Welcome to Pivoting to Technology Adoption!

Technology Adoption / Transformation Episodes

Innovation Portfolio Management: Linking Strategy to Execution
123
June 30, 2026

Innovation Portfolio Management: Linking Strategy to Execution

70% of technology transformations fail. Not because of the technology, but because of the gap between a strategy set in the boardroom and the work that actually gets executed. In this episode, Donna P. Mitchell sits down with Noel Sobelman, Partner at Accel Management Group and author of Innovation Portfolio Management: Linking Strategy to Execution. For more than two decades, Noel has helped the world's largest enterprises, including Medtronic, BD, Siemens, Kimberly Clark, Honeywell, and Whirlp...
The Dashboard Trap: When Technology Doesn’t Change the Business
122
June 16, 2026

The Dashboard Trap: When Technology Doesn’t Change the Business

Most technology investments don’t fail because the technology is broken. They fail because leaders measure activity instead of outcomes — logins, usage, dashboards full of green — while the business itself never changes. In this episode, veteran operator Kurt Uhlir breaks down why that gap exists and how the best leaders close it. SUMMARY Donna P. Mitchell sits down with Kurt Uhlir — a CMO and operator behind an $880M IPO and 60+ funding rounds — to examine the difference between technology that...
Guest: Kurt Uhlir
Chapter 1, The Space Between — Author Read | Pivoting to Technology Adoption: Mind the Gap
121
June 10, 2026

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

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 n...
Adoption Matters More Than Sophistication — MEST Africa
116
May 5, 2026

Adoption Matters More Than Sophistication — MEST Africa

The best system is not the most advanced one. It is the one your team will actually use. Host Donna P. Mitchell goes inside the MEST Africa AI Startup Program in Accra, Ghana — where 30 entrepreneurs from 7 West African nations are building AI companies with fewer resources than most US enterprises spend on a single pilot. Joined by Paul Crafer, Emily Fiagbedzi, Desmond Kwaku Coffie, and Chidinma Judith Akunwa this conversation challenges how executives think about adoption, talent, and where AI...
The Adoption Gap Is Widening — And the Big Four Confirmed It
115
April 28, 2026

The Adoption Gap Is Widening — And the Big Four Confirmed It

In 2025, I said the AI adoption crisis would not be a technology problem. It would be a people problem. In 2026, BCG, McKinsey, MIT, and Gartner confirmed it with their own data. In this solo episode of Pivoting to Technology Adoption, host Donna P. Mitchell walks through the three calls she made in 2025 — and the independent data that confirmed every one of them. Then she names the three patterns she is watching for the next 12 months. TOPICS COVERED: • Why the 70% transformation failure rate h...
Adoption Gaps Are Leadership Gaps in Disguise — Bryant Richardson, Real Blue Sky
April 14, 2026

Adoption Gaps Are Leadership Gaps in Disguise — Bryant Richardson, Real Blue Sky

Adoption gaps are not technology problems. They are leadership gaps and experience gaps in disguise. In this episode, Bryant Richardson, ICMI Top 25 CX Thought Leader two years running, explains why organizations keep failing at transformation — and why the answer is not more training. TOPICS COVERED: • Why adoption gaps are really leadership gaps and experience gaps in disguise • The CRAFT Agilities Framework™ — the leadership system behind CX transformation • What a real enterprise platform fa...
Your AI Doesn't Know Your Business — Diganta "Digs" Sengupta & Pradyumna "Prady" Kodgi, Oracle
112
March 31, 2026

Your AI Doesn't Know Your Business — Diganta "Digs" Sengupta & Pradyumna "Prady" Kodgi, Oracle

70% of technology transformations fail. In this panel episode, two Oracle leaders explain why the AI adoption gap is widening — and what enterprises must fix before the next investment cycle. TOPICS COVERED: The adoption gap: why the technology works but organizations still fail The gap between boardroom AI strategy and ground-level execution Why LLMs need business context — and how data integration provides it Healthcare AI challenges: state-level compliance and data silos Convergence architect...
Why 70% Fail — Six Experts Expose the Gaps
111
March 24, 2026

Why 70% Fail — Six Experts Expose the Gaps

Why do 70% of technology transformations fail? Six experts. Six gaps. Mind the Gap. In this special compilation episode, Donna P. Mitchell brings together six of the sharpest voices from Pivoting to Technology Adoption to answer the question every C-suite executive is asking — and most are getting wrong. TOPICS COVERED: Shadow AI is already inside your company — and your best people are using it AI cannot be your strategy — AI is part of your strategy The banking CEO who asked the wrong question...
From Crime Scenes to Med Tech — How Storytelling Drives Technology Adoption | Jason Ellinger
109
March 3, 2026

From Crime Scenes to Med Tech — How Storytelling Drives Technology Adoption | Jason Ellinger

How does a news photojournalist covering crime scenes become a med tech storyteller funding nonprofit impact? In this episode, Donna P. Mitchell speaks with Jason Ellinger, Co-Founder of Beard & Bowler Productions, about how covering an 11-year-old's funeral made him rethink his entire career — and how his company now uses the HERO Grant model to fund nonprofit storytelling through corporate revenue. TOPICS COVERED: The StoryBrand 7-part formula: why you're the guide, not the hero How the HERO G...
ARISE — The FREE AI Governance Framework Unifying Cybersecurity & Compliance | Paul Crafer
107
Feb. 24, 2026

ARISE — The FREE AI Governance Framework Unifying Cybersecurity & Compliance | Paul Crafer

The FREE AI governance framework most organizations don't know exists
Guest: Paul Crafer
Why 99% of Transformations Fail: The 3 Variables C-Suite Ignores | Chris Majer
106
Feb. 17, 2026

Why 99% of Transformations Fail: The 3 Variables C-Suite Ignores | Chris Majer

Chris Majer has generated $4 BILLION in documented results for clients like Microsoft, Intel, and AT&T. Here's what executives keep getting wrong.
Guest: Chris Majer
Why 70% of Students Never Enroll & What AI Is Doing About It | Jason Sherman
102
Jan. 20, 2026

Why 70% of Students Never Enroll & What AI Is Doing About It | Jason Sherman

Did you know 70% of students who visit a university website never enroll? In this episode, Donna P. Mitchell speaks with Jason Sherman, Founder of Vengo AI and Campus Pixel, about how AI is transforming enterprise operations — from university admissions to Fortune 500 bottlenecks — and why proprietary AI infrastructure is the only way to protect client data from Big Tech. TOPICS COVERED: Why 70% of university website visitors never enroll — and how AI changes that How AI admissions counselors ar...
Why AI Projects Fail: An Oracle Strategist on Data, Guardrails & the 70% Problem | Diganta "Digs" Sen Gupta
100
Jan. 6, 2026

Why AI Projects Fail: An Oracle Strategist on Data, Guardrails & the 70% Problem | Diganta "Digs" Sen Gupta

Why do 70% of AI projects fail? In this milestone Episode 100, Donna P. Mitchell sits down with Diganta "Digs" Sen Gupta — Forbes Technology Council member, IEEE AI Governance Committee member, and Oracle enterprise architect with 25+ years of experience — to break down what executives must understand about data readiness before any AI initiative. WHAT'S COVERED: Why "everyone from bedrooms to boardrooms" talks AI but most projects fail The data silo problem destroying enterprise AI initiatives ...
Expanding the Mission: Meet The Transformation Authority™
97
Dec. 16, 2025

Expanding the Mission: Meet The Transformation Authority™

70% of technology transformation projects are failing — not because of the technology, but because of adoption. It's human. After 48 years witnessing transformations across telecommunications, aviation, airline, healthcare/pharmaceutical, and emerging technology, Donna P. Mitchell steps fully into her role as The Transformation Authority™ to break down why organizations are losing money when transformation isn't human-centered. TOPICS COVERED: Why 70% of technology transformations fail Why adopt...
Why Technology Is Never the Issue (ft. Naila Qazi, CEO CCL Canada)
94
Nov. 19, 2025

Why Technology Is Never the Issue (ft. Naila Qazi, CEO CCL Canada)

Why Technology Is Never the Issue: The Real Gap Slowing Digital Transformation Naila Qazi, CEO of CCL Canada, reveals why digital transformation failures have nothing to do with technology—and everything to do with fear, skepticism, and reluctance. With experience leading billion-dollar transformations across 9 sectors and 3 continents, Naila shares what executives actually need to do: listen to hidden stakeholders, communicate clearly, and build trust before launching technology. Guest: Naila Q...
Discover IKA The Future of User Interfaces with Carlos Mats and Donna Mitchell
60
Feb. 20, 2025

Discover IKA The Future of User Interfaces with Carlos Mats and Donna Mitchell

Thrilled to introduce a visionary technologist, artist, and designer, Carlos Mats, as our guest. Carlos, the creator of IKA, joins us to delve into his groundbreaking project that's transforming the future of web interfaces as we know it. With an impressive journey that spans across the early days of Web 1.0 to the emerging realities of Web3, Carlos has combined his vast experience in design, technology, arts, and media to develop IKA. Imagine the real-life Jarvis with a three-dimensional conver...
The Elements of a Culture Change with Donna Mitchell
13
Oct. 25, 2023

The Elements of a Culture Change with Donna Mitchell

The advent of new technologies calls for a culture change that goes beyond a having business plan and making changes to your business goals. Join us in this special presentation of Pivoting to Web3 as Donna shares her wisdom on what it takes to have a culture change in your business or organization. Learn about the elements, relevant components, and strategies that you need to understand and prepare for to ensure your business thrives in this ever-changing technology landscape. What to expect in...