Automation Is Not Always Good!

Everyone loves to automate things! So why do manual labour when technology can automate things for us?

But, automation is not always good!

Here are a few reasons why:

It standardises processes, so providing customised services or product offerings becomes difficult
It limits the human connection and personal touch
It costs money to develop and maintain it

The point is that there are tradeoffs. Always keep in mind what are you losing after automation. Ask yourself, is this what you want? Is it worth it?

Automation is not always good!

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It is not that we don’t know that a given project is going south. The experienced members of the Project team can spot it quite easily. They can even see patterns and predict where the project can go! The problem is that very few say – we have a problem! The fact is...

We hire roles for our Project team. For example, we hire a Project Manager, Architect, or Developer. The general practice provides compensation (salary) based on experience and qualification. So, the higher the role within an organisation, the bigger the salary....

Executives are visionaries by nature. They imagine the future and invest resources to make it happen. Sometimes we see them in their imaginary world, dreaming about the future of the business. Oh, I don’t want my customers to call us. They should have information...

Any project's success is a testament to the Project team. The right people sitting in the right seats drive the Project to success. It is well-known, yet many projects start with an ad hoc team. The team tries to figure it out on the fly. As a result, the Project...

There is no doubt that what gets measured gets managed! However, in business, measurement comes at a cost. Therefore you should only measure things that matter. Out of the following, what is vital to your organisation: Dealing with precious metals or raw...

In your organisation, who is responsible for the following: Strategic level Mapping the business vision, short/medium-term goals and strategy into meaningful and measurable context.Mapping gaps between the ‘current’ and ‘future’ state of the business to meet the...

The speed of the project should never remain the same. During uncertainty, it makes sense to slow down, think, reconsider past decisions and recalibrate. It is okay to admit that we are in crisis. Then, develop a plan to come out of the crisis. If the ship is sinking,...

We hear children complaining about their friends, siblings, and family members. We listen to kids complaining about headaches, skin rashes, and so on. As parents, we help them understand their problems and resolve them. Kids are not mature enough to identify and solve...

Rivers have been the lifeline of plants, animals, and human civilizations. But, at the same time, rivers have brutally destroyed them too! How? When the angry river water breaks all boundaries and destroys everything that comes their way! We call them floods. The...

Organisational Change management communication is often too fluffy and unreal. We pretend as if everyone will be just fine. For instance, we will be better off having a new system. Life will be too easy; things will work with the click of a button. The company will...

You don’t just need power from your legs to land a perfect Karate kick. You need power from the entire body simultaneously. Therefore, your body must work as a unit. Similarly, to achieve something significant project team must work as a single unit. They must act...

This is a common misconception among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). They assume that implementing enterprise software (ERP/CRM) is the end goal for their organisation. So, they only need robust enterprise software. However, ERP and CRM are merely the start of...

Years ago, only the business leader had the privilege of gaining attention. They stand in the middle, and people around them would listen. Their emails are broadcast with the ‘IMPORTANT’ suffix in the email subject. Things have moved on; with social media,...

Remember our school day sports carnivals? Especially when you were (performing) running, jumping, pulling, pushing, throwing…. You hear roaring shout-outs, words of encouragement, cheering for you, your team, your faction… You feel you are not alone; everyone around...

Technology is easy, 2 + 2 = 4, every single time! Technology is based on logic. It is binary; either it is or it is not. Therefore, you can measure, test and improve. Whereas dealing with people is very ambiguous. There, 2 + 2 = ‘depends’! It depends on mood,...

Enterprise software implementations appear to have this common theme. The weak link breaks often! Let us face it, SMEs do not have proficient resources in Data Migration, Testing, Security setup, and Training. Yet, software vendors continue to safely assume that...

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a widely used enterprise software. Many organisations use various CRM software across the globe. However, the name Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be misleading. CRM does not manage customer relationships yet. CRM...

Regardless of our job profile, or profession, we all are service providers. We offer services to internal and external customers. The internal customer is part of our/other team, departments or managers. The external customer is our client contact. So we all are...

The last two posts covered how distractions can help relieve pain. And people use distraction as a tool to hide risks/painful situations. Let us cover a few real-world examples. Distraction tools at their best Project Manager hiding the pain of answering tough...

Distractions are not new. Though, they have multiplied in the last ten years. In the last post, we cover how distractions relieve pain temporarily. But, note that people use distractions to hide the pain points/risks from you. Distractions are widely used to...

Many dental practices stick a nice TV screen in front of you while lying on the dentist's chair. Its purpose is to distract you from a possible painful dental procedure. Many waiting rooms have magazines, toys, TV and other stuff for the same reason, making the...

Consider you are building two houses. The first house is completed on time. However, you realise that the house is not made to your requirements. There are quality issues as well. The second house, is precisely what you want. Unfortunately, however, it took longer and...

The triple constraints (Budget, Time and Quality) are popular in projects. Therefore, you will find that every Project Status Report (PSR) includes the status of triple constraints. The problem is that the project is often marked as successful if it is delivered on...

Let me tell you that your business is not much different from Apple or Sony. You may be feeling a little confused. But wait, take a step back and view your business through the lens of the ‘service’. Your business is nothing but a collection of services. The services...

This a simple way to dumb down complexity and clearly demonstrate what your organisation is all about in one page. Use the following example and sample template for Business Services Mapping. Business Services Mapping

Digital technologies (ERP, CRM, Business software, Data, IoT, AI) are here to stay and evolve exponentially. However, SMEs still assume they need a one-time capital investment in digital projects. You can choose to play a game of always being behind and catching up...

This theme is common among all Non for Profit (NFP) organisations. They object very vividly by claiming: But our business is different! NFPs perceive their organisation to be unique and different. They often struggle with the idea of adapting to the standard...

Back home in India, after year-10, we get to choose subjects for higher studies. There were four main streams (Medical, Non-Medical, Commerce and Arts). We had a very straightforward and silly process. The bright students (who can easily memorise word by word)...

There is a massive opportunity in front of us! Software and technology solutions are standing right in front of our doorstep. They are knocking on our door and screaming that they have value to add! For one reason or another, the Non for Profit (NFP) sector has been...

A child was riding a push bike. Pushing too hard, he fell. His dad ran to him and said, “You should slow down!” The project stakeholders were not happy with the random surprises during the project. The Project owner advised the Project Manager to communicate...

Sometimes we take our time to gather facts and make informed decisions. Other times we take the decision and support it by justification. In either case, we tell ourselves and others that we are never wrong! How many times did we admit within the team the following? I...

New ideas can be the game changer for any organisation. However, corporate machines silently kill new ideas every day! New ideas generally come from new perspectives. The new perspectives are the byproduct of an outsider reviewing your business. The most common...

Digital initiatives rely on software vendors and integrators who offer software implementation services. The software vendors ensure that their clients (you) have reasonable confidence and faith in them. It is a good practice, as all services-based businesses must...

There is a cost to managing risk. However, there can also be a cost to not managing risks. There is a cost to increasing the quality. However, there can also be a cost for not improving the quality. There is a cost to hiring a competent project team. However, there...

We should work as one team, without judgement. We should work hard and collaborate with the team members to meet the end goal! Sounds good? Yes, it sounds good and philosophical! However, not all members of your team are competent. The common assumption is that all...

We will architect a very sleek solution by exploiting design principles, lean, and web 2.0 best practices. Vs We will develop an intuitive user interface Consider another example: Business leaders need to think big! Digital transformation is going to change the...

Filled with excitement or down in deep sorrow, kids ask us – Look at me! Be a part of me, be with me, celebrate with me, listen to me. As humans, we need that level of support and someone to rely on. This need does not go anywhere as we grow into adults. During our...

Project work is challenging. Often your Project team has to work long hours and handle stressful situations. They deal with too many unknowns for long periods. During the project, you may experience your team's morale turning into a rollercoaster. So you may wonder,...

Imagine a house build without the input of a professional architect. It is likely to be all over the place. Most certainly, it will crumble and be unsafe to live in. We all know that the architect has a vital role in the building of the house. Yet, when it comes to...

Yes, it is true! Your story is the commodity! Look around and observe the noise everyone is making. The narrative they are setting. The picture they are painting. Observe their pitch, which often gets you over the hook. Note how over time, their story gets more...

Hear the following conversation: Sandy: Hey Rob, I need to review the issue, and I will get back to you asap. It is a high-priority issue, and Rob wants to share an update with the executive sponsor (Tim). Read the following possible responses from Rob. Note that Rob...

This morning, my daughter was a little angry. I didn’t like that! So, I pretended to be angry to demonstrate how others perceived me as an angry person. She got the message. Later in the day, I told her that she should learn to manage her anger. She said, “Papa, I am...

We had a great meeting! We discussed all the points as per the agenda. We hear perspectives and objections. We clarify questions and reach to end. Here, we wanted the decision maker to make key decisions. So, we asked for it. She said – "Let me get back to you"!...

Sponsors hate to see additional scope and cost on the project. But, additional scope and cost can be a good thing. It is a mindset game, so reframe the decision of approving additional scope and cost. Rather than thinking – ‘we expect the project to be complete within...

The Project Manager (PM) is responsible for many things. But what is the primary role of the Project Manager? At a superficial theoretical level, the primary role of the Project manager is to manage and deliver the contract/Statement of Work (SoW). But what if the...

Hiring top talent is not sufficient for a successful project. The Project team must also put their heart into the project. They must all have clarity on the end goal and a shared spirit to succeed in the initiative. So, as a sponsor, you must ensure the team develops...

We are the most creative and offer our best services in the right working environment. How do you know if the Project team are in the right working environment? Look out and ask only one thing from the team. Are you having fun? Team members are vulnerable and open to...

As an executive, you may have your goals, aspirations, and hope to improve the current business. But, remember, it is not about you! Connecting your staff with a higher organisation objective and cause is far better. People happily work for a higher objective and...

Executives and senior stakeholders often complain that information systems are a bottomless money pit! We hear stories of their investment in ERP and CRM systems over the past 5-10 years. They complain that these Business systems appear to be never complete. There is...

Ok, I admit – Fake it till you make it - may work on a few occasions! But we cannot - Fake it till you make it - to become a team player! Yet, we all see bad advice on: How to give feedback (by feedback sandwich)?How to build rapport (by mirroring)?The famous...

Project delivery is often very challenging. The top problem in project delivery is that we do not consciously try to understand the customer. We tend to follow an easier path, the 'look at me' approach. The first step is to learn about the customer and customer...

There is no recipe to bake the perfect project or precisely deliver a successful project! Project management is an art as much as it is a science. We should continue learning the ways to deliver successful projects. At the same time, we should know there is no set way...

Sustainability, clean energy, environment protection and a green economy are the focus topics around the developed world. However, there is enormous waste that no one is paying attention to! This waste costs economies tens of billions, but we don’t talk much about it....

There can be many reasons why executives struggle to under the ground reality of the organisation. I believe the main reason is that they pretend to behave like a race car driver. They look straight (narrow focus) and lose the 360-degree view. They never see the big...

We may want to think of ourselves as logical and rational human beings. It is far from reality, however. The fact is that we blindly follow the narrative set by the first person telling the story. If the same narrative is told repeatedly, the firmer our belief...

We are increasingly distracted by technology, culture, office politics and power games. As an executive, it is vital to hear the truth and make decisions that matter. However, truth is like a needle in a stack of falsehood. To be politically correct, we mould things...

Sorry, I failed to meet the deadline for a significant milestone!I failed to deliver the project on time!I failed to understand customer requirements!I failed to develop fit of purpose solution!I failed to choose the right software vendor/product!I failed to manage...

Businesses are always going to catch up with digital technology. After a significant IT investment, you may want to think that you are done. However, the fact is that you will never be done with Digital technology! Terms and concepts like Computerisation,...

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