October 28, 2026
A cartoon illustration showing three cats labeled Strat-Cat, Middle, and Kitten, highlighting why AI brought middle managers back to the workplace.

Why AI Brought Middle Managers Back

As organizations flattened hierarchies in pursuit of AI efficiency, they killed employee trust. Middle management brings human judgment and purpose. In 2023 Meta began aggressively laying off middle managers and shifting others back into individual contributor (IC) roles. Zuckerberg created a highly flattened structure with massive spans of control (sometimes […]
September 18, 2026
A cartoon depicting a person at a desk reporting to an AI boss, highlighting workplace dynamics.

The Shrinking Time Between Seeing, Deciding & Acting

Military drones can now collect vast amounts of information, interpret what they see, identify objects and, when communication with humans is disrupted, continue operating with increasing autonomy. The organizations are also grappling at the shrinking gap between seeing, deciding and acting time.
September 16, 2026
A cartoon depicting a man distressed about the cost of his degree, while another man holds a receipt.

Credentials Are Not Competence

A resume is a collection of signals. The real question is whether those signals help us predict what someone can actually do. AI makes certificates cheaper and easier to collect, the value of a credential increasingly depends on whether it is a genuine gateway to competence or simply another badge in the pile.
September 14, 2026
A poll result showing what people would miss if they stopped working, with options like routine, money, and relief, saved as an Auto Draft.

Why We Stopped Investing in Workplace Bonds

I asked a simple question here. If you stopped working tomorrow, what would you miss? 232 people voted. Only 12% said they’d miss colleagues. More than one third said they’d miss the routine. The traffic jam we face every day when we go to work. The weekly team meeting, the […]
September 13, 2026
A diverse group of professionals standing together, with two individuals having robotic AI faces, highlighting that HR must treat AI agents like new hires.

Treat AI Agents Like New Hires, Not New Software

Technology has a strange way of hogging the limelight and then becoming invisible like electricity or your mobile phone. AI agents have moved from the attention-grabbing phase to becoming invisible. They have entered the enterprise. HR must take charge of their onboarding and integration.
August 26, 2026
A person with a purple umbrella sits by the sea, framed by a circle against a grayscale background with text about the neuroscience of storytelling.

The Contrast Effect: How Your Brain Decides What’s Worth Remembering

The neuroscience behind every story you actually remember is the same. Anything predictable is boring. Contrasts help us remember. Storytellers know that. What Is the Contrast Effect? A Quick Primer Contrast effect psychology is built into the photo. When you look at the photograph you don’t count the number of […]
July 31, 2026

What Shapes a Career: Talent, Skills or Chance

Careers are hard to navigate. Three things shape every career path: talent, skills and chance. Talent is a gift you were born with. It is what comes easy to you. The subjects you understand faster than others. The sport you play with ease. It gives you a head start. A steady, hardworking person often overtakes a naturally talented one who doesn't put in the hours. And now that same race includes a machine that never stops training.