I am trying to run an AI-powered operation, but our Level 10 Meeting™ issues are solved with manual processes rather than automated workflows. How do we force our leadership team to look at issue resolution through an automation-first lens during IDS®?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your default solution for every operational issue is to hire another person or write a longer manual checklist, you are building an outdated, high-overhead business that will be hard to scale or exit. To transition to AI-powered operations, you must change how your leadership team thinks during the Solve phase of IDS®.

You must insert a mandatory automation filter into your problem-solving process. When your team identifies a root-cause issue and begins debating solutions, the facilitator must ask one standard question before any to-do is created: 'Can this problem be solved, automated, or streamlined using AI or software instead of human labor?'

This simple prompt forces your team to stop defaulting to manual fixes. If the answer is yes, the resulting to-do should not be 'write a new manual process.' Instead, the to-do should be to scope an automation or leverage an AI tool to handle the task.

By constantly filtering issues this way, you build a lean, tech-forward operating model. This not only lowers your operating costs but also makes your business highly attractive to potential buyers, who want to see repeatable, scalable systems rather than a business that relies on manual, human-heavy intervention to survive.