Now for the sequel
Last weekend’s discussion was about Token Maxxing
This week’s discussion is about what happens when the shepherds discover the sheep were doing work after all.
Joe Procopio’s latest argument is simple: in some cases, companies that laid people off to embrace AI are discovering that AI infrastructure, compute, management overhead, and operational complexity can become more expensive than the labor they replaced. (Inc.com)
Which brings us back to the flock, and what is flocking unbelievable.
The first flock believed:
“More people = more value.”
The second flock believed:
“Fewer people + more AI = more value.”
Neither flock bothered to verify the equation.
They simply changed religions.
The funny thing about leadership is that we often describe executives as if they exist outside human psychology. As if a title grants immunity from fashion, status signaling, or herd behavior.
Yet every decade produces a new migration:
Offshoring
Outsourcing
Agile transformations
Open office plans
Digital transformation
Mass layoffs
AI-first organizations
Some work.
Some don’t.
But the pattern is remarkably consistent.
A few prominent firms move first.
Analysts celebrate.
Consultants publish decks.
Boards become nervous.
Competitors copy.
Executives congratulate themselves on being visionary while marching in the same direction as everyone else.
That’s not leadership.
That’s synchronized swimming.
What’s particularly interesting is that economists and researchers are increasingly warning about an AI version of the same phenomenon: firms automating because they fear being perceived as behind, not because the economics actually work. (Business Insider)
The result is what I call The Cult of the Spreadsheet.
The high priests no longer ask:
“Did we create value?”
They ask:
“Did the graph move?”, preferably up and to the right. Pick your X:Y.
The irony is that AI may ultimately be transformative. I believe, no I know, it will be.
But if AI succeeds, it won’t be because organizations replaced judgment with automation. It will be because they amplified judgment with automation.
The organizations that win won’t be the ones that fired the most people.
They’ll be the ones that figured out which humans were irreplaceable before they accidentally automated the map and deleted the cartographers.
The sheep come in many flocks.
The wool changes.
The PowerPoint template changes.
The behavior rarely does.
#AI #Leadership #Management #TokenMaxxing #ArtificialIntelligence #BusinessStrategy #FutureOfWork #DigitalTransformation #OrganizationalBehavior #Groupthink #Innovation
Sources: Joe Procopio, Inc. (2026); recent commentary on AI-driven layoffs, compute costs, and organizational incentives. (Inc.com)