3× Bestselling Author | Creator of The Grove ITSM Method™ | Wharton-Trained CTO | Building AI-Ready, Trust-Driven IT Leadership
It’s not the framework. It’s how you use it. You don’t need less ITIL. You just need to use it better. ITIL was built to bring order to chaos — not to bury IT under red tape. But somewhere along the way, we started treating it like a rulebook instead of a roadmap. And that’s when the trouble starts. Teams start measuring process instead of outcomes. Approvals pile up while value slows down. And ITIL — which was meant to accelerate delivery — gets blamed for the very problems it was designed to solve. Here’s the truth: ITIL isn’t too bureaucratic. Misuse is. When applied the right way, it’s still one of the most powerful tools we have to align IT with the business and deliver outcomes that matter. Here’s how high-performing teams make ITIL work for them — not against them 👇 1. Focus on Outcomes, Not Rituals ↳ ITSM exists to solve business problems — not to check boxes. If no one can explain why a rule exists, delete it. If a step doesn’t improve speed, trust, or quality, cut it. Measure success by better services, not bigger process charts. 2. Streamline the Workflows ↳ If an approval takes longer than ordering lunch, it’s broken. Kill unnecessary sign-offs. Automate anything that doesn’t need human judgment. Shorten workflows until they feel invisible — that’s when they’re working. 3. Embrace Agility ↳ ITIL is a guide, not a sacred text. Borrow from Agile and DevOps to keep pace with the business. Customers care about speed, experience, and outcomes — not how many process stages you followed. 4. Upgrade to ITIL 4 Thinking ↳ ITIL v3 was about control. ITIL 4 is about co-creation. Stop asking “Did we follow the process?” and start asking “Did we deliver value?” Shift focus from SLA worship to tangible impact. 5. Measure What Matters ↳ ITIL compliance doesn’t impress stakeholders. Outcomes do. Track user satisfaction, trust restored, and time returned — the metrics that prove IT is a strategic partner, not just a ticket system. Here’s the thing: ITIL hasn’t failed us. We’ve failed ITIL — by forgetting why it exists in the first place. Use it the way it was intended — as a flexible, outcome-driven framework — and it doesn’t slow you down. It scales your impact. So the question isn’t “Do we need less ITIL?” It’s “How do we make ITIL work smarter for us?” 📘 This is one of the Grove Method principles I teach: frameworks don’t fail. Misalignment does. And once you fix that, ITIL becomes an accelerator — not an anchor. ♻️ Repost this if you’re ready to stop fighting ITIL and start mastering it. Follow Bob Roark for Grove Method strategies that turn ITSM from a cost center into a strategic advantage. #ITIL #ITSM #ServiceManagement #CIO #GroveMethod