Users Are Losers
But the Business Always Loses More. Bad design, lazy culture, and the myth of “poor adoption.”
Last week, my daughter learned to ride her bike.
No training wheels.
Straight from balance bike to big-girl bike.
From the outside?
It looked seamless.
She got on. She rode. Done.
But the “smooth transition”?
That came after months of wobbling, slow starts, tiny wins, and quite a few tears.
Riding to nursery that first time was slow.
Day two, she had more confidence.
By day three, she was flying.
Now imagine if the first time she sat on that balance bike, I told her she was stupid.
That she didn’t “get it.”
That I needed to bribe her to care.
Or worse - that maybe I should get her a new bike because clearly this one isn’t working.
Sounds ridiculous, right?
But that’s exactly how most businesses treat users when a new system is rolled out.
“We have a user adoption issue.”
No.
What you have is a systems issue.
A design issue.
A culture issue.
But blaming users is convenient.
Because it means no one has to ask the harder questions.
You know the ones:
Did we actually design this with the user in mind?
Does the system support the process - or just mimic it?
Was the rollout strategic - or just a project deadline?
Did we train anyone properly - or just send them a PDF?
Carrot or stick? Please.
The minute users don’t “take to the system,” leaders leap into a tired old debate:
👉 Should we incentivise usage or punish the slackers?
As if that’s the issue.
As if using your system was supposed to be some magical act of internal motivation.
Let’s be honest:
You rushed the implementation.
You designed in silos.
You didn’t involve the people actually using the thing.
And then, after a few training sessions and some dated docs buried in SharePoint,
you expect everyone to get it.
The truth?
They’re not lazy. They’re lost.
Because your system was never built for them to win.
Same mindset. New system. Same failure.
And even when you buy a new system,
you bring the same bad habits along.
You skip the hard design thinking.
You replicate broken processes in shinier tech.
You configure for departments, not for the business.
You treat change like a switch, not a journey.
Then, you look around in disbelief when adoption drops off a cliff.
Do you think it’ll be different in the age of AI?
No.
Automation and all variations of AI will just make the gaps harder to ignore.
Because users come with different:
Backgrounds
Perspectives
Learning styles
Comfort levels with ambiguity
They need clarity, continuity, and culture.
And what do most organisations give them?
Confusion. Pressure. And another platform to figure out.
AI won't solve your user problems.
It’ll amplify them.
Louder. Faster. And more visibly than ever before.
The BOS Truth
“Users are losers” has become a throwaway line in tech circles.
A lazy joke.
A snide remark about “those people who just don’t get it.”
But here’s what’s actually happening:
Users are set up to fail.
Systems are designed without first principles.
Process logic is bolted on—not baked in.
And culture? Often the most broken of all.
Because when you build with short-term thinking, siloed input, and no strategic clarity—
users lose.
Every time.
But the real loss?
It’s not the user.
It’s the business.
Poor adoption is just a symptom.
The root cause?
Leadership that doesn’t know how to design for success..
Design Matters. Culture Matters More.
System design isn't just UX - it’s operational empathy.
And adoption? That’s just a lagging indicator of:
Process quality
Communication clarity
Training depth
Ownership at every level
And most importantly: patience
If you won’t give a child three days to build confidence on a bike…
Why would you expect instant mastery of a complex system from a user who’s never been properly supported?
🧠 BOS Challenge
Before you blame the user, ask yourself:
Did we design this around how work actually happens?
Did we give them time to build comfort and confidence?
Or are we expecting perfection from people we’ve already set up to fail?
🧱 BOS Mindset for the Week
“Users aren’t stupid. Your system might be.
Culture drives adoption. Design supports it.
The rest? That’s your job.”
Until next time!
Remember - Less chaos. More BOS
Khyati Pal
Voice of BOS | Business Operations Streamlined