This really captures the quiet shock a lot of top performers are feeling: the scaffolding is gone, but the expectations keep climbing.
The shift from “I’m valuable because I execute at a high level” to “I’m valuable because my judgment reduces risk and creates certainty” feels like the real new promotion criteria.
I am going to run this prompt for interest and for a bit of fun. I like a lot of the thinking in this post. But I have to call out two things:
1. I started my professional career in 1984, by the time I qualified as an accountant in 1987, nearly everything in the tech and business landscape had changed. That change has not stopped since and it was happening long before.
2. Experience (I am 63) does not teach certainty. It shows you how much you don't know. The promise of certainty has always been false. The key is to be flexible enough, agile, open and unstructured so you can learn and evolve.
Thank you again for your thoughtful comments. Coming from your extensive experience since the mid-1980s, they carry significant weight and help deepen the discussion.
I do not disagree with your points at all. In fact, they align closely with the core message of the article. Many of the skills and roles we currently depend on will diminish or transform in an agentic business design, where AI agents manage much of the execution and coordination.
The essential change extends beyond acquiring new skills. It involves shifting from a skill-based mindset to a value-based one. This means concentrating on the distinctive value you can create and deliver in the face of ongoing rapid change.
You are correct that change has always been present, and technology has long driven it. What distinguishes the current moment is the near-total collapse in the cost of knowledge, execution, and coordination. A single agent can now perform complex, multi-step workflows that previously required dozens or even hundreds of people. For instance, Anthropic's Claude Cowork provides Claude with agentic capabilities on the desktop, allowing it to access files and folders, read content, create documents, organize materials, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously for general knowledge work. Similarly, OpenClaw, the prominent open-source agent, integrates with messaging apps to handle real-world coordination such as emails, calendars, bookings, and browser actions on autopilot.
In this context, the most effective approach is to think like a company rather than as a single element in a value chain. A company exists to create, deliver, and capture value, frequently by reducing or eliminating uncertainty and risk for others.
Regarding certainty, you are entirely right. Absolute certainty has never existed. In earlier periods, however, relatively stable processes and defined roles offered a strong sense of reliability. As agents enable companies to conduct multiple executions and coordination tasks that once demanded large teams, that sense of stability erodes. The anxiety many people experience is not mainly about mastering new skills. It concerns a profound shift in identity: the narrative we have constructed about who we are and how we contribute in our professional lives.
Thank you once more for the insightful feedback. It truly enriches the conversation. I would be interested to hear how you managed similar shifts in professional identity during your career when major changes occurred.
Insightful prompt!
Thanks buddy.
In the age of AI weirdly the ability to work with others and good judgement are premium traits
That is indeed appreciating.
This really captures the quiet shock a lot of top performers are feeling: the scaffolding is gone, but the expectations keep climbing.
The shift from “I’m valuable because I execute at a high level” to “I’m valuable because my judgment reduces risk and creates certainty” feels like the real new promotion criteria.
Thank you Alex. Appreciate your validation. You captured the essence.
Judgment is becoming the real differentiator.
Will read this tonight this looks so good!
Thank you Lauren, let me know what you think.
I didn’t read it yet will read tomorrow and yes will do happy Saturday!
I am going to run this prompt for interest and for a bit of fun. I like a lot of the thinking in this post. But I have to call out two things:
1. I started my professional career in 1984, by the time I qualified as an accountant in 1987, nearly everything in the tech and business landscape had changed. That change has not stopped since and it was happening long before.
2. Experience (I am 63) does not teach certainty. It shows you how much you don't know. The promise of certainty has always been false. The key is to be flexible enough, agile, open and unstructured so you can learn and evolve.
Hi Kenny,
Thank you again for your thoughtful comments. Coming from your extensive experience since the mid-1980s, they carry significant weight and help deepen the discussion.
I do not disagree with your points at all. In fact, they align closely with the core message of the article. Many of the skills and roles we currently depend on will diminish or transform in an agentic business design, where AI agents manage much of the execution and coordination.
The essential change extends beyond acquiring new skills. It involves shifting from a skill-based mindset to a value-based one. This means concentrating on the distinctive value you can create and deliver in the face of ongoing rapid change.
You are correct that change has always been present, and technology has long driven it. What distinguishes the current moment is the near-total collapse in the cost of knowledge, execution, and coordination. A single agent can now perform complex, multi-step workflows that previously required dozens or even hundreds of people. For instance, Anthropic's Claude Cowork provides Claude with agentic capabilities on the desktop, allowing it to access files and folders, read content, create documents, organize materials, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously for general knowledge work. Similarly, OpenClaw, the prominent open-source agent, integrates with messaging apps to handle real-world coordination such as emails, calendars, bookings, and browser actions on autopilot.
In this context, the most effective approach is to think like a company rather than as a single element in a value chain. A company exists to create, deliver, and capture value, frequently by reducing or eliminating uncertainty and risk for others.
Regarding certainty, you are entirely right. Absolute certainty has never existed. In earlier periods, however, relatively stable processes and defined roles offered a strong sense of reliability. As agents enable companies to conduct multiple executions and coordination tasks that once demanded large teams, that sense of stability erodes. The anxiety many people experience is not mainly about mastering new skills. It concerns a profound shift in identity: the narrative we have constructed about who we are and how we contribute in our professional lives.
Thank you once more for the insightful feedback. It truly enriches the conversation. I would be interested to hear how you managed similar shifts in professional identity during your career when major changes occurred.
Great list. So important to know where we're starting from before moving forward.