Series · Part 1
Why ITSM Still Matters in a Cloud-Native, Agile, Multi-Framework World
Technology is no longer a back-office function; it’s the front door to your customer, your employee experience, and your ability to scale.
Tom Lasswell: technology executive leadership
Governance Without Gridlock: Balancing agility and accountability in service delivery
But here’s the rub: even with strategy in place and value streams mapped, progress often grinds to a halt at the first sign of governance.
Start here
A few essays to begin with, if you're new here.
Series · Part 1
Newsletter Series: Navigating the Outsourcing vs. Internal Resource Dilemma
Welcome back to the newsletter, and my sincerest apologies for the hiatus since my last edition.
Driving Innovation from the Top: CTOs and the Culture of Experimentation
I’m making up for the break in newsletters with a pretty hefty one. Here yah go!
Latest essays
Series · Part 10
Service Portfolios & Productization: Defining, marketing, and managing IT services
Ten weeks of rethinking IT not as a cost center, but as a strategic driver.
Series · Part 9
Service Knowledge & Configuration: Building a system of record that helps
Building a service knowledge and configuration system of record that actually helps, after eight weeks on the pillars of modern ITSM.
Series · Part 8
Change Enablement in a DevOps World: Replacing fear of change with velocity and trust
We’ve spent the past seven weeks reframing how modern ITSM works, from infrastructure and service desks to principles, value streams, and product thinking.
Series · Part 7
Infrastructure as a Product: Treating core systems with the same rigor as software
For the past six weeks, we’ve explored the foundations of modern ITSM, from value streams and guiding principles to service desks and delivery chains.
Series · Part 6
Modern Service Desk Operations: From ticket takers to business enablers
The service desk gets a promotion: how modern service desk operations move from ticket takers to business enablers.
Series · Part 5
Guiding Principles as Decision Filters: Making faster, more intelligent choices across teams
Sometimes you need to make a call right now, with half the information and zero precedent.
Series
Series · 10 parts
ITSM in Practice
A ten-part series on running modern IT service management in a cloud-native, agile, multi-framework world, from governance to service portfolios.
Series · 3 parts
Outsourcing vs. In-House
A three-part series weighing when to outsource technology work versus building it internally, drawn from real decisions scaling a global team.
Tom Lasswell
Technology executive. Writing on IT leadership, service management and strategy.
Topics
From the archive
- May 23, 2025The Service Value Chain: Using Engage, Plan, Build, and Support to run your ops
- May 8, 2025The Service Value System: How to connect strategy to execution through value streams
- Jul 16, 2024Customer-Centric Innovation: Leveraging Feedback for Product Development
- Jul 12, 2024The Unsung Heroes: Recognizing the Backbone of Your Organization
- May 27, 2024Developing a Tech Roadmap: Aligning IT Strategy with Business Goals
- May 23, 2024Part 3: The Strengths of In-House Teams and Strategic In-Housing
- Apr 30, 2024Part 2: Implementing and Managing Outsourcing Relationships
- Feb 26, 2024Living in the Moment: The Power of Adaptive Project Management