In today’s unpredictable markets, the only constants are acceleration and disruption. Businesses face a growing mandate: respond quickly or risk becoming irrelevant. That’s where leaders like Lee Congdon, Chief Information Officer at Red Hat, step in with clarity. With deep experience in enterprise IT strategy and cultural transformation, Congdon brings a critical message to OHRMCon in New York this October, organizations that can’t move quickly will fall behind, and speed isn’t just technical, it’s cultural.
Congdon challenges leadership teams to reconsider how decisions are made, how teams are structured, and how IT functions are integrated with broader business goals. As he points out, speed isn’t a standalone metric. It’s a byproduct of having the right people, incentives, tools, and mindset working in sync. While technology evolves fast, many organizations are still weighed down by outdated systems, rigid hierarchies, or misaligned priorities.
At OHRMCon, Congdon will offer perspective on how to reframe culture and operations to act decisively when opportunities appear and how to build a future-ready organization that doesn’t need to scramble when the moment arrives.
Building Structural Agility into IT and Strategy
Recognizing and Capturing Opportunities
Lee Congdon challenges organizations to reevaluate how they identify and respond to potential growth moments. In his view, recognition is only half the battle and response must be just as fast. That’s where structural barriers become especially problematic. Legacy systems, tight budgets, and outdated vendor agreements often act as anchors, slowing reaction times just when speed is critical.
For IT teams to enable opportunity, they must first reduce these internal frictions. Congdon suggests that without the technical and operational ability to pivot quickly, businesses can miss narrow windows of competitive advantage. It’s not enough to see the opportunity; execution must follow instantly. This means designing technology environments that can flex with the market, and ensuring IT teams have the autonomy to act without being slowed by excessive governance or long decision cycles.
Rebuilding Systems That Enable Speed
Speed demands infrastructure that can support it. Congdon emphasizes the importance of retiring technical debt and replacing it with platforms designed for adaptability, particularly cloud-based and hybrid solutions. Cloud infrastructure gives teams the ability to scale quickly, deploy updates faster, and avoid the latency that comes with rigid, on-premise systems. The point isn't to adopt every emerging tool, but to invest in technology that matches the organization's pace of innovation.
DevOps and Agile practices play a role here too. They enable development cycles that are faster, more iterative, and deeply integrated with business goals. Just as crucial is vendor choice, Congdon points out that partnerships must now be based on responsiveness and flexibility, not legacy loyalty. Strategic IT investment isn’t just a tech decision; it’s a business survival mechanism.
From Slow to Responsive: Aligning Business with IT
Responsiveness doesn’t come from IT alone. Congdon makes it clear that strategy must evolve from isolated decision-making toward collective ownership. For this to happen, business and IT must share goals, accountability, and visibility. The old model where IT is brought in only after business decisions are made creates fragmentation. The better model is one of alignment, where IT is positioned as a co-leader in business transformation.
Open communication is essential. Teams must feel safe sharing project concerns, discussing potential delays, and collaborating on solutions. Trust, transparency, and the removal of silos allow organizations to shift from reactive to proactive. As Congdon puts it, “IT organizations can be leaders but they need partners.” That partnership, built through mutual respect and aligned priorities, turns strategy into action and opportunity into results.
Cultural Realignment and Long-Term Investment
Trust, Transparency, and Tone
Lee Congdon doesn’t separate technological transformation from cultural evolution, they move in lockstep. Without trust, even the most advanced systems stall. He argues that fast response starts with a collaborative tone between teams. Business and IT must move beyond transactional relationships into a shared understanding of goals and accountability.
Transparency plays a critical role. When project statuses are hidden, or bad news is softened to preserve reputations, organizations make slower and riskier decisions. Congdon believes that full visibility across functions helps remove friction. It builds a baseline of truth that lets teams respond with confidence. This openness, combined with a consistent tone of mutual respect, helps organizations stay unified in fast-changing conditions. Responsiveness, in this context, becomes more than just delivery speed, it becomes shared situational awareness.
People Before Processes
While process matters, Congdon repeatedly brings attention back to people. Technology can support responsiveness, but its individuals are well-positioned, empowered, and adaptable who ultimately drive it. His view is that culture isn’t something that changes overnight, but it does begin with who you invest in and how you align their values with the mission.
Rather than chasing perfect workflows, organizations should seek out talent that’s curious, collaborative, and open to change. Congdon emphasizes that credibility for change is earned by showing progress and delivering value, not just by announcing new systems or restructuring org charts. Leadership alignment, when paired with the right people, can gradually turn even slow-moving organizations into responsive, resilient teams.
Leading with Intention
Speed is not synonymous with haste. For Congdon, the goal isn’t to rush transformation, it’s to make deliberate moves that enable ongoing agility. Getting the right people in place isn’t a short-term project. It requires intention, patience, and a long-term view of the culture you want to shape.
He stresses that some change efforts fail not because of the tools, but because the organization lacked the human architecture to support those tools. People are the accelerators of innovation when positioned well. That means recruiting and retaining those who are willing to learn, adapt, and champion enterprise-wide success. Leaders who take the time to craft these environments don’t just respond faster, they respond smarter.
Fast-Response Readiness Checklist
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Retire legacy tech early
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Adopt cloud and DevOps solutions
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Choose agile vendor partners
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Reframe internal culture to support speed
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Promote joint decision-making
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Align leadership, incentives, and vision
FAQ Section
Why does responding to opportunity feel harder today?
Opportunity now arrives faster and more unpredictably than ever, often with shorter windows to act. Organizations face internal friction from legacy systems, siloed teams, and cautious governance structures. At the same time, external pressure from market shifts and emerging competitors leaves little room for delay. Without structural and cultural alignment, even well-resourced enterprises can struggle to respond quickly and effectively.
What role should IT really play in strategy?
According to Lee Congdon, IT is no longer a back-office function, it’s a core driver of strategy. When IT is fully integrated into planning, it helps identify opportunities, support rapid iteration, and deliver solutions that match market pace. Strategic IT partnerships mean shaping direction, not just executing it. That shift from service provider to co-creator is essential for building speed into an organization’s DNA.
Can a smaller team really move at speed?
Yes, if the team is focused, empowered, and aligned. Smaller teams often benefit from less bureaucracy, tighter collaboration, and a clearer sense of purpose. Congdon highlights that speed isn’t about size, it’s about structure and intention. With the right leadership and tools, small teams can outpace much larger ones that are bogged down by inertia.
How does transparency improve time-to-action?
Transparency builds trust and accelerates decision-making. When everyone has access to accurate, timely information, there’s less second-guessing and fewer delays. Congdon stresses that openness across departments reduces blame and increases shared ownership, making it easier to pivot quickly and move in unison when new opportunities emerge.
Conclusion
Lee Congdon’s message is clear: seizing opportunity isn’t only about fast tools, it’s about forward-thinking culture, intentional leadership, and investing in the right people. IT can lead, but it can’t transform alone. Responsiveness must be built into the entire organization from infrastructure to interpersonal dynamics.
At OHRMCon, leaders like Congdon invite others to rethink what makes an enterprise truly agile. It’s not about chasing trends or reacting to headlines, it’s about anticipating change and preparing structures that can meet it head-on. If the future favors the fast, then readiness is no longer optional, it’s foundational. Join the conversation and explore how open tools and open thinking can help your organization move with purpose.