You can’t force people to “face” their biases through awareness campaigns or training alone. Bias denial is too strong.
But you CAN identify bias through readiness assessment, then transition gradually so mutual benefits become visible to all stakeholders.
REAL EXAMPLE: MRO PROCUREMENT TRANSFORMATION
We assessed an MRO procurement process where service technicians were sandbagging afternoon orders to hit their daily service call targets.
The impact:
90% SLA delivery failures
Poor service call closure rates
Frustrated procurement team
Gaming the system on both sides
The bias wasn’t overcome by telling technicians “stop gaming the system.”
Instead:
PHASE 0 ASSESSMENT REVEALED THE STRUCTURAL REALITY: Service technicians had competing incentives. Meeting one target (daily service calls through sandbagging) made that score shine. But late afternoon orders created next-day delivery failures, making closure rates impossible to achieve.
THE SOLUTION WASN’T AUTOMATION. IT WAS UNDERSTANDING.
By identifying the bias through Phase 0 readiness assessment, we could design a gradual transition INTO the process – not automate procurement in isolation.
We showed ALL stakeholders how process improvement served everyone:
Technicians could hit BOTH targets (calls + closures)
Procurement could meet SLA commitments
Operations got parts when needed
RESULT: 51% NEXT-DAY DELIVERY → 97.3% IN THREE MONTHS
Not through confronting bias.
Through agent-based stakeholder understanding that made mutual benefits visible.
THE CRITICAL DISTINCTION:
EQUATION-BASED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT:
Top-down mandates
“Here’s the new automated process, follow it”
Assumes rational actors respond to directives
Result: Resistance, workarounds, failure
AGENT-BASED STAKEHOLDER UNDERSTANDING:
Phase 0 readiness assessment
Reveals competing incentives BEFORE automation
Designs gradual transition where mutual benefits are visible
Result: Adoption, improvement, success
THE PATTERN:
This isn’t isolated to MRO procurement.
It’s the SAME pattern I’ve documented across 17 years (2008 → 2015 → 2025):
Organizations automate existing processes WITHOUT understanding the biases embedded in them. Then wonder why adoption fails.
You cannot overcome bias with isolated automation or equation-based stakeholder engagement.
You accomplish it through readiness assessment (Hansen Fit Score) that:
Reveals structural barriers and competing incentives
Enables gradual transition where everyone sees their benefit
Designs automation AFTER understanding, not before
THE GAME-CHANGER:
It’s not getting people to admit bias.
It’s measuring readiness so you can design transitions that serve all stakeholders – BEFORE you automate the dysfunction.
Because if you automate bias, you just get faster dysfunction.
30
BONUS COVERAGE – THE POWER OF SIMPLE AND SEEMINGLY SILLY QUESTIONS
Regarding tha bove-referenced case-study, this video will show you the above princle and practices in real time and how it also extends to include external stakeholders like suppliers, courier companies, and even customs.
Procurement Insights
You Don’t Overcome Bias: You Understand And Adapt To It Before Automating It
Posted on November 4, 2025
0
You can’t force people to “face” their biases through awareness campaigns or training alone. Bias denial is too strong.
But you CAN identify bias through readiness assessment, then transition gradually so mutual benefits become visible to all stakeholders.
REAL EXAMPLE: MRO PROCUREMENT TRANSFORMATION
We assessed an MRO procurement process where service technicians were sandbagging afternoon orders to hit their daily service call targets.
The impact:
The bias wasn’t overcome by telling technicians “stop gaming the system.”
Instead:
PHASE 0 ASSESSMENT REVEALED THE STRUCTURAL REALITY: Service technicians had competing incentives. Meeting one target (daily service calls through sandbagging) made that score shine. But late afternoon orders created next-day delivery failures, making closure rates impossible to achieve.
THE SOLUTION WASN’T AUTOMATION. IT WAS UNDERSTANDING.
By identifying the bias through Phase 0 readiness assessment, we could design a gradual transition INTO the process – not automate procurement in isolation.
We showed ALL stakeholders how process improvement served everyone:
RESULT: 51% NEXT-DAY DELIVERY → 97.3% IN THREE MONTHS
Not through confronting bias.
Through agent-based stakeholder understanding that made mutual benefits visible.
THE CRITICAL DISTINCTION:
EQUATION-BASED STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT:
AGENT-BASED STAKEHOLDER UNDERSTANDING:
THE PATTERN:
This isn’t isolated to MRO procurement.
It’s the SAME pattern I’ve documented across 17 years (2008 → 2015 → 2025):
Organizations automate existing processes WITHOUT understanding the biases embedded in them. Then wonder why adoption fails.
You cannot overcome bias with isolated automation or equation-based stakeholder engagement.
You accomplish it through readiness assessment (Hansen Fit Score) that:
THE GAME-CHANGER:
It’s not getting people to admit bias.
It’s measuring readiness so you can design transitions that serve all stakeholders – BEFORE you automate the dysfunction.
Because if you automate bias, you just get faster dysfunction.
30
BONUS COVERAGE – THE POWER OF SIMPLE AND SEEMINGLY SILLY QUESTIONS
Regarding tha bove-referenced case-study, this video will show you the above princle and practices in real time and how it also extends to include external stakeholders like suppliers, courier companies, and even customs.
The Choice Is Yours:
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