Reinventing Jobs: A 4-Step Approach for Applying Automation to Work by Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau.
John Boudreau is Professor Emeritus of Management and Organization and a Senior Research Scientist with the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California. He holds a Masters and PhD from Purdue University in Industrial Administration.
Ravin is Senior Partner and Global Leader for Transformation Services at Mercer. Previously he was a Managing Director at Willis Towers Watson. He holds an MBA from Western Michigan University and is a Part-time Lecturer at Caltech’s Executive Education Program.
So, the drumbeats of AI have certainly peaked within 2023. Today ChatGPT is just 13 months old. And while the company is showing its age the impact upon society and business is now at a crossroads.
Accordingly for all the hype of Generative AI, organizations simply do not know how to deploy AI solutions. There are failed AI deployments within 2023. While much of the attention has certainly been to the lack of security and privacy within ChatGPT, the most important aspect for any organizations is confronting AI’s digital disruption including the impact upon employees.
Learn the principals
Reinventing Jobs is certainly proving to be a mission critical resource. The efforts of Ravin and John are immediate and well researched. In fact, I must recommend this book to all organizational supervisors, managers, leaders, and even Boards. This book will indeed separate those organizations who will succeed in deployments of AI services and those who will stumble.
Just as ChatGPT became the tipping point for consumer AI in 2023, questions how AI services impact employees and their jobs are now being surfacing for the first time on a global scale.
On the contrary, organizations face stubborn questions regarding implementations. Perhaps the most troublesome for many organizations is the nature of AI. Updates are coming fast and in irregular patterns. This may cause disruptions for long standing organizational culture moving at a slower pace. This is expanded in Strategy in the Digital Age.
As many noted books are revealing, the popular idea that humans are going to be replaced by machines is not accurate. As Thomas Davenport has written, well planned AI deployments are leading to new hiring, not firings. In addition, by wisely optimizing select human-machine automations, organizations are finding higher returns on improved performance. Bottom line: smart deployments and work migrations are adding new value to organizations.
So, is your organization ready ?
In conclusion, there are few select books in 2023 that are quickly finding critical praise. Reinventing Jobs is one such book. Organizational leaders regardless of market cannot overlook this resource.