On the road we blindly trust Waze, but at work we stick to a road map
Don’t feel like sitting in traffic? Then you simply switch on Waze to calculate the fastest route. The app is hard to beat, and in most situations it will certainly save us time. Waze is an example of how data-driven technology makes predictions that simplify our daily lives. But while Waze is our trusted co-pilot on the way to work, our attitude toward this type of technology changes as soon as we arrive at the workplace. There, we prefer to rely on a traditional road map.
It has become almost impossible to find a sector or organization that has not been influenced by technology in recent years. Yet while everyone talks enthusiastically about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other fancy terms, we see that some solutions still gain little traction in the business world—even though they could truly make a world of difference.
With the year-end period approaching, for example, many organizations are once again building up huge inventories because they do not know how much of a product they will sell. A forecasting tool can often predict this. The technology calculates, among other things, the minimum inventory required to continue delivering, based on historical data.
In essence, this is not very different from the way Waze maps out our ideal route. Information is captured and past data is analyzed to predict how traffic on our route will evolve. Based on that, the app may sometimes recommend avoiding a certain road, even if we are used to driving that way. Most of the time we do not question it and decide to follow Waze blindly. So what is stopping us from doing the same in business operations with technology that automates processes or supports forecasting?
What you don’t measure, you don’t know
One of the reasons we give Waze the benefit of the doubt may be that the app has helped us many times in the past. The tool clearly indicates our expected arrival time, and in most cases this is accurate. In the business world, this kind of transparency is usually lacking. For individual cases, it is often possible to sense that a tool has been useful, but on a larger scale the impact is far less clear.
This is because companies still measure too little. They may feel that something is not running perfectly, but in practice they do not know what exactly is going wrong or how to improve it. Companies that systematically use forecasting to measure their inventory do notice that such tools—just like Waze on the road—lead to better results in most situations. Those results stimulate the release of endorphins in our brains, giving us a pleasant feeling and automatically increasing trust in the technology.
Of course, the effect of a forecast or the impact of technology can only be calculated over the long term. Companies must first dare to take the step of supporting their operations with innovative tools. And that is often where the shoe still pinches. Especially when technology requires an investment and the business seems to be running well enough, organizations are not inclined to change quickly. After all, we also did not have Waze in the past and considered it normal to spend hours stuck in traffic every day. We simply did not know that things could be different.
Fear of the impact of technology
There may be another reason why we are slower to embrace smart technology in the workplace than in our private lives. What if such a tool performs its job well? Should we then fear for our jobs? In many organizations, the belief still exists that their own experts know better than technology. In some cases, that is true. Someone who has to manage the inventory of only a dozen items can probably estimate supply and demand much more accurately. But it is a very different story when the same must be done for tens of thousands of items.
For a short trip over familiar terrain, we may occasionally override Waze as well. The app often sends us via less common back roads that we know are better avoided. But to match Waze’s efficiency, we would have to check every possible traffic source for each journey—from radio traffic reports to websites showing traffic jams and roadworks—and then calculate the optimal route using a traditional road map, assuming the map is still up to date.
More time for strategic work
A smart tool such as forecasting can significantly simplify our lives. There is no need to fear for our jobs. Just like when using Waze, we remain in the driver’s seat at work. Technology will increase our efficiency and productivity and ensure that we reach our destination faster and with less stress. If we automate 90% of our decisions, we have more time to apply our expertise to the remaining 10%—or to focus on things we simply do not get around to today.
Automation is a must, especially for companies in a growth phase. But in today’s world, every organization benefits from smart technology. While every aspect of our lives is becoming digital, it seems incomprehensible that complex challenges still rely mainly on outdated methodologies. Something to think about the next time you turn on Waze to drive home—or when you do not and end up stuck in traffic…
This article was published on ItDaily.be and features Olivier Corluy.