Process Debt

Automation isn’t the goal—business outcomes are. In this episode of the Process Debt Podcast, Chris and Toby talk with David Kilzer (engineer, MBA, TEDx speaker, and automation veteran) about what actually has to happen before automation works. We unpack: Why “shiny tech from a trade show” is a dangerous starting point How to find “low-hanging fruit” by asking frontline teams what they hate The un...

It’s a new year, which means fresh intentions… and a lot of unused gym memberships. In this episode, Chris and Toby explore a simple but uncomfortable truth: we judge ourselves by our intentions, and we judge others by their actions. That gap feels small, but it’s where process debt quietly piles up. They talk about why intentions feel like progress, why actions are harder (and riskier), and how b...

Distraction is the most convincing false work in modern business. It feels urgent, emotional, and productive; even when it’s just a reaction disguised as progress. In this episode of the Process Debt Podcast, Chris and Toby explore why reaction is one of the most costly forms of distraction, how unclear strategy causes constant whiplash, and why motion without meaning quietly drains teams. From do...

Charlie Munger once said his philosophy was simple: “Figure out what makes people die and don’t do that.” In this episode, we apply that mindset to modern work. Everyone enjoys saying, “That meeting could’ve been an email,” but the truth is that the opposite is often more harmful. Emails hide work, lack acknowledgment, and create silent process debt. We explain why good meetings — with shared agen...

Blame is the quickest reflex in business, and also one of the most costly. In this episode, Chris and Toby explore why organizations tend to point fingers, how “fast thinking” can override careful decision-making, and why simple routines like dashboards and check-ins are actually key to avoiding chaos. If you’ve ever wondered why problems keep occurring in your workflow, this conversation gets to...

Many envision AI as a cheerful housekeeper like Rosie the Robot from *The Jetsons*, but today's AI is quite different. It's information-driven and, when misused, leads to more noise and notifications, creating process debt. In this episode, Chris and Toby discuss the true utility of AI, highlighting how shiny new tools can overshadow their actual value. They emphasize the importance of integration...

In this episode of the Process Debt Podcast, Chris and Toby try to do the simplest thing imaginable: log into Wix and update a profile. Twenty minutes later, they’re knee-deep in password resets, missing emails, and a password manager having an identity crisis. What starts as a quick task turns into a perfect snapshot of modern knowledge work — where tools don’t behave, assumptions break, and “jus...

This week, Chris and Toby go all the way back to the beginning. The ones and zeros that make modern computing possible, and they explain why AI still can’t match true abstraction. From punch cards to LLMs, they break down why deterministic systems scale beautifully while AI’s guess-based outputs create unpredictability, noise, and a whole lot of human cleanup. If you’ve ever wondered why AI-genera...

The AI boom is everywhere, with soaring valuations, endless hype, and CEOs racing to invest. But is this moment starting to look a lot like the telecom bubble of the early 2000s? Chris and Toby revisit the dot-com era, long-distance calling cards, and the fiber-optic crash to explore whether today’s AI gold rush is running on real value… or speculation. With Michael Burry shorting AI stocks and Me...

In this episode of The Process Debt Podcast , Chris and Toby dig into Parkinson’s Law — the idea that work expands to fill the time allotted. From college deadlines to corporate reporting cycles, they explore how this law quietly shapes productivity, burnout, and even process debt itself. They connect the dots between deadlines, discipline, and design — why “more time” rarely equals “better outcom...

In this episode of The Process Debt Podcast , Chris and Toby dig into one of the most overlooked elements of modern work — rituals . From standups to one-on-ones to those endless “just-because” meetings, they explore where rituals add clarity, and where they drift into empty habit. They trace the lost art of the Scrum Master, the tension between serving the manager vs. serving the team, and why ev...

In this episode of The Process Debt Podcast , Chris and Toby take on one of the workplace’s most overused clichés — “this meeting could’ve been an email.” From sitcom-worthy pre-meetings to the myth of perfect communication, they explore why meetings go wrong, what “acknowledgement cycles” really mean, and how ritual—not repetition—is what actually drives alignment. Chris shares his experiment in...

What does Six Sigma have to do with your inbox, your slide decks, or your endless meetings? In this episode, Chris and Toby break down the meaning behind “Sigmas” — from factory floors to knowledge work — and ask a provocative question: how many errors per million does your team tolerate before calling it “good enough”? From polished PowerPoints to unpredictable processes, they explore why consist...

The Process Debt Podcast — Year in Review A full year of uncovering the hidden costs of how work really gets done. 🎙️ In this special “Year in Review” episode, Chris and Toby look back on the first year of The Process Debt Podcast — from the early conversation that started it all (“process must be discoverable and transferable”) to exploring the strange collision of Elon Musk and government bureau...

Welcome to year two of The Process Debt Podcast! In this episode, Chris and Toby explore one of the most complex—and timely—processes of all: how the U.S. government shuts down. From “turning off the lights” in Washington to the ripple effects affecting families, communities, and the economy, the hosts analyze the shutdown through a new perspective they call P.U.M.P. — Process, Unintended Conseque...

One year of Process Debt is officially in the books! 🎉 In this milestone episode, Chris and Toby take a surprising detour from discussing Wall Street internships to exploring a lollipop factory in Boise, where defects are easy to spot (nobody wants a half-melted Rodman Pop). However, in knowledge work, defects often hide in plain sight. What qualifies as a "bad lollipop" when your day is filled w...

It’s the phrase that pops up in every organization—but does “more” actually solve the problem? In this episode, Chris and Toby dig into the hidden meaning behind the call for communication. Is it really about emails and meetings, or is it about alignment, purpose, and clarity? From career-limiting questions to Zoom distractions and the five whys of team dynamics, they unpack why “more communicatio...

From Amazon packages at the door to Slack pings in the middle of Zoom calls, distraction has become the default setting of modern work. In this episode of the Process Debt Podcast , Chris and Toby explore why our attention is constantly under attack—and what that means for the endless hours we spend in meetings. They discuss how COVID blurred the line between connection and decision-making, why so...

This week on The Process Debt Podcast , Chris takes us on a wild ride through “vibe coding” — using AI to sling code like it’s magic Lego bricks — until the whole thing comes crashing down. From lost database keys to endless AI apology loops, it’s coding that feels a lot like golf: hours of frustration, one satisfying hit, and just enough hope to keep you coming back. We unpack how developers’ dis...

What do birthdays, coin flips, and endless Zoom calls have in common? More than you’d think. In this episode, Chris and Toby unpack the famous Birthday Paradox —how just 23 people in a room give you a 50% chance of a shared birthday—and connect it to something every business leader struggles with: complexity. Why do we keep pulling more people into meetings, projects, and decisions—when more often...

We all do it—chew on worries that may never come true. In this episode of The Process Debt Podcast , Chris and Toby dive into the hidden toll of personal process debt : rumination. Kicking off with Mark Twain’s line, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened,” the hosts explore how overthinking becomes a silent workflow that drains energy, creates anxiety, and produces… a...

Decisions, Decisions: Why Business Choices Are Harder Than They Look In this episode of the Process Debt Podcast , Toby and Chris wrestle with one of the toughest challenges in business: decision making. From the small “what’s for dinner?” fatigue to high-stakes strategic moves that can make or break a company, they explore why decisions are so hard to evaluate—especially after the fact. The conve...

Ever had a fix so simple you can’t believe no one thought of it sooner? Chris and Toby dig into why the best solutions only feel obvious in hindsight—sharing shipping fiascos, billion-dollar pivots, and a few rants about bad tools. Fast, funny, and packed with tips for finding your own “duh” moments.

In this week’s episode of the Process Debt Podcast , we dive into a surprisingly profound Instagram clip of Steve Jobs, where he reflects on the transition from building Apple I computers in his garage to managing the scaled chaos of Apple II. The key lesson? When he was small, process enabled him. When Apple grew, process began to control him. We explore the tension between bureaucratic processes...

In this episode of Process Debt , we discuss how process transformation should adopt the mantra of "Buy vs. Try" and explore why so many organizations opt to "buy change" instead of building it from within. From billion-dollar consulting contracts to executives chasing quick wins, we unpack how outsourcing transformation often becomes a way to pass the buck rather than solve the problem. We contra...