Today I found myself scratching my head. I was playing around with workflows (creating out-of-the-box SharePoint Workflows in SharePoint Designer 2010, as well as creating workflows with our own Bamboo
Workflow Conductor). I was attempting to build a simple workflow to update a column when a new item is created. I initially built it using the option to manually initiate the workflow to test the logic and make sure the right value was updating. It did, which was great. Next, I switched the initiation to automatically run on item creation. Published the workflow and waited.... and waited... and waited some more, but the workflow never even started. Completely flummoxed, I did some searching online. Like many other people online, I learned that a common reason for this behavior is that the account currently logged in and deploying the workflow to the associated list was the "System Account." Now first off, it is NEVER a good practice to use "System Account" for day-to-day use of SharePoint. It has too many variables assocaited with it, as it is a special hardcoded account by SharePoint, and can thus cause issues such as profile mismatches. But there I was, falling into the trap of the "easy testing" and was logged in as "System Account." With a quick switch of accounts, I attempted to redeploy and, lo and behold, it worked!
So the next time you're having issues with workflows not starting automatically, take a look at who's logged in ... sometimes it's the simplest things in life that get us hung up. 
Posted
Sep 01 2011, 10:15 AM
by
Jeff Kozloff
As Senior Product Manager at Bamboo Solutions, Jeff brings over 12 years of Bamboo experience to the Product Management Team. Overseeing Web Part and Components Division of the Bamboo Solutions product portfolio (over 40 products), Jeff defines product roadmap, works closely with Sales and Support to improve product stability, and the marketing team for promotion of products through Bamboo Storefront and mailings.