Every Company Operates Suboptimally - How to Stop Lying to Your Employees and Start Fixing Processes

Do you have that person in your company? The rock. Someone who never lets you down, even when everything around them is falling apart. And for the third time this month, they come to you with the same absurd problem -- a system bug that's blocking their work.

You look at the screen, then at them, and feel that burning sting of shame. You say: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it", but deep down you know you're lying. Not out of bad faith. You're lying because the technology that was supposed to help is making you a liar in the eyes of your best people. You're stuck with rigid systems where every change is a Moon-landing-scale project.

If this scenario sounds familiar, you're not alone. At Automation House, we've mapped over 400 processes and the conclusion is clear: every company operates suboptimally. The only question is: how quickly can you find those spots and fix them?

Without a Map, There's No Navigation

Imagine you want to reach a destination in unfamiliar terrain. Without a map, you wander. It's the same in business. A process map isn't just documentation -- it's a navigation tool for three groups:

1. Business: Gains an understanding of how the company actually works (management's assumptions often miss the mark).
2. Users: Receive clear instructions and faster onboarding.
3. IT/Implementers: Can precisely design architecture, transfer project knowledge, and find bottlenecks.

Proof? Research shows that process mapping in healthcare alone has reduced patient wait times by 20-45%. If it works in an environment as complex as a hospital, it'll work in your company too.

Why Most Process Maps Are Useless

Many managers try to map processes but do it poorly, choosing the wrong tools:

• SIPOC (tables): Great for analysts, incomprehensible for business people. Hard to draw conclusions from at a glance.
• BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation): The corporate standard, but overly complex. Too many logic gates and symbols make the map unreadable for the average employee.
• Basic Flowchart: Too simple. Shows "what" happens but often misses "who" does it and "with what."

The Golden Mean: Extended Flowchart

At Automation House, we developed our own method. Our process map must include four key elements for each step:

1. Action: What happens?
2. Actor: Who does it?
3. Tool: What do they use? (e.g., Excel, CRM, Slack)
4. Mode: Manual or Automated?

This way, you can immediately see where a person is doing a robot's job (copy-paste) and where integrations between systems are missing.

How to Find the "Broken Pipes"

Once you have your current-state map (AS-IS), finding optimizations becomes straightforward. Look for places where:

• The most errors occur.
• The process takes the longest.
• Data is being manually re-entered (error risk, time waste).
• The impact on the team will be greatest.

Elon Musk's golden rule: Before you automate anything, ask yourself: Does this step even need to exist?

"Probably the worst thing you can do is optimize something that shouldn't exist in the process in the first place."

First remove, then simplify, and only then automate.

Case Study: El Padre - How to Speed Up Proposals by 50%

Theory is theory, but let's look at practice. Event agency El Padre came to us with a problem: creating proposals (especially smaller ones) was too time-consuming and not cost-effective. Knowledge from previous projects was scattered in employees' heads -- there was no central knowledge base.

What did we do?

1. Step 1: The Process "Ear" (Fireflies.ai) We deployed an AI tool that records client meetings and creates transcripts. No more manual note-taking and losing details.

2. Step 2: The Central Brain (Airtable) We created a knowledge base where transcripts, cost estimates, and project data all converge.

3. Step 3: Automation (Make & AION) We built "AI assistants" (powered by our AION tool) that handle specific tasks:

   • Briefing: Generates a brief based on the meeting transcript.
   • Event Ideas: Suggests event ideas based on the brief and agency history.
   • Financial Planner: Creates a cost estimate based on the brief and agency history.
   • Offer Generator: Produces a proposal from previously generated cost estimates, ideas, and the brief.

Results:

• 10-50% faster proposal preparation (biggest gains on smaller projects).
• 10-15% production department productivity increase.
• 30 people in the company genuinely supported by AI in their daily work.

Summary

Technology isn't meant to complicate life -- it's meant to build Operational Excellence. You don't need to deploy complex ERP systems right away. Start with a map. Find where your company is "bleeding" time and people's energy.

If you want to stop lying to your employees that "it'll work out somehow," start by mapping one process this week.

FAQ

Why does every company operate suboptimally?

Processes grow organically over the years, management's assumptions often miss reality, and employees do robot work (copy-pasting between systems). From mapping over 400 processes, one conclusion emerges: suboptimal spots are everywhere. The only question is how quickly you find and fix them.

What elements should an effective process map include?

Four elements for each step: action (what happens), actor (who does it), tool (with what -- Excel, CRM, Slack), and mode (manual or automated). This immediately shows where a person is doing a robot's job and where integrations between systems are missing.

How do you find optimization opportunities in business processes?

Look for places where: the most errors occur, the process takes the longest, data is being manually re-entered (error risk, time waste), and where the change will have the greatest impact on the team. Before automating, ask: does this step even need to exist?

Why are most process maps useless?

SIPOC (tables) is incomprehensible for business people, BPMN is overly complex (too many gates and symbols), and a basic flowchart is too simple -- it shows "what" without "who" and "with what." The golden mean is an extended flowchart with four elements: action, actor, tool, mode.

What is the right sequence of actions when optimizing processes?

First remove (does this step need to exist?), then simplify (can it be shortened?), and only then automate. The worst thing you can do is automate something that shouldn't exist in the process in the first place. That's the golden rule before any optimization project.

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This article is based on Pawel Lipowczan's presentation "Every Company Operates Suboptimally" delivered at InfoShare Katowice 2025.