Rory Sutherland once made a useful point about the Eurostar. Billions were spent making the trip between London and Paris faster. He joked that a fraction of the money could have made the journey more useful or enjoyable instead.
His point was not that faster trains are bad. It was that the easiest thing to measure is not always the thing people value most.
I think about that when a business says it needs a new CRM, more automation or an AI tool. The idea may be sound. But first I want to know: what problem are we actually solving?
Start with the work, not the product
“Slow” is a good example. It might mean the software takes too long to load. It might also mean someone enters the same information twice, waits for an unclear approval or cannot find who owns the next step.
A faster application helps with the first problem. It does little for the others.
Before choosing a product, look at the work itself:
- Where does it stop or go backwards?
- What does the team work around every day?
- Which information is missing or repeated?
- Who owns the next decision?
The answer might be a setting, clearer ownership, a better process, training or an integration. It might also be new technology. The point is to know before you buy.
Take the CRM example
Imagine a 30-person firm whose sales team says the CRM is too slow.
The software might be the problem. But perhaps customer details are entered in both the CRM and the accounting system. Perhaps each salesperson uses the stages differently. Perhaps approvals happen by email, so nobody can see them in the customer record.
Moving that confusion into a new CRM will not remove it. It will make the same problem more expensive.
I would map the process first, agree who owns each step and check what the current system can already do. If the platform still gets in the way after that, replacement has a much stronger case.
That is the practical value of Process and Workflow Optimisation: improve the way the work runs, then choose technology that supports it.
Four questions before you approve the spend
- What is difficult today? Describe the problem without naming a product.
- Which business outcome should improve? Fewer errors, less rework, clearer ownership and better customer communication may matter more than speed.
- What can the current tools already do? Replacement should earn its place.
- How will you measure the result? Record a useful baseline before making the change.
These questions make proposals easier to compare. They also make it easier to say no to a polished solution that does not address the real issue.
New technology may still be the right answer
Optimising what exists does not mean keeping it forever.
A system may be unsupported, risky, costly to maintain or unable to support an important process. In that case, replacing it can be the sensible decision.
The difference is that the decision follows the evidence. The business knows what is wrong, what it needs to improve and how it will judge the result.
A useful next step
Take one technology purchase being discussed and remove the product name from the proposal.
Write down the problem, the outcome you want and how you will measure it. If the proposal is still clear, it is ready for a proper assessment. If it becomes hard to explain, you may be jumping to the solution too early.
Source: Rory Sutherland, Life lessons from an ad man, TEDGlobal 2009.
