If the transactional model is a dead end 🔗, what's the alternative? It’s about creating an environment where teams are empowered to own their work and are given the safety and space to improve it. It's about shifting their focus from "how fast can we close this ticket?" to "how can we deliver the most value?". This doesn't happen by accident. It requires a deliberate shift in how leaders lead and how teams are structured. From assignments to ownership The first step is to stop treating teams like ticket-takers and start treating them like owners. Instead of assigning individual tasks, give a team full responsibility for a product, a service, or a specific customer outcome . When a team owns something, their perspective changes completely. They are no longer just fixing a bug; they are improving their product. They benefit directly from their own improvements: less rework, fewer emergencies, and happier users. This is the essence of a team-centric view,...

Imagine two kitchens. In the first, a short-order cook stands over a hot grill. Tickets stream in: "Two eggs over easy!" "Burger, no onions!" "Pancakes, side of bacon!" The cook's entire world is the next ticket. Success is measured in seconds: how fast can an order be flipped, plated, and sent out? There's no time to think about a better way to organize the station, a more efficient way to prep ingredients, or a new recipe. The goal isn't to become a better cook, it's just to survive the lunch rush. In the second kitchen, a chef and her team are responsible for a seasonal menu. They have a clear objective: create an amazing dining experience. While they handle orders every night, they also spend time discussing what worked and what didn't. They experiment with new techniques, source better ingredients, and refine their plating. They own the entire process, from concept to execution. Their goal isn't just to get food out; it's t...

Sometimes, the greatest insights come from the least expected places. I recently attended an AI event that, yes, had a bit of a quirky, superhero theme . It wasn't my usual style, but the content was a game-changer. It gave me a deep, practical understanding of what AI agents can truly do. This event didn't just teach us about a new tool; it showed us a fundamentally new way of thinking. What does the agent need? For years, when building software, our main focus was the how . We spent all our energy defining the precise steps: how to write the workflow, how to program the logic, how to follow the process. With agents, that question flips completely. Our focus shifts to: What data do we need to provide so that the agent can do it? This is a massive change and similar to how we manage teams. We stop obsessing over the exact instructions and start obsessing over the quality of the context . We stop being process engineers and start being data engineers . We trust the agent to ...