As I work through my own career transition, I’m finding myself asking a similar question: What isn’t changing?
For me, it’s people.
Titles will change. Organizations will change. Technology will change. But curiosity, learning, judgment, and the ability to adapt are deeply human qualities that transfer wherever the next opportunity leads.
That feels like a much more durable foundation than trying to predict exactly what’s next.
The hardest career skill may no longer be learning faster, but knowing what deserves to be ignored. AI expands our options faster than it clarifies our purpose. What we refuse may shape us more than the next opportunity we accept.
The people I work with are sad about losing the version of themselves that only existed when they had it.
I love the Serena Williams thing. "Evolving away" instead of "retiring." She didn't slam the door, she just walked toward something else. We don't let ourselves do that. Every move feels like it has to be permanent or it doesn't count. For years I've called the 'shoulder retirement.'
The part that's going to stick with me is your line about subtraction. Everybody's chasing the next tool, the next skill, the next thing to add. Nobody's asking what to stop doing. That's actually the harder question, and it's the one nobody teaches you how to answer.
This maps onto how I think about AI agents. The discipline isn't "where can we use one," it's deciding where one shouldn't go. "Maybe building six AI agents isn't next" is the most useful line in here. The teams I see win pick the one workflow worth changing and say no to the other twelve. Where do you draw the line between real discernment and just moving slow?
That's how i feel. People "make" a pretty html through claude, and they feel like they own the world. Despite they don't know what to do with that html (data safety or databases). And now I feel like after 8yrs of building applications or automations, i'm no longer relevant.
As I work through my own career transition, I’m finding myself asking a similar question: What isn’t changing?
For me, it’s people.
Titles will change. Organizations will change. Technology will change. But curiosity, learning, judgment, and the ability to adapt are deeply human qualities that transfer wherever the next opportunity leads.
That feels like a much more durable foundation than trying to predict exactly what’s next.
The hardest career skill may no longer be learning faster, but knowing what deserves to be ignored. AI expands our options faster than it clarifies our purpose. What we refuse may shape us more than the next opportunity we accept.
The people I work with are sad about losing the version of themselves that only existed when they had it.
I love the Serena Williams thing. "Evolving away" instead of "retiring." She didn't slam the door, she just walked toward something else. We don't let ourselves do that. Every move feels like it has to be permanent or it doesn't count. For years I've called the 'shoulder retirement.'
The part that's going to stick with me is your line about subtraction. Everybody's chasing the next tool, the next skill, the next thing to add. Nobody's asking what to stop doing. That's actually the harder question, and it's the one nobody teaches you how to answer.
This maps onto how I think about AI agents. The discipline isn't "where can we use one," it's deciding where one shouldn't go. "Maybe building six AI agents isn't next" is the most useful line in here. The teams I see win pick the one workflow worth changing and say no to the other twelve. Where do you draw the line between real discernment and just moving slow?
Such an amazing write up love the framing what’s not next and how can free ourselves from the noise.
That's how i feel. People "make" a pretty html through claude, and they feel like they own the world. Despite they don't know what to do with that html (data safety or databases). And now I feel like after 8yrs of building applications or automations, i'm no longer relevant.
Amazing and timely post!!