Understand the workflow.
We start with the actual process: the systems involved, the handoffs, the review points, and the workarounds people have built.
How I work
Small systems. Visible progress.
I don't begin with a tool or try to automate an entire firm. I start with a specific workflow, understand how it operates today, and build the smallest useful improvement that can be trusted.
Define the boundaries.
We decide what the automation should do, what it should never do, and where a person remains accountable.
Build and test the path.
We use the tools already in place and prove the workflow in a contained slice before expanding its reach.
Leave a system people can run.
Documentation, ownership, monitoring, and a clear failure path matter as much as the successful run.
The best automation is specific enough to be trusted.
The principle
Reuse before replacement.
New software is sometimes necessary. But it should not be the default answer.
I first look for capacity inside the systems, licenses, data, and workflows a firm already has.