Low-Hanging Fruit, Long Poles, and the Four-Letter Word DATA

Automation isn’t the goal—business outcomes are. In this episode of the Process Debt Podcast, Chris and Toby talk with David Kilzer (engineer, MBA, TEDx speaker, and automation veteran) about what actually has to happen before automation works.

We unpack:

• Why “shiny tech from a trade show” is a dangerous starting point
• How to find “low-hanging fruit” by asking frontline teams what they hate
• The unglamorous foundation every automation effort depends on: DATA
• Why AI triggers fear on both the shop floor and in the C-suite
• How to frame automation as a tool for human ideation—not automation for automation’s sake

If your organization wants AI, robotics, or advanced automation, this is the real starting line: clear objectives, clean foundations, and humans who believe the change will make their lives better.