A mentor once told me something that completely changed how I view technology:
“No one looks at the tool. They look at the experience.”
At first, it sounded almost wrong. Aren’t automations and dashboards the foundation of business efficiency? But over time, I realized the truth — no matter how perfect the system or how advanced the analytics, what people truly remember is how it made them feel.
The Diwali Sweet Box Moment
A few years ago, during Diwali, my company had a tradition of gifting creative sweet boxes to all employees. My child was excited to open one, expecting it to be full of Indian sweets. To his surprise, it had more games and activities than sweets — and instead of disappointment, he was thrilled.
That’s when it struck me — the magic wasn’t in the sweets; it was in the experience.
The box was thoughtfully designed to spark curiosity and delight. Even though it wasn’t what he expected, it created a deeper emotional connection.
That’s the same with technology. People might expect data and dashboards — but what keeps them engaged is how intuitively it works, how seamless it feels, and how much simpler their day becomes.
In Finance and Accounting, I’ve seen this lesson repeat itself countless times. Whether it’s an automation for journal entries, reconciliations, or approvals, or a dashboard showing working capital and variance analysis, the adoption depends less on what it does — and more on how it feels to use it.
A slightly imperfect automation that removes friction will always win over a technically flawless one that feels rigid.
Automation Before Analytics: The Real Flow of Impact
Automations are the silent engines of Finance transformation. They make processes like month-end close, reconciliations, and intercompany eliminations run smoothly — freeing up teams to think, not just transact.
When the bot runs silently overnight, clears exceptions, and communicates clearly — trust is born. That’s when users start saying, “This actually helps me.”
Only after that foundation of automation is built do dashboards begin to shine. Because data visualization has impact only when the underlying automation gives it life and reliability.
Automation is where execution meets trust. Dashboards are where data meets decision. Experience is what makes both memorable.
Kevin’s Story: What Steve Jobs Understood Before Everyone Else
A former colleague, Kevin, once shared a story that perfectly captured this idea. He said:
“Steve Jobs once told his team — people don’t know what they need until we show them how they need it.”
Jobs didn’t just sell devices — he sold experiences. The iPod wasn’t just a music player; it was the joy of music in your pocket. The click wheel, iTunes, and Apple design all combined to create a feeling — not a feature list.
And that’s exactly what the best Finance tools do. A CFO doesn’t celebrate the code behind a reconciliation bot — they value how smoothly it closes the books. A dashboard isn’t remembered for how many metrics it tracks — it’s remembered for how clear and confidence-building it feels during reviews.
Tools Don’t Transform. Experiences Do.
McKinsey once highlighted that 70% of transformation efforts fail due to poor adoption, not technology gaps. Gartner echoed that experience-led automation delivers far higher ROI than process-led automation.
Even in Finance, we see it daily. A flawless automation script that users distrust adds no value. A slightly imperfect one that’s simple, reliable, and intuitive? — That becomes part of the culture.
In the end, transformation is not a technology project — it’s a human experience project.
From Everyday Life of a person who drives Tech enabled Transformations
- An automation without empathy is like a well-built machine with no start button.
- A workflow that just works is like a trusted accountant — invisible but indispensable.
- A dashboard that tells a story is like a balance sheet that speaks truth instantly.
The Experience Economy in Technology
Apple doesn’t sell devices; it sells belonging and simplicity. Amazon doesn’t sell products; it sells trust and convenience.
And in the same way, we don’t build automations or dashboards for functionality alone — we build them to make people’s lives easier, faster, and more intuitive.
When a Finance team says, “This makes my close feel calm,” that’s success.
Why Experience Outshines Perfection
- Emotion Drives Engagement: Users stick with tools that feel smooth and intuitive.
- Consistency Builds Trust: Every successful automation run reinforces reliability.
- Stories Spread Adoption, Not Specs: People talk about how simple their process became — not which logic was used.
- Perfect Tools Don’t Guarantee Use: Smooth always beats flawless.
How to Build Experience-First Automations and Dashboards
- Simplify the Journey: Let automation do the heavy lifting invisibly.
- Design for Assurance: Use confirmations, clarity, and user-friendly prompts.
- Tell Visual Stories: Dashboards should explain, not overwhelm.
- Create Delight: Every friction removed is an experience created.
The Takeaway
Automation is the engine. Dashboards are the windows. But experience is the journey itself.
So next time you build an RPA flow, a dashboard, or automate a Finance process, ask yourself:
“How does this make the user feel?”
Because people don’t just use automations or dashboards — they engage with experiences.