The Automation Navigator - Sean Dotson | Substack

The PE Phone Call - Validation or Diligence Request

Honeywell just told investors it wants to buy automation companies. Here is what that means for the owner on the other end of the phone.

Jun 17 • Sean Dotson

The Change Order You Should Have Written But Did Not

Scope creep is not a client problem. It is a documentation failure, and it is almost always yours.

Jun 9 • Sean Dotson

The Boring Robotics Deal Nobody Is Writing About

GE just paid to stop writing checks to its own integrators.

Jun 5 • Sean Dotson

You Are Financing Your Client's Project: Have You Priced That?

The payment schedule you wrote to avoid friction is financing your client’s project. You are the bank. You just forgot to charge interest.

Jun 1 • Sean Dotson

A Billion Dollars for a Name

The Mind Robotics Round Is a Pedigree Trade

May 20 • Sean Dotson

Most Popular

The Integrator Squeeze Is Already Here, and Most Owners Are Pretending Otherwise

May 5 • Sean Dotson

Three Things Are Happening to Rockwell at Once

May 13 • Sean Dotson

The 4 Quadrants of Employee Performance

Dec 11, 2023 • Sean Dotson

A Billion Dollars for a Name

May 20 • Sean Dotson

Recent posts

Three Things Are Happening to Rockwell at Once

But the earnings call is pretending there is only one

May 13 • Sean Dotson

The Integrator Squeeze Is Already Here, and Most Owners Are Pretending Otherwise

SoftBank, Skild, and the 2026 platform consolidation just rewrote the margin model I built my career inside

May 5 • Sean Dotson

Your Star Employee Is Breaking Your Company with AI

The Productivity Paradox Nobody Talks About

Apr 20 • Sean Dotson

AI S.L.O.P. (Simple Language of Prompting)

A deterministic language for nondeterministic systems

Mar 24 • Sean Dotson

The Hidden Cost of Vibe Coding

Your AI API bill Is not the problem. Vague thinking is.

Mar 19 • Sean Dotson

Authentication Purgatory

Why Passwords, 2FA, and Account Sprawl Are Breaking the User Experience

Mar 17 • Sean Dotson

AI Judges: From Murder Trials to Contract Disputes

Let Humans Handle Morality: Let Machines Handle the Math

Mar 3 • Sean Dotson

A Weekend Walk, a Coin Flip, and an Unexpected Rabbit Hole

Exploring the "Drunkards Walk" math problem...

Feb 23 • Sean Dotson

From Rubble to Revival

The Story Behind Suncoast Venture Studio’s Historic Home

Oct 9, 2025 • Sean Dotson

Culture, Capital, & Code

The Three Levers of Modern Automation

Sep 24, 2025 • Sean Dotson

Top 10 Ways Automation Companies Shoot Themselves in the Foot

...by department (apologies to all those offended in advance)

Aug 20, 2025 • Sean Dotson

No, You Can’t Have AI

Your plant still uses Internet Explorer running on Windows 7

Jul 24, 2025 • Sean Dotson

The Automation Navigator - Sean Dotson

The Automation Navigator - Sean Dotson

The Automation Navigator explores the evolving world of automation, robotics, packaging, AI, economics, and leadership. Drawing on decades of experience in industrial automation, it offers practical insights and clear thinking to help operators, engineers

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