Organizations spend millions every year on projects, programs, and new technology. They build business cases, allocate resources, and celebrate go-lives.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really fall?
The same question applies to IT and business investments: if you don’t measure value, is there really any value?
The value gap
Far too often, value is treated as an afterthought. Teams remember to calculate a financial ROI at the end of a project…if they remember at all. But that’s not enough. Value isn’t something you look back on once the work is done. It’s something you define, track, and drive from the very beginning.
And value is never one-dimensional. It can be:
- Quantitative – revenue growth, cost savings, efficiency gains.
- Qualitative – improved customer satisfaction, better decision-making.
- Tangible – new features, streamlined processes.
- Intangible – trust, culture, reputation, employee engagement.
- Psychological – confidence, reduced stress, greater clarity.
When organizations reduce value to a single ROI calculation, they miss the bigger picture and often miss the real outcomes that matter.
IT value isn’t enough
Another common trap is talking about value only in IT terms: uptime, system performance, tickets closed. These metrics matter, but they don’t represent the ultimate business value. If the business can’t see how technology investments are advancing their goals, then IT is speaking the wrong language.
True value comes from business outcomes. Did the project increase market share? Did it improve the customer experience? Did it help the organization move faster, safer, or smarter toward its mission? That’s the level of impact that matters.
Shared ownership of value
The responsibility for value can’t sit with IT alone. Business owners must be engaged from the start. Together, IT and the business should:
- Define value up front – Be clear on what outcomes are expected, across multiple dimensions.
- Agree on how to measure it – Metrics, indicators, and even stories that show progress.
- Track it along the way – Value should be a living conversation, not an end-of-project exercise.
- Own it together – Business leaders must co-own the results, not just IT.
This is where tools can make a difference. For example, many organizations struggle to even know where to begin in defining value measures. Solutions like GetInSync use AI to suggest potential value measures for new ideas—helping teams focus early attention on what really matters. Instead of leaving value as an afterthought, the process becomes intentional, structured, and transparent.
Why it matters
The stakes are high. Organizations waste enormous amounts of money and talent chasing initiatives that never deliver what was promised. Teams burn out, executives lose faith, and IT gets blamed for failing to “show value.”
But this isn’t an IT problem…it’s a leadership problem. The leaders who make value central, measurable, and shared are the ones who will earn trust, strengthen credibility, and ensure resources are invested where they make the biggest difference.
Bottom Line
Ideas are exciting. Projects are important. Technology is powerful. But none of it matters if you can’t answer one simple question:
What value did we create?
If you’re not measuring it, you may not be creating it.