New Tools Won't Fix Broken Processes
I need to tell you something that might save you $200/month in SaaS subscriptions: your tools aren’t the problem.
I’ve lost count of the number of times a founder has told me, “We just need to switch to [insert shiny new tool].” And look, sometimes that’s true. But most of the time? They’re trying to solve a process problem with a product purchase.
The Tool Graveyard
You know the tool graveyard. Every team has one. It’s where Asana goes to die next to Monday.com, which sits beside the Trello board nobody updated after week two, which is neighbor to the Airtable that one person set up and nobody else understood.
Sound familiar?
The pattern is always the same:
- Current system feels chaotic
- Someone finds a tool that promises order
- Everyone’s excited for two weeks
- The tool becomes another layer of chaos
- Repeat
Process First, Tools Second
Here’s the order that actually works:
Step 1: Map what you’re actually doing. Not what you think you should be doing. What’s really happening when a project comes in, when a client asks a question, when work gets handed off.
Step 2: Find the breakdowns. Where do things get stuck? Where do balls get dropped? Where is someone doing something manually that could be automated?
Step 3: Design the process. On paper (or a whiteboard, or a Miro board). What should the flow look like? Keep it simple.
Step 4: Then — and only then — pick the tool that supports the process you’ve designed.
The Right Tool for the Right Job
I’m not anti-tool. I love a good tool! But the right tool for your team depends on your actual workflow, your team’s tech comfort level, and how you communicate. A tool that works beautifully for a 50-person engineering team might be overkill for your five-person agency.
The One-Question Test
Before buying a new tool, ask yourself: “If I gave my team a shared Google Doc, would that solve 80% of this problem?”
If the answer is yes, start there. You can always level up later.
Thinking about your tool stack and wondering what you actually need? Let’s figure it out together.