Rachel Nazhand knows how to keep operations running like a well-tuned machine. 

 

As VP and Chief of Staff to the CMO at Zelis, she’s the go-to person when revenue operations, systems, KPIs, and workflows need a serious tune-up.

 

In our latest podcast conversation, Rachel brought a fresh perspective to one of the most hyped (and misunderstood) topics in operations: automation. 

 

She draws a sharp line between what she calls meaningful automation and toxic automation.

 

Toxic automation usually happens in two ways:

 

The Tornado

“Uncapped. Unbridled. Overwrites fields and sends reports, and triggers emails to every single contact that has ever lived in your database,” she says. “It’s lawless automation. It’s dramatic and can be catastrophic if it goes unchecked.”

 

Tornado automations don’t just create noise — they rewrite data, trigger unnecessary workflows, and leave a trail of clean-up work that can take weeks to fix.

 

The Slow Drip

More subtle, but no less harmful. “It’s the automation that needs the bandaids. You patch one leak, it springs another. You have this whole MacGyver situation that’s trying to fix the faucet that just needed to be turned more tightly.”

 

Slow Drip automations quietly drain time and focus. You might not notice the inefficiency day to day, but over months, it can erode productivity and even cause revenue leakage.

 

She’s seen both derail teams. The fix? 

 

Ruthless evaluation. “Constantly review what’s live in your system. If an automation is conflicting with others, requiring constant tinkering, or no longer relevant — take it off the shelf and ship out something new.”

 

In contrast, meaningful automation does more than just speed things up; it fundamentally improves how your team works.

 

She points to examples like using AI to analyze past performance and suggest content strategies, or automating high-error, repetitive tasks so your people can spend more time in their “zone of genius.”

 

Most importantly, meaningful automation forces alignment: 

 

“It pushes your team to get really clear on a shared baseline. To build the flow chart, create the visual, and make sure when I say X, you’re hearing X. It’s a good health check for whether the company is operating on the same wavelength.”

 

Rachel’s approach is as much about mindset as it is about tools. 

She encourages leaders to resist the temptation of “set it and forget it” technology. Instead, treat automation as a dynamic part of your operations that needs attention, refinement, and sometimes a complete reset.

 

The payoff is a business that can adapt faster, make better decisions, and keep people working on what actually moves the needle.

 

You can watch the full conversation here: