By now, you should know the “why” behind why your IT is important, plus three important pieces that can greatly benefit you and your company.
Today, we’re going to talk about the consequences, both intended and unintended, of paying a technology vendor who’s dropping the ball. Some of which, you may not even know about.
Here’s a common scenario we see; you get your invoice or project report from your outsourced IT vendor, and you notice your spend is outpacing your expected return.
That’s an uneasy feeling.
Being able to project your IT costs is important, and when your billing varies from month to month, that can be stressful. Regardless of the amount of time and money invested with a vendor, if the performance to date has been poor, the path forward will likely continue to yield less than ideal results.
Luckily, being able to detect problems early can be easier with digital services like IT and technology versus other products and services you pay for.
To help, following are some indicators that you might be in some trouble with your tech vendor.
#1. Are they transparent?
The level of transparency your IT vendor volunteers is quite telling.
From unrestricted access to the team’s backlog tool to detailed line-item billing, there should be consistent transparency. If obfuscation is common practice, you will likely experience problems. Transparency drives accountability. We’ve worked with several clients that changed technology vendors for a variety of reasons. One recurring symptom we tend to hear is their prior vendor’s lack of transparency
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#2. Too many meetings or too much listening?
A vendor that comes in with guns blazing and does not carefully listen to you explain your needs or does not request to talk with your end users should be a concern.
You know the problem you are working to solve likely better than anyone. Jumping into a solution without understanding the challenges in the context of the user is a recipe for disaster. If you find yourself being talked at more than being listened to about product and user needs, it may be a foreshadowing of problems ahead. When it comes to what needs to be built, your vendor should be listening to you and your users.
On the flip side, be wary of overly accommodating vendors.
Seemingly counter-intuitive, this can be indicative of a vendor that will say anything to win business and likely hide problems later. For effective development of your overall technology strategy, process and discipline are necessary. If the vendor does not have the confidence to challenge you and your team to maintain this discipline, you may be adding external cost without increasing velocity.
Recently, we spoke with a senior manager inside one of our client’s businesses. He told me that we had, “hurt some feelings” on the team. He followed by saying, “However, if some feelings need to be hurt to help the team improve themselves and the process, I’ll expect your team to do so.”
I’ll admit this might sound a bit harsh, but great technology partners vendor should not only accelerate development by providing incremental resources, they should also help your team work more effectively by teaching process, providing constructive criticism, and leading healthy collaboration.
Contrary to ’too many meetings,’ when it comes to how the technology plan should be built, the vendor should be guiding and pushing the process.
#3. Ego and the unwillingness to change course?
Team retrospectives are critical to ensure a healthy exchange of dialogue around issues and successes.
An open conversation around what has been working versus what has not should occur after each phase of your technology plan. Are these conversations being requested by the vendor? Is your technology partner acknowledging, and where applicable, adapting to your concerns and feedback?
Specifically, if your technology vendor is dropping the ball, are they presenting a clear plan that holds its team accountable on how that team will recover? The true measure of a technology partner, one like Logic Speak, is how quickly they identify, respond, and recover. We have found that by surfacing issues early and by addressing concerns immediately successful realignment occurs.
#4. Fixated on the contract or your end user?
Is your technology partner helping you build the best solution possible or are they fixated on the original requirements and contract?
Scope changes certainly have an impact on the project and discussions need to occur when these arise. However, if there is no flexibility to iterate, it can be indicative of a vendor who is more focused on getting paid than building you the right managed service solution.
Stakeholders (the ones who help you create your requirements) have inherent biases. We all do. If there are no plans built in to get the product in front of your staff or end users, questions should be raised.
Is it time for a change?
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At Logic Speak, our core values shape how we lead, how we work, and how we serve our clients. They’re not words on a wall, they’re filters for decisions and expectations for how we show up every day.
But here’s something we’ve learned the hard way: even good values have a shadow side.
Values, when taken too far or applied without self‑awareness, can create unintended consequences. What starts as a strength can quietly become a blind spot. And if we’re not careful, the very things we pride ourselves on can work against us.
So today, we want to talk honestly about our values, not just the best of them, but the risks of overusing them.
We Care for You
The strength:
Caring for others is foundational to who we are. It means treating people with dignity, empathy, and kindness. It means remembering that coworkers, clients, and partners are humans first, not just roles or tickets or invoices.
The shadow side:
When care goes unchecked, it can turn into avoidance. We may hesitate to give hard feedback because we don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. We may tolerate behaviors longer than we should because we empathize deeply with circumstances. Over time, clarity suffers, and ironically, so does trust.
Care without courage isn’t actually care.
We Lean In
The strength:
We lean in when there’s a need. We take ownership. We step up when things are unclear or uncomfortable. This value fuels responsibility, initiative, and teamwork.
The shadow side:
Leaning in too much can become overfunctioning. We jump in to fix things that aren’t ours to fix. We take on too much instead of letting others wrestle and grow. Eventually, this can lead to burnout, resentment, or invisible bottlenecks where “that person always handles it.”
Sometimes the most responsible thing to do is not lean in, but step back.
We Love Our Craft
The strength:
We take pride in doing things well. We pay attention to details. We care about quality, process, and doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
The shadow side:
At its extreme, loving our craft can turn into perfectionism. We may over‑engineer solutions, delay decisions, or become critical when others don’t meet our internal standards. What was meant to produce excellence can unintentionally slow momentum or make collaboration harder.
Excellence should serve the outcome, not replace it.
We Keep Improving
The strength:
Growth matters here. We believe learning never stops and that feedback, when handled well, is a gift. This value keeps us curious, hungry, and moving forward.
The shadow side:
Constant improvement can quietly create the feeling that “where we are is never enough.” Wins may go uncelebrated because we’re already focused on what’s next. People may feel like they’re always being evaluated instead of occasionally being affirmed.
Improvement without appreciation can feel exhausting.
Why This Matters: Blind Spots Are Part of Being Human
None of these shadow sides mean our values are flawed. They mean we’re human.
Every person, every team, and every organization has blind spots. Often, they’re not found in our weaknesses, but in our strengths, overused or unexamined. The danger isn’t having blind spots, it’s assuming we don’t.
That’s why self‑awareness matters so deeply to us. It’s why feedback matters. It’s why we believe asking questions like “How is this landing?” and “What might I be missing?” is a leadership responsibility, not a sign of insecurity.
Living Our Values With Humility
Our goal isn’t to live our values perfectly. It’s to live them thoughtfully.
That means holding our values firmly, but ourselves humbly. It means inviting perspective, welcoming challenge, and remembering that good intentions don’t eliminate unintended impact.
When we name the shadow side, we don’t weaken our culture, we strengthen it.
Because the best teams aren’t made of people without blind spots.
They’re made of people willing to look for them.