AI is great. I use it every day. I have an AI assistant that handles my data entry and takes a bunch of repetitive work off my plate. AI schedules my appointments and keeps my calendar from exploding. It even does my meal planning based on my grocery purchases and my schedule. (Huge mom hack.)
I’m a big fan. I teach at least one session on AI every week, helping people make their lives easier and reduce their mental load.
But here’s the thing.
AI isn’t going to fix your terrible process. It’s just going to make it more terrible.
If your process has 12 steps and only needs 4, why are you automating all 12?
If nobody knows who owns the process, how is AI going to improve it? Now you’ve just got an ownerless process running in the background that nobody is paying attention to.
Before you automate your processes, FIX THEM.
Lean isn’t just about production.
- PLAN: Map your process. Streamline it. Remove the waste. Verify that every step is actually necessary. Identify your process owners. What are your inputs and outputs? A turtle diagram is a great tool for this.
- DO: Once you’ve got a streamlined process that actually works, NOW look at automating it. Start small and test it.
- CHECK: Test it. Repeatedly. Test different scenarios. Verify your inputs, outputs, and data. Make sure the automation is actually doing what you intended it to do and the output is accurate.
- ACT: Fix what isn’t working. Once you’ve verified it works, implement it. Document it. Make sure someone owns it. And keep checking your data.
Automating something that doesn’t work is not an improvement.
It’s just letting you do the wrong thing, faster.
Before you automate, eliminate.
Get rid of the waste in your process first. You’ll have fewer steps to automate, less complexity to manage, and a much better chance of getting the results you actually wanted.
Taylor Ehlmann is an operations leader and ISO 9001:2026 Lead Auditor who writes about building processes and teams that keep getting better. More about Taylor