This article is an expanded version of my first post in the Simplify Structure Automate newsletter on LinkedIn, updated for readers here with added context and examples.
The Hype vs. Reality
Companies are throwing billions at AI. But how many can honestly say they’ve seen a measurable return?
Too often, leadership teams start with the wrong question:
“Where can we add AI?”
That’s like trying to bolt a jet engine onto a bowl of spaghetti, expensive, chaotic, and not the experience you were expecting.
The truth is simple: AI doesn’t fix bad processes. It amplifies them.
If your workflows are inconsistent, your data fragmented, and your people firefighting daily, layering AI on top only makes the noise louder.
The Sequence That Actually Works
Instead of starting with AI, start with structure. Follow a deliberate sequence:
- Simplify the process
Identify the 20% of steps wasting 80% of your team’s time. Eliminate duplication and clarify ownership before adding tools. - Automate the repetitive work
Tools like Microsoft Power Automate and SharePoint are inexpensive, mature, and hugely underused. Even light automation here can cut routine workload by 30–40%. - Pass structured data to an LLM
Once your processes and data have a consistent format, language models can do what they’re best at: spotting patterns, adding context, and surfacing intelligent next steps. - Keep humans in control
Use thresholds to decide when AI acts independently. For instance, if confidence ≥ 0.8, automate; otherwise, route to the team for review.
This maintains accountability while scaling capability.
It’s not glamorous. You won’t see it on the TED stage. But this is the architecture of sustainable AI adoption — one that drives operational improvement instead of organisational chaos.
From Hype to Habit
The goal isn’t to use AI.
The goal is to build systems so clear and automated that AI becomes the obvious final layer, the accelerator, not the foundation.
Over the coming weeks in the Simplify Structure Automate series, I’ll share:
- Real automations that save hours every week
- Case studies of teams moving from reactive to proactive
- A blueprint for introducing AI into structured workflows, without losing human oversight
If you want to turn AI hype into measurable progress, start by simplifying. Then structure. Then automate. Only then add AI.
Join the Conversation
What’s the biggest time-waster or process bottleneck in your team right now?
Leave a comment or reach out to me on LinkedIn. I’ll feature the most common examples and walk through how they can be automated in practice.
Mike Harrison 
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