IT teams love patching. Patching ERPs. Patching servers. Patching Network. Patching firewalls. Heck, if it moves, we will just try to patch it. But, while they are busy patching systems, they have completely ignored the elephant in the room -> “their IT habits”. Are they still running on “Habits ver 1995”?

E.g.
– Postponing the documentation until “later” (a.k.a. never)
– Turning a 15-minute issue into a 2-hour meeting with no resolution.
– Introducing new tools before mastering the ones they already have.
– Updating a production system but forgetting to log what was done. (Hey, it is working now! Isn’t that enough?)
– Skipping the RCA with, “We will do it next week,” and then conveniently forgetting.
– Waiting until the last possible moment to apply critical updates. Then it is all hands-on deck with a chorus of “Why did not we do this earlier?
– Love solving problems at 3 AM because it makes them feel like superheroes. But creating processes to avoid those problems in the first place? Nahhh, that is boring.
– Replying-all to every email thread is an art form in IT. But crafting a concise status update? A challenge for another lifetime.
– Despite a dozen security trainings, they still have that one person whose password is Password123! Maybe they are auditioning for a cybersecurity horror movie.

So, this year 2025, let us patch differently. Patching habits!
E.g.
– Make documentation a non-negotiable part of every task. If it is worth doing, it is worth documenting.
– Midnight heroics are great… if you are Batman! Stop thriving on midnight heroics and start building workflows that prevent crises instead of glorifying firefighting.
– Commit to solving problems at their core. Root Cause Analysis is not a chore. It is an investment in future peace of mind.
– And yes, make Password123! a thing of the past.

Because at the end of the day, a well-patched system without a well-patched team is just another outage waiting to happen.

So, what’s your IT team’s 2025 resolution?
Patching systems, habits, or both? (Pro tip – go for the combo update.)

P.S. I am currently patching my habit of leaving retrospectives halfway through because snacks arrive. Let us see how long this update sticks. 😉

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