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92% of companies are investing in AI, but only 7% are generating returns. The gap isn't technology. Organizations are automating broken structures instead of redesigning work. McKinsey found that high performers are 3x more likely to have fundamentally redesigned workflows before adding AI. Everyone else is bolting AI onto existing processes and wondering why nothing changed.

So here's the tough question: Are CHROs ready to be architects, or are they about to become implementers of very expensive dysfunction?

What You'll Learn

Why the playbook isn't new:

• Strategy first, structure and roles second, talent third
• The same principles that worked in digital transformation apply to AI
• Three types of AI strategy require three different organizational structures

Why agents need job descriptions:

• Role clarity becomes more important, not less, when you add AI
• Now we're designing roles for humans and AI agents
• Transparency matters: what the agent does, what we expect, how we give it feedback

The orchestration layer:

• Coordinating humans and AI toward outcomes is the new work
• The number and frequency of handoffs between humans and agents matters
• Your orchestration layer may be your most valuable IP

The trust problem:

• 45% of employees are hiding their AI use from employers
• Gen Z in particular feels like using AI is cheating
• This is a mindset shift we have to train them on

The junior pipeline problem:

• 37% of companies plan to replace entry level roles with AI
• Entry level jobs are where people learn the business
• The answer: accelerated apprenticeship, getting people to higher value work faster

Key Quotes

"You take a bad process, you add technology, and now you have a faster bad process."

"If AI hits fog, it's going to scale the fog. You've got to get the fog out of the way."

"Agents need job descriptions so that the humans can know and have full transparency in what the agent is there to do."

"We're not choosing among different human talent, we're choosing human talent versus AI talent. What is the best horse for the course?"

"The CHRO who figures this out is going to become indispensable. The one who doesn't is just going to be an implementer of really, really expensive dysfunction."

The Diagnostic Questions

• Is your AI strategy clear: new product, new channels, or back office efficiency?
• Have you designed the organizational structure to match that strategy?
• Do your AI agents have job descriptions?
• Are you tracking the number of handoffs between humans and agents?
• What is your data privacy bill of rights for employees?

Support the show

If this episode landed, the next move is yours. 

Coaching is where it closes fastest — Jackson has developed CHROs from both sides of the table, as their leader and as their coach. The CHRO Ascent Academy, CHRO Chronicles, and the best-selling Substack are there too. 

All at mytalentsherpa.com.

In private equity: Propulsion AI surfaces workforce risk before the close and translates strategy into individual accountability after it. Before AI automation -  drive outcome clarity with digital teammates to do the work fast and at scale. 

All at getpropulsion.ai.