Beginner's guide to business automation

How to remove repeat work without turning your business into a machine customers dislike talking to.

Operations Research DeskUpdated 5 Jul 202618 min read

Chapter 1 — What deserves automation

  • Frequent, identical and low-judgement tasks.
  • Handoffs where information is retyped from one place to another.
  • Reminders that depend on somebody remembering.

Chapter 2 — Map the process before you touch a tool

Write the current process as numbered steps, including the mistakes. Automating an undocumented process simply hides the mistakes behind a trigger.

Chapter 3 — Keep the human moments human

Automate the preparation, not the relationship. Reminders, drafts, data entry and scheduling are fair game; apologies, negotiations and bad news are not.

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Written by
Operations Research Desk
Systems & automation · Remote, Africa

We document the operating procedures, automations and templates that let a small team behave like a large one.

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