Skipping Steps Breaks Processes and Technology Projects
A conceptual illustration contrasting rushed, fragmented execution with a clear, step-by-step path toward clarity, alignment, and sustainable progress.
Moving fast is not the same as moving forward.
“If you skip the work of understanding the problem, you’re just committing to fix it later—at a higher cost.” — Eric Wiley
Professional judgment starts with understanding
No competent professional gives advice in a vacuum. Engineers study constraints. Attorneys review facts. Doctors ask questions before recommending treatment.
Business should be no different. Before decisions are made, variables need to be surfaced, assumptions tested, and unknowns reduced. Skipping that work doesn’t save time—it just pushes complexity downstream.
Why skipping steps feels efficient—and isn’t
Leaders are under pressure to act. New tools promise speed. Vendors demonstrate features. Teams want progress.
That’s how organizations end up layering new technology on top of old, broken workflows. The result is rarely transformation. More often, it’s confusion, workarounds, and disappointment.
Technology doesn’t fix processes it doesn’t understand
Before any solution is selected, core parameters matter:
- Size and scope of the problem
- Who touches the process and when
- Where friction or rework actually occurs
- What must change upstream or downstream
If those questions aren’t answered first, even good technology will miss the mark.
Implementation is a project of its own
Choosing a solution is not the same as making it work. Implementation has its own realities—capacity limits, competing priorities, budget constraints, and legacy systems that don’t move easily.
People matter here too. Some will embrace change. Others may quietly resist it, even while nodding in meetings. Ignoring those dynamics is another way problems resurface later.
A simple set of guardrails before you move
- Map the current process as it actually operates—not how it’s supposed to work.
- Identify where delays, errors, or handoffs create friction.
- Define what success looks like operationally, not just technically.
- Assess readiness: people, systems, time, and budget.
- Only then evaluate tools or partners.
What your partners should do differently
You shouldn’t be sold a solution before someone understands your operation. You shouldn’t discover hidden costs after the contract is signed. And you shouldn’t be forced to contort your workflows to fit a tool that was never right to begin with.
Good partners slow the conversation down early so execution can move faster later.
Bottom line
Skipping steps doesn’t eliminate work—it delays it. The cleanup always costs more than doing it right the first time. Clear thinking, honest assessment, and disciplined sequencing are what keep progress from turning into a mess.
— Eric Wiley
Wiley Performance Advisory
Your Wingman on the Next Big Push.