How to Redefine Work Dynamics Using AI

AI isn't just a tool; it's becoming a teammate. A major field experiment with 776 professionals at Procter & Gamble, led by researchers from Harvard, Wharton, and Warwick, revealed something remarkable: Generative AI can replicate and even outperform human teamwork. Read the recently published paper here: In a real-world new product development challenge, professionals were assigned to one of four conditions: 1. Control Individuals without AI 2. Human Team R&D + Commercial without AI (+0.24 SD) 3. Individual + AI Working alone with GPT-4 (+0.37 SD) 4. AI-Augmented Team Human team + GPT-4 (+0.39 SD) Key findings: ⭐ Individuals with AI matched the output quality of traditional teams, with 16% less time spent. ⭐ AI helped non-experts perform like seasoned product developers. ⭐ It flattened functional silos: R&D and Commercial employees produced more balanced, cross-functional solutions. ⭐ It made work feel better: AI users reported higher excitement and energy and lower anxiety, even more so than many working in human-only teams. What does this mean for organizations? 💡 Rethink team structures. One AI-empowered individual can do the work of two and do it faster. 💡 Democratize expertise. AI is a boundary-spanning engine that reduces reliance on deep specialization. 💡 Invest in AI fluency. Prompting and AI collaboration skills are the new competitive edge. 💡 Double down on innovation. AI + team = highest chance of top-tier breakthrough ideas. This is not just productivity software. This is a redefinition of how work happens. AI is no longer the intern or the assistant. It’s showing up as a cybernetic teammate, enhancing performance, dissolving silos, and lifting morale. The future of work isn’t human vs. AI. The next step is human + AI + new ways of collaborating. Are you ready?

Microsoft's latest Work Trend Index (based on data from millions of Microsoft 365 users) proves the modern workday is a fragmented, chaotic mess. But here's the critical insight: dropping AI into these dysfunctional workflows will only accelerate the chaos. We need to use AI to fundamentally redesign how work gets done. The data reveals what many of us feel daily, right?? Work has become an infinite loop of reacting to others' priorities while struggling to find time for meaningful progress. ++++++++++ THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM Every 2 minutes: That's how often employees are interrupted during core work hours by meetings, emails, or notifications. 60% of meetings are completely unscheduled or ad hoc calls, preventing any semblance of planned deep work. 122% spike in PowerPoint edits occurs in the final 10 minutes before meetings. 117 emails hit the average inbox daily - most skimmed in under 60 seconds. 50+ messages arrive outside business hours. Evening meetings are up 16%. 29% of workers are back in their email by 10 PM, and nearly 20% are checking messages before noon on weekends. ++++++++++ WHY THIS MATTERS NOW 1 in 3 employees report the pace of work has become impossible to sustain, what with flat budgets and rising performance pressure. Working harder and longer is at its breaking point. This is where AI becomes critical, but not in the way most organizations think - automating existing chaos won't solve anything. ++++++++++ THE FRONTIER FIRM APPROACH "Frontier Firms" are avoiding the trap of just rolling out tools to everyone. They’re looking to redesign work itself around three core principles: 1. Apply the 80/20 rule ruthlessly. Focus AI and human effort on the 20% of work that delivers 80% of outcomes. Everything else gets automated, eliminated, or dramatically simplified. 2. Build work charts, not org charts. Instead of rigid departmental structures, create agile, outcome-driven teams that form around specific goals and use AI to fill skill gaps. 3. Become agent bosses. When ready, deploy AI agents to handle prep work, research, routine analysis, and administrative tasks, freeing humans for judgment, creativity, and strategic decisions. Start small with agents - but get started. +++++++++ WHAT TO DO TODAY: > Audit your interruption patterns. Track how often your team gets pulled away from focused work. > Identify your 20%. What work moves your business forward? What could be automated or eliminated without impacting outcomes? > Pilot outcome-focused teams. Take one project and organize a cross-functional group around the end goal, not dept boundaries. Use AI to accelerate the work. +++++++++++++++++ UPSKILL YOUR ORGANIZATION: When your organization is ready to create an AI-powered culture—not just add tools—AI Mindset can help. We drive behavioral transformation at scale through a powerful new digital course and enterprise partnership. DM me, or check out our website.

Looking to lighten your workload? "Can AI do this task?" is the wrong question. The right question is, "Should we be doing this task at all?" I see organizations rushing to automate their existing workflows without stopping to ask if those workflows make sense in the first place. This is your opportunity to rethink everything: 🚫 What processes could we eliminate entirely? 😵💫 Where are we creating unnecessary steps? 🛠️ What would this look like if we built it from scratch today? AI isn't just about doing things faster. It's about doing the right things, better. Before you automate that monthly report, ask: Do we really need this report? Who reads it? What decisions does it drive? Before you use AI to speed up approvals, ask: Why do we need all these approval layers? The most transformative AI implementations reimagine entire workflows with your human team in mind, empowering them to do more with their time, think more creatively, and build a better future. Use your AI adoption as your excuse to fix (or eliminate) what's been broken for years. #ProcessImprovement #AITransformation #WorkflowOptimization #Leadership

I recently wrote that AI is not just a technology shift – it's a work shift. So, how does that play out? First, AI changes how we do tasks. Next, it changes how we do our jobs. Then, it changes entire functions. The result? A brand new way of getting work done and thinking about growth. Step 1: AI transforms tasks: AI works with you. It helps you do what you’ve always done — just faster. A marketer drafts blog posts in minutes. A rep writes emails with higher personalization, less effort. A support leader summarizes tickets in seconds. This is where most teams are today: AI as a productivity booster. Step 2: AI transforms jobs. AI works for you. It starts delivering outcomes. A content agent spins one blog into a full campaign. A prospecting agent books qualified meetings without human touch. A customer agent handles most Tier 1 support tickets. The job itself starts to evolve. You spend less time doing — and more time creating, optimizing, and scaling. Step 3: AI transforms functions. As agents take on entire workflows, the structure of departments begins to shift: Support shifts from to proactive experience design. Marketing shifts to creative strategy. Sales shifts to high-impact closing. Role ratios change. Skillsets shift. We are not quite here but we can see the path. The result for scaling businesses? A whole new way of approaching work, structuring teams, and thinking about growth.

Once upon a time, the workplace looked like this: 🔺 A wide base of operators ⬛ A middle of managers 🔝 A small circle of execs at the top making “strategic” decisions And each layer was dependent on the prior layers knowledge and context. But that is no longer the case - AI is cracking that structure apart and now #1 question I get asked is “Where Should AI sit?” I have an entire framework for that, based on trail and error and over 60+ different structures and outcomes across a variety of industries, but to keep it super duper simple, the new mental model is: The Upside Down Pyramid. 🔻 Bottom layer: Automated out. Replaced by RPA, bots, agents. (FYI … Deloitte reports that intelligent automation has led to zero net growth in administrative headcount in over 65% of enterprises) 🧍🏻Middle layer: Thinned out, middle-management pruning some say - as real-time insights and AI copilots give execs direct access to context. They are no longer the widest & thickest structure. 🔝 Top layer: Amplified, not eliminated, with a new diverse set of players at the top. AI translators and cross-functional builders who know tech and business (fyi, Harvard Business Review reported that 42% of managers’ tasks are now deemed automatable—and that number is climbing) In summary: We’re not watching a job extinction event, we’re witnessing an extreme skills migration. 🤯 RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Redefine your middle. If you’re a middle manager, become the bridge—not the bottleneck. Strategic orchestration beats tactical supervision. 2. Train your top. Your leaders need fluency in AI—not prompt tokens. Nothing is a silver bullet. Invest in simulation-based leadership programs. The new org chart favors the thinkers, the builders, the doers—with AI as their multiplier. Are you adapting to the new shape of work? #FutureOfWork #AITransformation #Leadership #OrgDesign #WorkforceShift #DigitalStrategy #CareerAdvice #DataLeadership >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Worlds 1st Chief AI Officer for Enterprise, 10 patents, former Amazon & C-Suite Exec (5x), best-selling author, FORBES “AI Maverick & Visionary of the 21st Century” , Top 100 AI Thought Leaders, helped IBM launch Watson My 2nd #TEDx talk will be released in 2 weeks!

New research from Harvard Business School explores a big question: What if AI isn’t just a tool but a teammate? In a large-scale field experiment with Procter & Gamble, researchers tested how GPT-4 affected performance when used by individuals versus teams of experienced professionals working on real product development challenges. Some key findings: - AI-enabled individuals performed as well as teams without AI - Teams using AI produced the best and most exceptional results overall — not only did they outperform others, but they were significantly more likely to generate top 10% solutions - AI helped bridge expertise gaps and broke down professional silos - Participants using AI had better emotional experiences — more excitement, less frustration The takeaway? AI isn't just about individual productivity — it’s reshaping how we collaborate, think, and solve complex problems. It’s acting more like a cybernetic teammate, not just a more efficient tool. The working paper — “The Cybernetic Teammate: A Field Experiment on Generative AI Reshaping Teamwork and Expertise” — is worth a read. As someone interested in the future of work, this raises important questions: 1. How do we design teams when AI levels the playing field? 2. What happens to traditional boundaries between roles? 3. How do we rethink collaboration when AI enhances both performance and emotional engagement? Curious what you all think — especially if you’re leading teams or exploring how to integrate AI meaningfully into your org. #FutureOfWork #LinkedInWorkplace #LinkedInLife #WorkplaceResearch

If every employee starts managing agents, how does a company change? First, “83% of global leaders say AI will let employees take on more complex, strategic work earlier in their careers.” One executive recently framed this transition of teams evolving to three areas of work : operational, tactical, & strategic. Operational work can be mostly fully automated today. Agents are chomping away at tactical work - better accuracy will improve their share. Humans will focus on strategy work, but likely assisted by AI. “When asked why they turned to AI instead of a colleague, employees cited 24/7 availability (42%), machine speed and quality (30%), and unlimited ideas on demand (28%) as the top reasons—all things humans cannot provide.” Advanced AI users use AI as a thought partner. With some studies demonstrating AI’s creativity as superior to humans, combined with infinite patience, profound memories, & a little bit of obsequiousness, we should expect AI as a strategic work sidekick. The impact on org charts is likely to be profound. Manu Cornet’s interpretation of org charts will need an additional box. What will it look like? “But with expertise on demand, the traditional org chart may be replaced by a Work Chart—a dynamic, outcome-driven model where teams form around goals, not functions…” Microsoft’s Work Trend Index argues most businesses will resemble movie production : teams of specialists who descend upon a project, achieve a goal & move on. And the impact is mostly on customer-facing teams : “In our survey, global leaders listed customer service, marketing, and product development as the top three areas for accelerated AI investment in the next 12–18 months.” The Cornet image of the future will undoubtedly have more agents than humans - by 10x or 100x is hard to say. The leverage from AI is hard to overstate & expectations for speed, depth of thought, creativity, & effectiveness will surge as a result - a huge opportunity for those who understand how to use these new tools effectively.