August 11, 2026 | Issue Archive
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AI is turning all of us into managers
A couple of months ago, I was speaking to a room full of software engineers when something caught my attention.
These are people who built careers writing code.
Except increasingly, they’re not writing all the code.
They’re directing AI agents that write it.
Think about that shift.
Yesterday: do the work.
Today: direct intelligence that helps do the work.
And I realized: this isn’t just happening to software engineers.
It’s happening to all of us.
I see it in my own business.
AI helps me research, analyze data, develop content, evaluate ideas, and accomplish in minutes what once took hours.
Which means my job is changing, too.
Increasingly, my value isn’t in personally producing every piece of work. It’s in determining what needs to be done, why it matters, what good looks like, and whether the result actually serves the goal.
I’m becoming a manager of intelligence.
Maybe you are, too.
And here’s where it gets interesting.
AI can work faster than I can.
The machine doesn’t get tired.
I do.
So trying to compete with it on speed is a losing proposition.
Instead, I need something AI can’t provide for me.
Calm when the pace becomes overwhelming.
Clarity when five ideas suddenly become fifty.
Courage to choose when AI can only give me options.
Confidence to move when no model can guarantee the outcome.
Community because greater connectivity doesn’t automatically create trust, belonging, or meaning.
These aren’t primarily doing skills.
They’re being skills.
And I think they’re becoming more valuable by the day.
THIS ENDS NOW
The belief that your professional value comes primarily from how much work you can personally produce.
THIS MOMENT MATTERS
Start thinking of yourself as a leader—even if nobody reports to you.
Because as our tools become more capable, more of us will be responsible for answering questions the tools can’t answer for us:
What actually matters?
What should technology do—and what should stay human?
What can we do versus what should we do?
What decision am I willing to own?
I went much deeper on this in a new article I published today, including what a recent Cisco announcement tells us about the changing relationship between company growth and individual job security—and a lesson from IBM about knowing when it’s time to let go of what made you successful.
Read: AI Is Turning All of Us Into Managers →
Here’s the bet I’m making on my own future:
AI will keep getting better at being AI.
I don’t need to beat it at that.
My work is to get better at being human.
Maybe yours is, too.
Up we go—
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P.P.S. If you happen to know a team or an organization looking for a keynote speaker this fall, don’t keep me a secret 🤫—introductions and referrals are always appreciated!