to “do something with AI,” but aren’t looking beyond its impact on efficiency, which he views as only the low-hanging fruit of what’s possible.

Businesses who begin early looking beyond the ever-appealing efficiency gains will come out on top when it comes to competitive differentiation. In service-centric businesses, it’s crucial to consider now how the layering of new AI capabilities into your connected device landscape can open doors to new business models. Shifts we’ve seen underway – Servitization, outcomes-based service, As-a-Service models – become increasingly attainable and feasible in this new era of predictive capabilities and automation.

Amir reinforces how this evolution of intelligent connected solutions lends itself to companies moving from selling products to selling services (and experiences). “For instance, instead of selling an air conditioning unit, a business could offer a subscription service that guarantees a certain level of comfort, with AI-driven maintenance and updates included,” he says. “This shift could provide a more sustainable and customer-focused approach, ensuring that businesses remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.”

Service Leaders Should Be Aware of Challenges and Considerations

While technological capabilities are advancing rapidly, we know that technology is an enabler but one piece of a far bigger puzzle. Amir emphasizes the importance of organizational and cultural readiness, saying, “Companies need to ensure they have the necessary technical infrastructure, including standardized data pipelines and in-house AI teams, to support these innovations. Equally important is preparing the workforce and customers for these changes, addressing any resistance, and ensuring a smooth transition.”

Beyond readiness and change management, companies must also be pragmatic about AI is leveraged. Amir suggests that a certain degree of caution is warranted as risks such as fabricating data or making biased decisions remain valid. “Companies must rigorously test and validate their AI models to ensure accuracy and compliance with regulations,” he notes. “Transparency with customers and internal teams is also vital to maintain trust and understanding.”

How is your organization viewing the potential of AI? Are you focused solely on efficiency, or broadening your view to how it sets the stage for service innovation? I’d love to hear from you.

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June 30, 2025 | 4 Mins Read

What Does It Take to Thrive Vs. Merely Survive in the Experience Economy?

June 30, 2025 | 4 Mins Read

What Does It Take to Thrive Vs. Merely Survive in the Experience Economy?

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By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

The Experience Economy was first published by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore in 1999, describing the emergence of experiences as distinct economic offerings and the next step (beyond services) in the progression of economic value. Pine, who was a guest on the podcast in 2019, has said that great experiences begin with, but don’t end at, great service.

While there are countless examples of consumer brands that have mastered, or were even born of, the experience economy, from my point of view, the experience economy remains somewhat of an enigma in the B2B realm. We talk often about companies struggling to move beyond a product focus to seize the potential of service, and embracing experiences is a significant step further.

Now I do believe most companies recognize the importance of the “experience” aspect of what they deliver, which is why leaders are quick to emphasize that “service is a people business.” But is this lens too narrow through which to view the full experience opportunity? As is, the relevance of experiences is constrained to a box to check within their current value propositions and processes versus its own potential strategic driver.

Beyond Customer-Centric Service

While focused on consumer spend, this article from McKinsey shows an interesting trend that, despite an overall pessimistic view on the economy, in the U.S. that isn’t correlating to spending less. Instead, there’s a trend of economizing on ‘lower value’ items to afford to splurge on those deemed ‘high value.’ This Forbes article underscores the importance of B2B brands creating a unique experience that companies associate with the company. And I find the premise of this article especially intriguing, which is proposing that the era of B2B is giving way to that of H2H (human-to-human).

So, with the experience economy being a long-proven concept and such relevant supporting evidence of its potential, why then haven’t more companies learned to thrive versus survive?

I don’t think the issue is understanding – there’s a strong consensus around the value of experiences. The understanding is overshadowed, however, by some of the complexities orienting around the experience economy presents to businesses – especially those with a legacy.

First, experiences are intangible. To deliver valuable experiences, you must deeply understand your customers and what they need, want, enjoy, and care about. What often makes an experience an experience, in other words memorable or special, is immaterial – it’s a feeling. And most businesses aren’t adept at dealing in intangibles.

Experience Management: More Than a Mindset Shift

The second hurdle here is that how success defined and measured in the experience economy is far different from how businesses are accustomed to measuring success in a product or service-centric environment. It’s a new language fraught with a number of myths and falsifications.

I recently invited Alan Nance, a strategic technology leader and pioneer of XLAs (Experience Level Agreements), to join me for a podcast deep-dive on XM (experience management) and XLAs. Alan is recognized for his transformative work in digital experience management and had a wealth of knowledge to share on how to consider the shift from service economy to experience economy.

One of the major myths that Alan clarifies is that the experience economy will replace the service economy. “I’ve lived through a number of these shifts, and in my experience the old economy doesn’t go away – it just gets absorbed,” he says. “But there are a lot of people today who have put their kids through college or plan for their retirement based on their ability to do service management. A lot of those people will tell me that we can just add experience to service management, and we’ll be fine. They miscalculate the change that’s actually occurring. This isn’t about adding a sentiment score to your uptime – that’s not going to bring you where you need to be.”

Over the two-part discussion, Alan and I dig into a variety of topics related to what it will take for companies to move from surviving to thriving in the experience economy, including:

  • The Evolution from Service to Experience Economy
  • Other Common Misconceptions about Experience Management
  • The Core Elements of XLAs
  • The Role of Enlightened Leaders
  • A Critical Distinction Between Productivity and Efficiency
  • The Importance of Ecosystems in the Experience Economy
  • And much more!

If you’d like to listen to learn more, check out part one and part two of our conversation as well as the work Alan and his team do at xla.institute.

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June 23, 2025 | 5 Mins Read

Automation vs. Autonomy: 4 Ways to Ease Concerns Around AI in Field Service

June 23, 2025 | 5 Mins Read

Automation vs. Autonomy: 4 Ways to Ease Concerns Around AI in Field Service

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By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

At our recent Future of Field Service Meet-Up in Nashville, a question was raised about how service leaders balance the mandate to increase automation with the employees’ desire to maintain autonomy. I think this is a point that deserves more reflection, because both technological innovation and employee satisfaction are imperative.

The example used during the discussion was automated scheduling. An AI-based scheduling optimization tool takes many factors into real-time consideration to produce an outcome aligned to the company’s set objectives (often efficiency). When a company first introduces such a tool, it usually takes the place of a manual process where technicians have had anywhere from some to full control over their own schedules.

The answer can’t be to avoid leveraging technology that can save organizations significant time and money, as well as positively impacting customer satisfaction. On the other hand, talent challenges are real and companies prioritizing employee engagement and satisfaction see how doing so pays off in performance. Ignoring the employees’ frustration around losing autonomy also isn’t wise, so what’s a leader to do? Here are four suggestions.

Be Transparent with Your Service Automation Strategy

First and foremost, as you define your plans to incorporate AI and increase automation in field service, you need to be up front and honest with your employees. It’s important to keep in mind that there’s often an element of fear to frontline employees’ resistance, because they are afraid AI is here to take away their livelihood.

Now maybe you’d agree with many (most) of the service leaders I talk to that AI will not replace field technicians. If that’s the case, be sure you tell them! Moreover, give as many specifics as you can – why, then, automation is important. What you have in mind, how it will change their day-to-day but also what you will ensure remains the same. Information is power, in this case to put them at ease.

But perhaps you aren’t sure what the ultimate impact of AI will be on the role of the field technician in your organization, and that’s fair too. In this instance, I suggest sharing what you do know and being honest about what you don’t know. Being doom and gloom isn’t the goal, but neither is painting an unrealistic rosy picture. If it’s applicable, explain that as things evolve the company is committed to upskilling and reskilling technicians as needed. Some technicians may not appreciate that offer, but many will – and looking at the change you’re introducing through the lens of being surer of their future will be helpful.

Put Your Frontline Workers in the Drivers’ Seat

Most service organizations have a lot of opportunity to automate – meaning, very little already is. This might mean that you could consider starting with what your employees do want to automate, building comfort and acceptance with change before you move on to further phases that they find less appealing.

Giving employees a voice in the service automation strategy could have a couple of benefits. While it isn’t autonomy per se, it does give them a sense of control over what’s happening. Ask what they’d like to automate if they could, and if the suggestions make sense, see if you can start there. You’ll be alleviating friction points in their work days while building acceptance around the role automation has in your service operations.

Take Time to Understand Their Objections

If you have an initiative underway where it isn’t feasible to put your employees in the drivers’ seat, take the time to truly understand their objections. We talk a lot about “communicating the why,” and that’s an important step. But even before that step, it’s important understand their why – and far fewer leaders take the time to do this. Uncovering the root cause of why they are frustrated about the change you’re proposing gives you what you need to work toward adoption versus relying on being able to force compliance.

Take the automated scheduling example – what is it about the autonomy of creating their own schedule that they’re so upset about losing? Perhaps it’s something logistical – a quick stop to drop the kids off at school or a favorite coffee shop they like to stop at. Or it could be emotional – being “controlled” makes them feel like they aren’t respected or trusted. The root cause may or may not be something you’re willing to address, but again – information is power.

If we desire empowered employees, we must understand that the mentality of catching them doing something they shouldn’t be doing or the idea of wringing every last ounce of productivity out of them isn’t aligned to that goal. Instead, we should care enough to as leaders to understand what it is they are feeling or needing and then make an informed decision about whether that’s possible to provide. When this type of care is applied, along with honest communication, you’re creating a culture where employees feel heard and valued which often is enough in and of itself to overcome concerns and increase acceptance.  

Share the Gains of Field Service Efficiency to Increase Buy-In

Most of the service leaders I talk to are looking at service as a competitive differentiator or growth opportunity and, as such, want frontline employees who are highly engaged, feel a sense of ownership in their work, and are committed to delivering customer outcomes. If that’s what you’re looking for, something like an automated scheduling tool is being applied because it’s a more sophisticated way of planning and executing work – not because you don’t trust your employees to spend time wisely or do right by the company.

If this type of employee/leader/company relationship is what you’re after, you may want to consider how you can share the benefits of automation with your employees. I’ve heard more and more examples of this recently – leaders and organizations understanding that the benefits of adopting more AI and further automation are real, but so is the need to treat employees well if you’re after highly engaged, effective talent.

These companies, who have realized benefits from automation, are looking at how to offer greater flexibility or even share some of the efficiency gains with employees. For instance, if the technology introduced is saving a technician five hours per week, three of those hours can be put back into work for a company efficiency gain and two can be theirs. While there’s no universal formula for what this looks like for each business, considering the concept is not only worthwhile but (I believe) important.

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My Thoughts on Modern Leadership: Curiosity, Community and Change

June 16, 2025 | 2 Mins Read

My Thoughts on Modern Leadership: Curiosity, Community and Change

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By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor in Chief, Future of Field Service

After hosting more than 320 podcasts, I’ve grown quite comfortable interviewing individuals of all walks of life. It isn’t too often I appear on the other side of the mic, and I’ll admit being the guest versus the host is an experience I find enjoyable but far less comfortable. I had an opportunity recently to exercise those muscles as a guest on the Bytes and Banter podcast.

Bytes and Banter is created by HDI Local Chapters, a non-profit volunteer organization committed to empowering the tech community through knowledge and innovation. The host, Rocky McGuire, Head of North America Service Desk & Experience Evangelist at Unisys, is a fellow HDI Top 25 Thought Leader of 2025. He has interviewed a variety of guests in the IT space discussing topics ranging from employee experience and the skills gap to cybersecurity and imposter syndrome, among many others. Moreover, as is the case with UNSCRIPTED, the guests often share their own inspiring stories that leave a lasting impact.

Storytelling as a Core Leadership Skill

Despite my uncharacteristic nerves as we got the conversation started (seriously, you’d have thought I’d never used a microphone before!), we ended up having a lively discussion that delved into quite a few topics. I first shared the story of my foray into field service, and then Rocky asked some great questions that prompted discussion around:

  • A humbling experience from my very early career that sparked my commitment to curiosity and quelled my fear of seeming “not smart enough”
  • How and why I fell in love with service and my passion for what service represents in the broader business realm
  • The importance of being yourself and believing in yourself
  • My observations on both the power and complexity of change and what shift in mindset is essential for leaders today
  • The criticality of authentic leaders in the AI era & what mindset I believe is most productive as leaders carve their AI strategies
  • Storytelling as a core leadership skill and what I’ve learned is the basis of every good story
  • How a leader will know whether they’ve created a good culture among their team
  • My investment in and gratitude for community

If any of this sparks your interest, I’d love for you to tune in to my episode of Bytes and Banter, which you can find on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

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Save Us from Ourselves: Breaking Industry Echo Chambers

June 9, 2025 | 3 Mins Read

Save Us from Ourselves: Breaking Industry Echo Chambers

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By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Future of Field Service

I spent last week in Nashville for the Future of Field Service Leadership Meet-Up and then IFS Connect. While I recorded a highlights podcast to share on UNSCRIPTED this week, there’s a point that has stood out in my mind enough that I felt it deserved its own permanent spot in the articles archive.

That point was made by David Lukcic, Vice President of Technology at Tampa Electric, who spoke on day two of IFS Connect about the company’s digital journey. David had many great points, but the one that I loved most was that he shared, “We’re looking to our partners to save us from ourselves,” he said. “We loved to be challenged because that’s what helps us to learn from others’ experiences.”

He shared that when Tampa Electric is aiming to be the best at something, they don’t feel it’s always enough to be the best in their industry. With data, for example, he shared that utilities aren’t known for their innovative approach to leveraging data – so striving to be the best within utilities simply won’t do – they need to look outside their own industry for inspiration.

There’s a lot of wisdom in what David is saying. First, this idea of welcoming different perspectives – of understanding the risk of the default, internal view – is so powerful. All too often companies are overly protective of what they know, what they’ve decided, what they do well that they don’t allow themselves to remain open to alternative opinions – let alone welcome them. This “save us from ourselves” mentality is, in my opinion, a path to competitive advantage.

Service Innovation Requires Challenging the Status Quo

The mentality also reminded me of my recent conversation with Michael Potts of ACCO, when he said that “as a leader, I feel it’s my responsibility to challenge the status quo. How could I possibly do that well if I don’t invite others to challenge me?” There’s a release of ego evident in both statements – and that allows in more curiosity, more openness, and ultimately, I think will lead to more success.

David’s calling out of the importance of seeking insight and inspiration beyond your own industry is also a belief I couldn’t agree with more. Not only is the premise really of Future of Field Service, but I’ve witness firsthand countless times in my career the power of sharing knowledge on common challenges, opportunities, and trends across industries. While you won’t gain a blueprint to success, the lightbulb moments that can come from these conversations are priceless.

As consumer expectations creep further into the business-to-business realm, companies can’t afford not to seek ideas from beyond their own industry. We’ve been referring to “the Amazon effect” or “Uberization” for years already, but how many service organizations have actually caught up to being able to execute experiences like those? Moreover, how far are they falling behind the moving target of what customers will expect next? Seeking examples outside of your own industry is necessary to remaining relevant and competitive in the digital age.

There are many options for how to seek inspiration from outside your own industry, including:

  • Maintaining an open mind when you read news headlines about what companies nothing like yours are doing that’s working well
  • Attending an event outside of your core industry – one that brings multiple industries together where you can gain new perspectives
  • Press on your technology providers to get involved in cross-industry customer interactions (at IFS I created the CollABoratives to serve this purpose) and to learn from best practices they see holistically
  • Use LinkedIn – many leaders openly share a lot of great content and food-for-though; you’d be surprised how much you can learn from spending a few minutes each day engaging
  • Network there, too! This type of curiosity and awareness of what can be gained from these cross-industry discussions is shared and you may find some great new contacts (and insights) simply by reaching out and asking to chat

What would you add to this list? I’d love to hear from you!

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How Alcon is Strategically Approaching AI in Field Service (and Beyond)

June 2, 2025 | 5 Mins Read

How Alcon is Strategically Approaching AI in Field Service (and Beyond)

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By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Future of Field Service

In a recent podcast, Kenny Brown, the Senior Director of Global Surgical and Vision Care Franchise Business Technology at Alcon, shared the story of Alcon’s service overhaul. This journey was one that included the transition from viewing service as a cost-center to seeing its strategic value, an organizational restructuring to align to this new vision, global standardization centered around greater customer centricity, and the modernization of core technologies.

While Alcon’s achievements in this large-scale business transformation are impressive, the company’s journey is far from over. Like any organization with a mission to thrive in today’s world of nonstop change, Alcon is shifting gears to understand how best to navigate the next phases of digital transformation while maintaining its focus on customer experience and value. Kenny shares, “I’d love to say that the heavy lifting is behind us, but the next chapter is just going to be a different type of work than what we’ve done so far. As we move ahead, we rely on our three pillars to guide what we do: make the best products in the market, be the best service organization out there, and embrace cutting-edge digital innovation.”

4 Initial AI Use Cases to Level Up Service Innovation

Alcon’s next chapter centers around applying the power of AI to its successful service-centric business transformation. Kenny, who is leading Alcon’s GenAI Go-To-Market Strategy, is focusing first on practical use cases that demonstrate clear value to employees. The initial four areas Alcon is looking to leverage AI are:

  1. Creating Smarter Customer Interactions. “We are aiming to personalize that touch,” Kenny explains. “We have a lot of data around our customers; I think GenAI can really help us to put that data to work. We have on what customers need, what their previous experiences have been, and so on, and GenAI will allow employees to tailor recommendations, offer more engaging experiences, and more.”
  2. Moving Toward Proactive Service. “We don’t want to wait for a customer to call us and tell us their equipment is down,” says Kenny. “We know there’s an opportunity to look at issues before they pop up – to understand the trends that can create potential downtime. Sending data from our devices into a rules-based approach that feeds suggestions to the action takers, or even back into the equipment, can help us increase customer satisfaction.”
  3. Automating Routine Tasks. “I’m not sure if this is GenAI or just traditional AI, but by automating routine tasks we free up teams to focus on more complex and high-value work,” says Kenny. “The engineer's least favorite thing about their job is entering in information into the service management system; let’s automate that task for them.”
  4. Gaining Deeper Insights. “The fourth area is around using AI to create advanced analytics,” explains Kenny. “Using the intelligence to spot trends, optimize processes, and make smarter decisions as a business – faster.”

5 Areas of Focus for Effective AI Execution

To ensure Alcon achieves success in its incorporation of AI, Kenny is calling on his experience with the company’s global service transformation. Alcon has set its sights first on using GenAI within the business before taking it customer-facing. “The idea of our go-to-market at this point in time is for the enterprise; determining how we bring GenAI to life at Alcon,” says Kenny. “We have a lot of strong pilots and use cases that are already offering value. But, in a company of 25,000 people, we need to make sure the approach doesn’t feel fragmented.”

Here are Alcon’s five areas of focus for AI execution:

  1. Governance. “On the AI journey, I think you have to start with governance,” urges Kenny. “Building that framework of governance clearly defines who is responsible for what, and ensures efforts are safe, ethical and aligned to our values. We have a dedicated AI team to oversee this and ensure they are the center of any innovation, building that framework and those parameters around what we do and what we don’t do.”
  2. Start Small, Learn Fast. “We've had some pilot projects in very focused areas,” says Kenny. “We want to test those, learn from those, refine them, and build up scale from there. If we go tackle every single idea and problem that are out there, it won't build the experience enough to build advocacy and really get it going.”
  3. Value Tracking. “We must ensure we track each of these use cases in a way that we can monitor our return on investment,” explains Kenny. “This is important to build excitement with our leadership, to continue to get investment in this space, and ultimately to return the value back to our business.”
  4. Dedicated Ownership. In our podcast discussion, Kenny explained the creation of a role of an RPO (regional process owner) to own the transformation in each region of the business – he envisions something similar for AI. “We’re not there yet, but we could use the same RPO idea for GenAI,” says Kenny. “This helps to build the community of super users and create best practices in the regions.”  
  5. Strong Communication. “We need a robust communication plan with regular updates, giving people tips and tricks, sharing what's coming,” says Kenny. “It’s important to keep everyone informed and engaged in a creative way, but it can also be overwhelming. We need it to be useful and relevant; effective communication is a big lever for us to focus on as we continue this journey.”

On the topic of communication, I asked Kenny if they’ve experienced any fear from employees of AI taking their jobs and, if so, how they’ve managed that. He explained that he echoes the sentiment of the quote, “GenAI won’t take your job, but those who know how to use GenAI will.” He believes its important to help employees see how the use cases can help them, train them on new functionality being introduced, and be open in your communication. “We’ve begun to see the guard coming down by addressing concerns and introducing use cases relevant to their roles,” says Kenny. “When you make it applicable to their life, suddenly they’re like – ‘OK, I’m in. I want some of that!’”

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How the Risks of Technical Debt are Compounding in the AI Era

May 26, 2025 | 4 Mins Read

How the Risks of Technical Debt are Compounding in the AI Era

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By Sarah Nicastro, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Future of Field Service

Technical debt is an issue that is rapidly growing in importance – an issue that many businesses have avoided for far too long but must begin to reconcile. Gartner defines technical debt as “work that is ‘owed’ to an IT system when teams ‘borrow’ against long-term quality by making short-term sacrifices, taking short cuts, or using workarounds to meet delivery deadlines.”

MIT Sloan Management Review states that, “technical debt is an anchor, dragging down business leaders’ efforts to run a tight ship. The accumulated costs and effort from IT development shortcuts, outdated applications, and aging infrastructure sap a company’s ability to innovate, compete, and grow.” They point out that a degree of technical debt is inevitable, which I think is important to note – and possibly another challenge to overcome, in determining exactly when debt becomes “too much.”

Anecdotally, I’ve had numerous conversations with leaders who bemoan the situation of knowing their existing technology stack isn’t aligned with what their business needs. Many of these leaders feel they have no choice but to “make do” for now (and often now ends up being years).

While ripe with risk, technical debt exists for many reasons that are easy to understand – I’m sure each of you can imagine a handful of reasons the need to “make do” arises (and often persists). With the rapid evolution of the digital landscape that’s taken place over the last decade, many business – and even IT – leaders have been left, heads spinning, to digest the reality that world they once knew and loved – where systems could statically service their purpose for five, eight, even ten years – no longer exists.

The Realities of Today’s Digital Ecosystem

But not only has the reality of the digital ecosystem changed, the AI era that has taken the world by storm is creating a compound effect of technical debt. Technical debt forces a compromise of what’s most effective versus what “will do.” It means contorting what your business has become into the limitations of a system that was created for what your business was a handful of years ago, if not more. But moreover, if your business is inching by on a legacy foundation that should have been replaced by now, you are constricted in your ability to modernize at the pace innovation is demanding – you are not able to properly step into the AI era.

Now, many will try to force band-aids on the problem, versus addressing root cause – some of that is delusion, some born of necessity. But these band-aids are nothing more than more short-term solutions. To truly thrive not only in today’s landscape, but to be prepared for what comes next, you need to dig in and do the hard work of ensuring a strong, capable, modern foundation. Try as one might, there simply are no shortcuts or workarounds that will make an outdated platform fit for purpose in today’s fast-paced landscape – and layering even more passable-but-not-ideal solutions upon a shaky foundation is a recipe for disaster.

Meanwhile, the world isn’t waiting for you to catch up – your customers are already expecting you to somehow match the experiences they get from leading consumer brands. Many of your competitors are already delivering these experiences. Your employees are demanding a more modern employee value proposition, one that is nearly impossible to offer if their workdays are fraught with the burdens of outdated technology. And none of these variables are staying still, so it isn’t enough to catch up; you must determine how you modernize your systems, your processes, and your governance to be what today’s businesses have to be to succeed: agile.

U.S. Air Traffic Control Grapples with Technical Debt

A very real and especially scary example of technical debt is what’s currently happening as a result of the antiquated technology in use by the United States air traffic control. I flew through Newark earlier this month in the midst of its “multi-day meltdown,” and the far reaching and potentially detrimental impact of these issues weighed very heavy on my mind. While there are additional factors beyond the technology, the systems in place are decades old and rely on things like copper wires and floppy disks.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has spoken to the fact that outdated technology is a major factor in the issues affecting the nation's air traffic control systems, saying “What we have right now is the old-school flip phone. You can't update the flip phone.” In the same article, Paul Rinaldi, Vice President of Safety and Operations at Airlines for America and a former traffic controller, agrees with Duffy, referring to the existing system as “archaic.”

Duffy has proposed a four-year plan, estimated to cost more than 12.5 billion, to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system. He says in this article that “A lot of people have said: This problem is too complicated, too expensive, too hard.” All adjectives that those grappling with extreme technical debt have likely felt the weight of.

While many of the reasons technical debt persist can be valid, the risk of continuing to delay addressing it is simply too significant. This Gartner article lends some further insight on how technical debt hinders an organization and advice for how to manage it. And this MIT Sloan Management Review piece calls attention more specifically to how technical debt prevents organizations from deploying AI solutions that could reshape how they compete and what do to about it.

If you have a story to share about how your organization has handled the management or reduction of technical debt, I’d love to hear from you!

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Wisdom of a 56-Million-Year-Old Culture

May 19, 2025 | 4 Mins Read

Wisdom of a 56-Million-Year-Old Culture

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by Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

I’m just returning from a four-day retreat hosted by Natalie Kuhn at MEA outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. MEA is a retreat center founded by Chip Conley, TED speaker and New York Times bestselling author of Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder. The Santa Fe campus is on Rising Circle Ranch, a regenerative horse ranch that spans nearly 2,600 acres of wildlife, hiking trails, winding arroyos, ancient petroglyphs, and awe-inspiring beauty. 

As part of the experience, we were ushered by the Ranch Manager, Lee Johnson, to an experience with the ranch’s horses. I have never spent a lot of time with horses, so I learned quite a bit throughout the afternoon and was struck by how much of what I was taking in correlates to today’s business landscape: what makes for an effective leader, how crucially important culture is, and the many forms resilience can take.

Lee and his colleague Maryann began by sharing some facts about horses, including that horses have existed for 56 million years, which is just incredible to ponder. They explained some of the facets that make it possible for a species of prey animals to have existed so long, one of which is the way horses herd. As they explained the relational nature of the herds, they shared that horses have a very specific culture that is centered around five key tenets:

  1. Safety
  2. Connection
  3. Peace
  4. Freedom
  5. Joy

How incredible is it that horses find crucial these very things that we as humans do, too? Moreover, that these tenets have served as the foundation for how these herds have engaged and lived for millions of years. Learning about how central culture is to how horses live got me thinking quite a bit about the growing significance of company culture. When we consider resilience, whether of the horse species or of a business, having these core principles to anchor around is vital. But the principles can’t simply exist; they must be genuinely and consistently embodied. I know nearly every business today has cultural values they can point to on a wall or on their website, but I do question how many are weaving those values into the fabric of how the business is run and how its people are treated.

Leaders Create Power with Teams

Another very specific point I found powerful is when Lee shared that the herd leader, which is almost always a mare, focuses on creating power with – not over – the other members of the herd. If that doesn’t perfectly summarize what’s needed from leaders today, I don’t know what will. Gone are the days of command-and-control leaders; what’s required today are those who can expertly curate a team of diverse and well-honed skills and then empower that team to rally around the company’s values and objectives.

Finally, Lee spoke at length about the almost inconceivable perceptiveness of horses. He explained that when horses interact with humans, they don’t respond well to incongruence. Meaning, if you’re fearful of a horse, that’s OK – but if you’re pretending not to be, the horse senses that incongruence with unease. This brought to mind the importance of authenticity; leaders who create influence by being themselves and by connecting with their teams in a genuine manner are far more effective than those who are guarded, overly poised, or have thinly veiled motives.

During the retreat we not only spent time with the horses but also exploring the beautiful land of New Mexico and learning about its native people and rich history. While there’s certainly value in reading leadership books and attending seminars, it can also be quite profound to tap into some of these other sources of insight for not only leadership lessons, but really life lessons.

Taking the time away from my family and from work to attend this retreat reminded me of my recent conversation with Laurie Battaglia after her keynote at Field Service Palm Springs, driving home the importance of leading yourself first. It can be quite challenging to invest the time, but we need to nurture our inner selves if we want to create external energy that will benefit our loved ones and also our teams, our customers, and the wider communities beyond. Doing so is also key to resilience. However you disconnect, unplug, and reconnect with yourself, continue to invest in your peace and your perspective; it will pay dividends.

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Mental Health Matters: Resources to Support Wellbeing at Work

May 12, 2025 | 4 Mins Read

Mental Health Matters: Resources to Support Wellbeing at Work

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States, and the focus may be more important now than ever. At Future of Field Service and the UNSCRIPTED podcast, we try to ensure that mental health and wellbeing are topics represented in our discussions often, not only in a certain month – but I will never pass up an opportunity to call attention to stories and resources that can help reduce stigma and improve awareness and understanding.

For 2025, Mental Health America is using the theme "Turn Awareness into Action" and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is focusing on the theme "In Every Story, There's Strength" (personally, I agree and I love that one). In the spirit of sharing powerful stories and helping to not only create better awareness, but inspire action, here is a compilation of some of conversations and resources I’d urge you to check out during this month of focus:

Smashing Stigma Around Mental Health & Prioritizing Well-Being at Work

In this podcast, Rob Stephenson, TEDx Speaker, Mental Health Campaigner, Keynote Speaker, CEO of FormScore®, and Founder of the InsideOut LeaderBoard® shares his motivation for evangelizing mental well-being and gives advice on how companies can make progress in normalizing mental health topics and promoting well-being at work.

Rob is deeply committed to mental health awareness and actively participates in efforts to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental ill-health in the workplace. He has managed bipolar disorder throughout his personal and professional life and shares his experiences and strategies for change through public speaking engagements.

Be sure to check out the work he does with FormScore and the InsideOut LeaderBoard as well!

Building Mental Strength as a Leader

Scott Mautz, author of The Mentally Strong Leader, is a former Procter & Gamble executive who successfully ran four of the company’s largest multi-billion dollar businesses. He has been named a "CEO thought-leader" by The Chief Executives Guild and a "Top 50 Leadership Innovator" by Inc.com.

In this podcast discussion, Scott shares his strategies for building mental strength and overcoming challenges as a leader. He also explores topics such as self-regulation, the "static trap," self-doubt, imposter syndrome, navigating stress, as well as the importance of creating habits that support mental strength, providing tools and frameworks for building resilience.

Tetra Pak’s Proven Ways of Supporting Field Force Wellbeing

While looking beyond just mental health, this podcast about the steps Tetra Pak has taken to support field force wellbeing touches on many important points, including the message of “it’s OK to not be OK.” Marco Hugo Guiterrez, VP of Customer Service Operations, EMEA at Tetra Pak, shares a detailed look at what the company has done to put more emphasis on employee engagement and promote and maximize field force wellbeing.

8 Facts About Mental Health at Work to Expand Awareness and Prompt Action

When Darcy Gruttadaro, former Director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health, part of the APA Foundation, and now Chief Innovation Officer at NAMI joined our podcast for an episode on six ways to address employee burnout, we had more than we could squeeze into one discussion. As a result, I wrote this article on eight facts around mental health that I feel we all need to better understand and urge action on.

Learn more about the resources that both the Center for Workplace Mental Health and NAMI provide.

Destigmatizing, Normalizing and Prioritizing Mental Health in the Workplace

When I recorded a podcast with Johnny Crowder, suicide/abuse survivor, TEDx speaker, touring musician, mental health and sobriety advocate, and the Founder & CEO of Cope Notes, a text-based mental health platform that provides daily support to users in nearly 100 countries across the globe, I was in awe of him. Listen as we discuss the criticality of prioritizing mental health in the workplace, and also be sure to learn more about Cope Notes.

Putting Focus on Employee Mental Healt‪h

I shared on LinkedIn how sad I was to learn that Jordan Argiriou, former Director, Service Solutions APEC at QIAGEN had passed away. I will always remember when I asked him (a burly, Australian man) what he’d like to talk about in a podcast and he responded with “mental health” how surprised I was! It was a topic that was very important to him, and his advice in this podcast centers around normalizing the conversations, leading by example, and creating relationships that give people a safe place to share. Wise words from a wonderful man.

Making Mental Health a Focus in Service Leadership

This podcast is an oldie but goodie from an incredible woman, Linda Tucci. Recorded in the midst of Covid when Linda was service as the Global Sr. Director of the Technical Solutions Center at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, we talk about why it is critical to make mental health a priority in service leadership and how she’s done so, for herself and her team.

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4 Crucial Considerations for Defining Humanity’s Future in an AI-Enabled World

May 5, 2025 | 5 Mins Read

4 Crucial Considerations for Defining Humanity’s Future in an AI-Enabled World

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By Sarah Nicastro, Creator, Future of Field Service

In my opinion, we all have a quite serious responsibility at the moment to take part in creating an appropriate, ethical, and delicate balance between AI advancement and protecting what is uniquely human potential. Recently, I invited Faisal Hoque onto the podcast for an insightful discussion around what this delicate balance will take.

Hoque is a serial entrepreneur, business strategist, technology innovator, and best-selling author whose insights have been featured in CNN, Fast Company, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Yahoo. He’s held corporate leadership roles at companies like GE, Pitney Bowes, and Dun & Bradstreet and he has built multiple companies focused on innovation and transformation. His latest book, Transcend, explores how organizations can harness AI's potential while protecting the human experience. As a dedicated philanthropist, Hoque donates all book proceeds to charity, and I found his uniquely balanced perspective on the AI revolution to be full of food for thought.

#1: Distinguish Enterprise AI from Consumer Applications

Hoque warns against conflating consumer AI tools with enterprise initiatives, as they serve fundamentally different purposes. Enterprise AI has been evolving for decades through automation, predictive modeling, and process optimization, while tools like ChatGPT that began as consumer AI represents just the visible tip of the iceberg for what’s now and next.

Business leaders must understand that enterprise AI will fundamentally reshape companies and work models as we move toward general intelligence systems that can think independently. As AI becomes a true "coworker" rather than just a passive tool, it will bring both unprecedented challenges and opportunities. This demands careful evaluation of where AI can remove inefficiencies, while preserving human value.

For us to do justice in preserving human value, Hoque suggests we must start by defining humanity. “Humanity is about freedom - freedom to be creative, freedom to pursue something, and it's love. It's love for your craft, love for your family, society, whatever. Love is driven by passion, because that's how you become fully fulfilled as a human being,” he says. Keeping these definitions in mind is how we set the stage to harness the potential of AI without risking what’s special about the human experience.

#2: Approach an AI-Centric Future with Neutrality

One of the aspects of our conversation that has stuck with me is discussing the power of neutrality when it comes to approaching an AI-centric future. I pointed out that, on one hand, it seems there are individuals and organizations that are overly excited to go all-in on AI with a hyperfocus on how it can cut costs and maximize profits; the risk here is being driven by greed.

On the other hand, there are leaders and businesses who are so hesitant to embrace this technology that is undoubtedly changing the way we work forever. The risk here is not only falling behind, but quickly becoming irrelevant. Perhaps the healthiest mindset is a more neutral one – welcoming and even being excited about what AI can do and how it will evolve businesses and work, but with a very keen eye on where caution need be applied and where the utmost risk to humanity lies.

Hoque agreed, bringing to light that this is how a Buddhist philosophy can be applied. “You have to develop this mentality of devotion and detachment in the sense that you have to be devoted to things that actually are helpful, that's regenerative in the sense that it's regenerating something that's helpful to humanity. You have to detach yourself from greed and from things that could be harmful, and also from fear,” he says.

He goes on to share a framework that is explored in Transcend, called the “open and care” framework to help provide a balanced approach to AI adoption. At its core, this framework promotes being radically open to possibilities while deeply caring about humanity and helps organizations identify opportunities while remaining mindful of risks and ethical considerations. Hoque reinforces that implementation should focus on augmenting human capabilities rather than wholesale replacement; the goal is transcending current limitations while protecting what makes us uniquely human.

“This divergent framework, Open and Care, is about being radically open to possibilities because there's so much good we can do with AI. But then, also, you have to be catastrophically focused on risk, and you have to care about humanity deeply if you want to maintain some level of balance,” says Hoque.

#3: Consider Reverse Innovation Risk

Hoque shared some thoughts around what we stand to lose if a balance isn’t struck between AI innovation and humanity. He spoke of the concept of "reverse innovation," describing how some technological advances can actually reduce human capabilities and critical thinking skills over time.

Business leaders must keep this in mind and be sure to evaluate whether automating certain processes might erode important foundational knowledge and skills their teams need. This requires maintaining core competencies even while leveraging advanced tools; I shared how this reminded me of our experience when our son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when the doctors insisted we learn manual calculations and care before relying on automated systems.

Careful consideration must be given to which activities truly benefit from automation versus which ones contribute to skill development and engagement.

#4: Prioritize Regenerative Leadership

So much of how AI’s impact will unfold in the coming years has to do with how it is approached by leaders, and how important they see it to strike a balance. Hoque speaks about regenerative leadership, which is focused on creating sustainable systems that help people reach their full potential rather than defaulting to automation.

Leaders must help employees develop new skills and capabilities as technology evolves, rather than simply reducing headcount. This approach views AI as a way to expand human potential and organizational capacity rather than just cut costs and centers the goal around multiplication of capabilities, not elimination of human contribution. "When I talk about regenerative leadership, I really mean that you have to be able to create ecosystem just like nature does, that regenerates resources. You have to do stuff as a leader that allows the resources to be regenerated so that they can live up to their full potential. If you're going introduce automation, you need to help people to regenerate their next level of contribution and skill set,” says Hoque.

Regenerative leadership relies heavily on empathy. "Greed is one risk factor, but a lack of empathy is another. If we have no empathy, then we don't really care about humanity. Empathy plays a huge role in terms of how you think about AI, how you design AI, and how you deploy and execute,” says Hoque. The successful integration of AI requires balancing technological capability with human empathy and mindful leadership; leaders must remain focused on how AI deployment impacts their people and organizational culture, not just efficiency metrics. This requires maintaining strong human connections and understanding while leveraging AI's analytical power. Organizations should evaluate AI initiatives through the lens of both business value and human experience. The key is finding ways to advance technology while strengthening rather than diminishing human relationships and purpose. "Think about a knife - you can use it in the kitchen, or you can use it to harm somebody. AI isn't any different, except it's million zillion times more powerful than a knife. It's up to you how you use it,” cautions Hoque.

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