People Before Things, a Newly Established Change Leadership Organization, Celebrates Launch

Denver, CO, September 9, 2015 (Newswire.com) -  People Before Things, a Denver-based change leadership organization headed by former Red Robin executive Chris Laping, today announced their official launch.

People Before Things was founded on the notion that technology alone will never truly bring organizations the efficiencies they desire.  Recognizing the void that currently exists in this space, Chris decided to leave his corporate role as SVP, Business Transformation and CIO at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers to put his significant relevant experience to work writing a book and preparing for the launch of his own venture.  He is partnering in this effort with his wife, Kristine Laping.

"How many times have you heard: If we invest in this new technology, it will be a game changer! Or, when we get this new solution, it will free up our people's time to add more value. The problem is, technology can never do that on its own - the statistics around IT project failure prove it," said Chris Laping, Co-Founder and CEO. "If we want to launch a transformation in our organizations via technology, we can only do that by first honoring the human experience and recognizing that certain conditions must be in place. When leaders do this, it can dramatically change the outcomes of any implementation."

Chris Laping, Co-Founder & CEO

“How many times have you heard: If we invest in this new technology, it will be a game changer! Or, when we get this new solution, it will free up our people's time to add more value. The problem is, technology can never do that on its own - the statistics around IT project failure prove it,” said Chris Laping, Co-Founder and CEO.  “If we want to launch a transformation in our organizations via technology, we can only do that by first honoring the human experience and recognizing that certain conditions must be in place.  When leaders do this, it can dramatically change the outcomes of any implementation.”

The company’s soft-launch spanned the last 100 days and included completing a “listening tour” with more than 125 leaders across the country, writing a significant portion of their self-titled book (People Before Things) and launching its website www.peoplebeforethings.co ​

Chris has amassed nearly 25 years of technology and change leadership experience, including eight at Red Robin, across multiple brands and industries. He has been widely recognized for his innovative thought leadership, including being named a Top 5 Social Business Leader by the Economist, Social Business Technology Leader by InformationWeek and Premier 100 IT Leader by Computerworld. Chris’ work has been highlighted in several publications, including The Engaged Leader, Implementing World Class IT and Mobile Mind Shift. In addition, he has been spotlighted in Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes.

Kristine Laping has led and supported technology and change initiatives for the past 17 years. After college, she enjoyed her work as a software instructor, but ultimately decided she could add more value to end users by applying her professional and classroom learnings in positions focused on business analysis and project management. In these roles, she fine-tuned her facilitation and product management skills and began to develop an effective toolbox for change leadership. Her out-of-the-box thinking resulted in the development of a strong technology product with a committed and engaged user community—work that resulted in an InfoWorld 100 award for three consecutive years.

About People Before Things

People Before Things, LLC was founded in 2015 and coaches leaders and organizations on the conditions needed to enable and activate people for change. They do this through publications, speaking, leadership development and project delivery support.  The company’s website - www.peoplebeforethings.co - offers inspiring leadership content for visitors who want to ignite and nurture a change culture within their organization.

 ###

Media Contact:

Kristine Laping​​
720.883.4022
[email protected]