#459: Bob Muller | Why Clean Data Is the Foundation for Scaling and Owner Clarity

Margins are under pressure, and scaling isn’t about throwing more people at the problem. Owners have to leverage technology to increase throughput per employee — but that only works if your data is clean and your processes are digitized.

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This isn’t an AI-hype conversation. It’s about putting best practices in place so you can actually use automation and AI as accelerants. If your company is still running on paper, PDFs, or messy file shares, you’ll never have the information flow you need to make fast, accurate decisions from the boardroom.

That’s why I brought on Bob Muller, an expert in document and data management, to talk about how owners can digitize processes, manage change, and align their information flow with their financial and operational goals. Bob has lived this world for decades, and for me it was a full-circle moment — since I started my career in document management before building and selling our family business.

We get into what it really takes to prepare your company to scale: not just buying new tech, but organizing your processes, cleaning your data, and creating the link from operations → financials → owner goals. 

What We Cover:

⇒Why digitizing processes and cleaning data is the foundation for scaling — and how it protects margins under pressure.
⇒How analog → digital → clean data → automation creates throughput and frees owners from bottlenecks.
⇒Why AI is only an accelerant — it works if the inputs are good, but it’s useless without clean data.
⇒The real challenge of change management: how culture, leadership, and buy-in make or break tech adoption.
⇒How to connect operations → financials → owner goals so technology actually drives valuation, not just efficiency.
⇒Practical steps to start: mapping processes, prioritizing wins, and aligning tech projects with business outcomes.

Bob Muller is a veteran in document and data management with decades of experience helping companies digitize processes, clean data, and unlock efficiency. He specializes in guiding organizations through change management and building the foundation for automation and AI. Bob’s work equips owners to protect margins, scale operations, and tie information flow directly to financial performance and strategic goals.

Chapters: 

• (00:00) Bob Muller's background in document management evolution
• (03:04) From copier sales to understanding business operations
• (05:12) Learning company processes through document management projects

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Independence by Design: Process Management
• (00:01:43) - Bob Dubay on Software Automation (podcast)
• (00:03:50) - Bob Wilcox on his Career Path
• (00:06:06) - Robbie Copier on the Future of Paper
• (00:08:29) - Understanding Operations Through Coding
• (00:11:33) - Employee Outcomes and the Process
• (00:13:22) - Bob Ley on Data-Driven Business
• (00:15:25) - Single pane of glass financial decision management
• (00:19:30) - Favorite Stories From Your Childhood
• (00:19:52) - Multiple Locations, One Finance Department
• (00:22:02) - In the Elevator With Change Management
• (00:24:31) - Mapping the IT Transformation Process
• (00:32:06) - Bob Ley on the Need for AI in the Business
• (00:35:28) - The Clean Data Needed for AI
• (00:42:17) - How To Maintain a Continuous Flow of Revenue Through OCR?
• (00:48:00) - What's the bigg