Enterprise systems leader Kevin Patrick joins me to unpack a problem most companies underestimate—and pay for heavily: employee disengagement.
We started with a stat that should stop any executive cold. Roughly 70% of ERP implementations fail to hit their goals. At the same time, employee disengagement globally accounts for an estimated $8.8 trillion in lost productivity every year.
Those two numbers aren’t separate problems.
They’re the same problem.
Kevin brings a unique perspective from years in enterprise resource planning and customer success, where failure isn’t just technical—it’s human. Systems don’t fail because of software. They fail because the people using them are disconnected, undervalued, or mentally checked out.
We dig into why traditional work models—“I pay you X, you do Y”—are breaking down, and what replaces them. Why employees no longer default to going above and beyond. And why leadership decisions driven by short-term optics (layoffs, cost-cutting, hierarchy protection) quietly destroy long-term value.
This is a conversation about what actually drives performance: not pressure, not perks—but genuine engagement.
And why most organizations are structurally designed to prevent it.
TL;DR
Employee disengagement is a trillion-dollar problem—not an HR issue
Most system failures are human failures, not technical ones
The old work contract (“pay for output”) no longer creates loyalty or effort
Disengaged employees do the minimum; engaged employees create exponential value
Leadership decisions often optimize short-term optics at long-term cost
Engagement comes from being seen, supported, and developed—not managed
Small, personal progress creates massive organizational impact
Memorable Lines
“Systems don’t fail—people disengage.”
“You don’t fix disengagement with perks—you fix it with connection.”
“Most companies treat people like liabilities instead of assets.”
“Engaged employees solve problems you didn’t even know existed.”
“It’s not complicated—if you want engaged employees, engage them.”
Guest
Kevin Patrick — Director of Professional Services & Customer Success
ERP leader focused on improving implementation success through human-centered engagement, retention strategies, and organizational alignment.
Why This Matters
Most companies are trying to solve performance problems with systems, tools, or restructuring.
But performance isn’t primarily a systems issue.
It’s an engagement issue.
When employees feel disconnected, everything downstream suffers—execution slows, innovation dies, and turnover increases. When they feel invested, the opposite happens: problems get solved early, ideas surface faster, and organizations move with less friction.
The gap between those two states isn’t technology.
It’s leadership.
Because the companies that win long-term won’t be the ones with the best systems.
They’ll be the ones that know how to get the best out of the people using them.
