Stop Buying Tools to Fix Broken Processes: Start with the Workflow
"I’m drowning in manual tasks... which tool should I buy?"
I saw this cry for help whilst browsing Reddit earlier. They're missing follow-ups, forgetting to tag leads, and need help looking for a "fancy" automation platform to save them.
If this sounds like you, STOP! 🛑 Do not buy a tool to fix a broken process. Automating a mess just creates a faster mess for Molly the Maid to clean up...its you. You're Molly the Maid, unfortunately.
The data backs this up. According to IBM, 45% of organizations cite data quality as their top barrier to AI adoption. If you're missing tasks and tagging leads improperly, no platform will fix that. You'll just feed bad data into an expensive subscription.
This is what I told the stressed out Redditor:
1. Map the Workflow First
They mentioned tagging leads properly. This is a data governance issue. Before buying software, define the rule: If X happens, Tag Y. If you can’t write it on a napkin, you can’t automate it.
2. The "Narrow-Scope" Pilot (Days 1-30)
Don't overhaul the whole CRM. Pick one high-impact use case.
The Pain: Sending reminder emails
The Fix: Use a simple, low-cost AI agent or automation rule to handle only that specific task
The Goal: Prove "Time to Value". If it doesn't save you 5 hours a week immediately, kill it.
2A. Scenario A: It Works (It saves 5+ hours)
The Next Step: Embed & Scale. You move from the "Pilot Phase" to the "Embed & Scale Phase" (typically months 9–18).
Productionize: You stop running it as a test on one person's laptop and roll it out to the wider team.
Incentivize Adoption: You prove the win to the team to overcome resistance and integrate it into standard workflows.
Formalizing the Rules: You lock in the procedures and roles now that more people are using it.
2B. Scenario B: It Fails (It saves < 5 hours)
The Next Step: Kill or Pivot. You must avoid "Pilot Purgatory," where projects linger in a testing phase without ever delivering value.
Kill It: If the cost of managing the tool outweighs the time saved, you deprecate it immediately.
Diagnose: Did it fail because the tool was bad, or because the data was bad? If it was a data quality issue, you pause the automation and fix the data pipeline first.
3. Adoption over Features
The Redditor is "worried everyone will complain." This is the inevitable result of top-down mandates—I witnessed it constantly during my time as an EA. The fix? Identify an End-User Advocate (aka someone in the trenches) to test the pilot first. If they say it saves them time, the rest of the team WILL demand it.
Bottom Line
You don't need a "fancy" platform. You need a clean process. Start with the most painful bottleneck, fix that, then earn the right to scale.
Don't carry "Molly the Maid" work into 2026. Use this downtime to fix the structural issues that are slowing you down. If you want to install these systems cleanly, shoot me a DM. Let's get your operations ready for the new year.