How complex a task one person takes on
Farming
Steam engine
Computer
Managing it
AI
drafts and reasons
Each step: the machine takes the lower work, you climb a level.The AI step is the tallest yet.
Will AI reduce your work? It adds work: managing it.
AI takes over the execution and hands you the management, and that is what lets one person take on far more complex work.
From execution to management
The work does not shrink. It changes, and you move up.
From execution to management Page 1 of 3
Every revolution, one card
Every machine took over the predictable work and people moved up: the work changed, it did not shrink. AI is the first to take part of the thinking, so this step is the biggest.
Machine
The plough digs
↑ People
The farmer plans the harvest
Farming
Antiquity · the plough
The first tool to take over the digging.
Machine
The engine does the lifting
↑ People
The worker plans the line
The steam engine
1700s–1800s · the factory
Power took the lifting; the line split in two.
↗ Some upskilled to run the plant
↙ Others stayed on the line
Machine
The computer does the sums
↑ People
People judge and advise
The computer
1950s onwards · the office
The machine took the sums and the filing.
AI · takes part of the thinking
AI drafts and reasons
- language
- reasoning
- ideas
Tasks of about 50 minutes, doubling every 7 months
Same prompt, different answers
↑ You moved up
You manage it like a team
One person, work that took a team
AI
Today · the desk
The first machine to take part of the thinking.
The fork, open again
Work beside it
Manage it like a team
From execution to management Page 2 of 3
You were promoted
AI moves you from doing the work to stewarding it. The way across is management skills you already use with people.
You do the work yourself
Execution
Room 1 · doing it yourself
Where many still sit
the misalignment
Many still act as if they do the work
- 01Break it downsmall steps it can correct
- 02Write clear goalswhat good looks like
- 03Reviewcheck it against the goal
- 04Delegatehand over the task
You manage the work
Management
Room 2 · with AI
Where AI has promoted you
From execution to management Page 3 of 3
Practise it today, at work
The skills you use with colleagues are the skills you use with AI, so you can practise them at work, today.
At work
Hand off work to a colleague, or before a vacation
a proper handoff, with enough context to carry on without you
same moveWith AI
Start a new chat with that context
the same handoff, pasted in first
01 · The handoff
Handing over · before a vacation
Context first, then the task.
At work
Onboard a new team member
nothing carries over unless you say it
same moveWith AI
Open a new AI session
tell it what you would tell a new hire
02 · The new teammate
Day one · a new hire
Every new session starts on day one.
At work
Break a big project into chunks
define the seams, so each chunk feeds the overall goal
same moveWith AI
Split the work into AI tasks
one task per chunk, the seams as the handover
03 · Chunks and seams
Kick-off · a complex project
The seams carry the overall goal.
Briefing, giving context and checking: the same skill on both sides
More complex projects are now within reach