We got a great opportunity to interview a Founder, Tech Entrepreneur, VC, Author from Silicon Valley – Tristan Pollock. Take a look at the tips Tristan gives us on how to benefit from the modern automated workflows.
Could you start by explaining what you mean by automated workflows?
A modern “automated workflow” is a process of repeatable steps laid out by an interface (code or graphic) that allows for an ordered sequence to produce an intended result.
Examples range from DevOps platforms to emailing tools like Superhuman. I list some additional examples in my recent VentureBeat article: Workflows Are Eating the World.
How do you see manufacturing companies benefiting from automated flows?
Manufacturing companies had some of the original process automation in factories and robotics, but now that wave of workflow automation, call it 1.0, has reached software and the Internet. That means everything you do in any repeatable process — hiring, emails, scheduling, and beyond — is now easily automated. Sometimes it’s as easy as drag and drop flows on IFFFT or Zapier. It can even be done when creating custom applications with platforms like CTO.ai.
Do you have examples from the manufacturing industry?
Literally, everything has a workflow. Everything. So you can think about this in terms of a manufacturing line and automating steps, which is where this idea came from in the first place. Now you can look at other types of back-office or management workflows where you are doing the same repetitive task over and over again. It might be scheduling shifts, hiring workers, further employee education, and so on. All of these tasks have a process that you need to follow. Take any one of them and utilize the tools that are available.
How do you think supply chains could become more efficient by using automated workflows in their daily collaboration?
A lot of the same ideas apply to daily collaboration. Offsetting lunch breaks, managing human resources with time off, sharing information company-wide, automating finding a replacement worker when someone is sick, the ideas are endless. All you need is a quick Google search: ‘workflow automation + X.’
What are your personal goals for new automated workflows?
Personally, I automate most of my business life and some of my personal. I use tools like Calendly with Google Calendar, CTO.ai with software creation, and Gmail for communication. I’m now moving some activities onto tools like Airtable and Notion in order to organize and automate beyond simple spreadsheets on Google Docs. Every healthy activity has a healthy amount of workflow automation.
