BOOK CONCEPT · DEFINED
Redesign Work Around AI
The largest gains from a general-purpose technology usually arrive after work is redesigned around it. Replacing one step with AI may save time; changing the sequence, frequency and economics of the whole workflow can create a different operating model.
Grounded in the published book sample · Updated July 16, 2026
The first use copies an old task with a faster tool
Complementary systems matter as much as raw capability
New economics make previously rare work continuous
The electric-factory lesson
Factories first used electric motors as cleaner substitutes for centralized power. Larger gains came when layouts and workflows were redesigned around distributed power.
The same mistake in AI
Adding a chatbot to an unchanged process is equivalent to attaching a new motor to the old factory. It may help, but it leaves coordination, review and information flow untouched.
Redesign questions
Ask what can happen more often, what can begin earlier, what data can be prepared once, which decisions still require judgment and how failures should escalate. Then design the sequence again.