Origin & Operating Context
Why PeopleNotTech Exists
PeopleNotTech exists to operationalise human risk governance at scale.
The company was established to translate long-standing applied research on psychological safety, organisational risk, and execution failure into measurable systems, diagnostics, and operating practices that function inside real organisations under real pressure.
PeopleNotTech is not a thought-leadership brand. It is an operating entity designed to reduce execution risk created by neglected human systems in technology-led and regulated environments.
Origin of the Work
The intellectual foundations applied by PeopleNotTech did not originate inside a consultancy, HR framework, or software product.
They originate in independent research, writing, and applied delivery developed over more than a decade prior to the company's formation.
This work was authored and published independently, across public platforms, formal publications, and real organisational engagements, long before these topics became mainstream business discourse.
PeopleNotTech exists because organisations needed a way to apply, govern, and sustain this work operationally — not merely discuss it.
Independent Research and Public Writing
Between 2011 and 2017, the underlying research was developed and tested through independent analysis and hands-on work in technology-led organisations, examining early failure modes in FinTech, software delivery, trust erosion, and organisational fragility.
From 2013 onward, this work was published extensively in mainstream business media, reaching a large professional audience and contributing to early public understanding of organisational risk, leadership behaviour, and the human impact of digital transformation.
From 2016, sustained contribution to public discourse on technology, leadership, psychological safety, and the future of work was formally recognised through long-standing platform-level author status.
These publications and essays pre-date the formalisation of the frameworks now applied by PeopleNotTech.
Long-Form Applied Documentation
Following early public work, the research continued to be documented through high-frequency, long-form writing that captured applied observations inside real organisations.
This body of work includes multiple long-running publication series that recorded execution failures, leadership blind spots, and systemic human risk as they occurred — often while organisations were still "performing well" on the surface.
These writings now form part of a canonical archive preserving original publication dates, context, and authorship, and are maintained separately from PeopleNotTech's operational work.
From Research to Formal Frameworks
The concepts applied by PeopleNotTech today were not invented as products. They were formalised gradually through applied research and execution under real constraints.
Originating in published research (Emotional Banking, Springer, 2018), this framework articulated how trust, behaviour, and emotional risk shape performance and decision-making in financial and technology-driven systems.
PeopleNotTech applies these principles when analysing execution risk in regulated and high-stakes environments.
Human Debt describes the organisational equivalent of technical debt: the cumulative risk created when human systems are neglected, promises are broken, and unsafe cultures are allowed to persist.
PeopleNotTech applies Human Debt institutionally to surface hidden execution risk before failure becomes visible.
Developed through applied work in high-pressure technology and leadership environments, psychological safety is treated not as a wellbeing initiative, but as a hard execution constraint that directly affects delivery, decision quality, and system resilience.
A systems-level approach to designing human-in-the-loop environments where emotional intelligence, accountability, and technology interact predictably at scale.
These frameworks were later consolidated and expanded in formal publications, including People Before Tech (Bloomsbury) and Tech-Led Culture (Kogan Page).
Why PeopleNotTech Was Built
A practical gap became increasingly clear:
Organisations often understand what needs to change — but lack the systems to make those changes hold under pressure.
Traditional consulting focuses on advice.
Traditional HR tools focus on sentiment.
Traditional transformation programmes focus on process.
PeopleNotTech focuses on execution risk created by human systems.
The company exists to:
- Surface hidden Human Debt™ before failure becomes visible
- Make psychological safety measurable and operational
- Reduce execution friction at leadership and system level
- Provide artefacts and practices that persist beyond workshops
Ecosystem Structure and Canonical Sources
PeopleNotTech operates within a deliberately separated ecosystem to ensure clarity of attribution, authority, and function.
Canonical source for authorship, intellectual origin, and published works.
Canonical archive of long-form writing, preserving original publication context and dates.
Operating entity: diagnostics, systems, applied frameworks, and organisational execution work.
Downstream products and platforms draw from this work but do not redefine its origin.
What PeopleNotTech Is — and Is Not
- Founder-led
- Research-driven
- Execution-focused
- Designed for organisations operating at scale and under technological or regulatory pressure
- -An HR platform
- -A generic culture consultancy
- -A motivational programme
- -A content or influencer brand
Where to Go Next
For intellectual origin and authorship:
Visit duenablomstrom.comFor the canonical long-form archive:
Visit writings.duenablomstrom.comHuman Debt™ is a concept originated by Duena Blomstrom. PeopleNotTech applies it institutionally to governance, execution risk, and decision-making systems.