#organizational-design

#organizational-design

A BearingPoint survey of 1,000 plus global execs found half report 10 to 19 percent workforce overcapacity due to "early-stage automation and limited role redesign" as AI is rolled out in their businesses. "Roles centered on routine analysis, process execution, transactional support, and repetitive knowledge work - including back-office operations, customer service, and entry-level financial or HR support - are becoming increasingly redundant," said the report.

Last week, in a Fortune 500 boardroom, executives gathered to make a critical pricing decision. They had AI analytics showing optimal price points. They had human intuition about customer relationships. They scheduled two hours. Four hours later, they emerged with the worst possible outcome-a compromise satisfying neither data nor relationships. The AI's recommendations were watered down by politics. Human insights were dismissed as "anecdotal." Everyone left frustrated with a garbage decision.

According to research from MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), agentic artificial intelligence (AI)-based applications will lead to major management headaches. This is because technology purchases have traditionally been considered either as a substitute or a complement to human workers. Technology automates or augments and so can either be considered as a tool or as a worker.

I often use the octopus as a metaphor for how to thrive and lead in the AI-era and create highly efficient and adaptable organizations. Real octopuses have distributed intelligence with nine "brains"-two-thirds of their neurons are in their arms, allowing each arm to sense, decide, and act locally while a neural ring maintains coordination. In other words, the octopus is agile at the edges and aligned at the center.

While 2023 research from Visier demonstrated that 83% of workers admit to " productivity theater"-performing busy work that creates the appearance of output without meaningful results-that same year, the World Economic Forum declared creativity to be the second most critical skill for our workforce by 2027. The collision of these realities signals a fundamental shift that smart organizations can no longer ignore.

With more than 15 years of experience in human resources, Drew has helped companies navigate Pre-IPO readiness, mergers and acquisitions, culture shifts, and reorganizations to position businesses for major growth-all through the lens of people. He doesn't just talk about HR as a support function. For Drew, it's a strategic engine that drives performance, shapes culture, and supports transformation at every level.