The Man Behind the Curtain

Editor's note: An older reflection on transparency, shared knowledge, and operational resilience.

In The Wizard of Oz, the great and powerful presence that held the city in awe turned out to be something far more ordinary once the curtain was pulled back.

That image has stayed with me over the years, especially when I think about how organizations relate to technology.

Every business has its own version of the man behind the curtain. Someone who knows how everything works. Someone who keeps the systems running. Someone whose role feels indispensable, mysterious, and occasionally untouchable.

The problem is not that this person exists. The problem is when no one else understands what they do.

In many dealerships and companies, IT quietly becomes "all powerful." Not out of ego or intent, but out of opacity. When knowledge lives in one place, control follows. And when control goes unchecked, risk grows.

Healthy organizations do not operate on mystery. They operate on clarity.

A simple place to start is documentation. Not bureaucracy. Not red tape. Just understanding. What tasks are performed daily, weekly, monthly, and annually? What systems are owned? Where does data live? How is it backed up? Who knows the answers if this person is unavailable tomorrow?

These questions are not accusations. They are acts of stewardship.

Technology should enable the business, not obscure it. The goal is not to replace the person behind the curtain, but to remove the curtain altogether. When roles are visible and processes are understood, trust increases. So does resilience.

The most effective IT leaders I've worked with welcomed this transparency. They understood that shared knowledge strengthens teams rather than weakens individuals.

In the end, pulling back the curtain is not about power. It's about responsibility.

And clarity, once established, has a way of making everything run a little more smoothly.

Curtains create drama; clarity builds trust.

~ Bryan