
The Automation Mistake That Costs Millions (CEO Americas HAI Robotics, ex-Target, GXO, Adrian Stoch))
From Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) by Ben Fanning
April 19, 2026 · 49 min · Episode 435
About this episode
Adrian Stoch discusses the pitfalls of automation in business and the importance of addressing underlying system issues before scaling.
Looks Like Progress. It’s Not. So I asked Adrian Stoch, CEO Americas at Hai Robotics: What’s the mistake that looks right… but costs millions? Why do “working” systems still fail? What breaks first when you scale? He’s led automation at massive scale. Inside Target. Inside GXO. Now leading robotics. He told me about one warehouse…Robots installed. Systems live. Dashboards green. It looked like progress. Until it didn’t. 30% of the products didn’t even fit the system. $3M a year… gone. Here’s what most leaders are missing: The failure didn’t start with the robots. It started earlier. Bad inputs. Broken processes. Assumptions no one challenged. Automation didn’t fix it. It exposed it. Fast. Expensive. Unavoidable. Amateurs scale chaos. Leaders fix the system first… then automate… then scale. If your systems look like they’re working—but outcomes aren’t— 👉 where do you actually look first? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter
People in this episode
Host: Ben Fanning
Guest: Adrian Stoch
Topics covered
- automation
- leadership
- business processes
- scaling systems
- robotics
- cost management
Keywords
- automation mistake
- costs millions
- scaling chaos
- business leadership
- robotics
- warehouse systems
- process failures
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Hai Robotics, Target, GXO
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