Research & Articles
A curated selection of my evidence-based research, publications, and external articles on AI strategy, workforce transformation, and the Undercurrent.
Research & Publications
The Undercurrent in Data: Why Org Charts Can’t See the Future of Work
Most leaders still try to navigate AI’s impact on work using job titles and org charts. That is a mistake. The org chart shows where people sit, not how the work is moving.
In this independent Endeavor Intelligence research, we analyze TechWolf’s Skills Intelligence Index (over 531,000 task signals from the global labor market, mapped to Stanford’s Human Agency Scale) to run an empirical audit of how AI is reshaping The Future of Work. Instead of asking leaders “what do you think will happen?”, we trace what is already happening in the work itself.
The analysis challenges the idea of an “average AI impact”. The workforce is not blending; it is polarizing into three structural zones:
The Governance Layer – the “Human-Core” stronghold where agency concentrates. Strategy and Sales emerge as structurally protected anchors.
The Friction Layer – the bottleneck where AI acceleration collides with infrastructure limits. DevOps & SRE carries the highest Undercurrent pressure.
The Execution Layer – the “Agent-Ready” zones where scale begins to decouple from headcount. Finance and Software Engineering start to detach from traditional labor models.
The brief introduces four quantitative indicators (AAR, HCS, ADR, UPI-F) and a practical leadership playbook for governing this polarization: where to concentrate governance, where to redesign work, where to relieve pressure, and where to accelerate readiness.
Key Collaborations, Articles & Series
The Future of L&D: How AI Operators Will Transform Enterprise LearnOps®
The operating model for corporate L&D is at a breaking point, with most teams inhibited by fragmented tools and reactive processes. This whitepaper, co-authored with leaders from Cognota, Cornerstone, and Deloitte, argues that the solution lies beyond simple automation.
The AI-Powered Workforce: A CEO’s Roadmap to Competitive Advantage
A seven-part series for the Association for Talent Development (ATD), this series co-authored with Docebo CLO Brandon Carson outlines six strategic actions executive teams should take to prepare their L&D function for the age of AI and ensure a substantial return on their technology investments.
Boundaryless Performance: An Executive Briefing
A two-part series for TrainingZone, co-authored with Teresa Rose, provides a visionary glimpse into the future of work. We explore real-world examples and future implications of a world where the lines between learning, talent, and daily workflow disappear.
Navigating the Realities of AI in L&D
First published in Training Magazine and co-authored with Dr. Michael Allen and Steve Lee of Allen Interactions, this article cuts through overwhelming claims to provide a practical, foundational guide for L&D leaders on effective AI adoption.
AI in Coaching: A Tool for the Many, Not a Replacement for the Few
Published in Training Journal, this feature with Teresa Rose explores the powerful role of AI in democratizing coaching while defining the essential, irreplaceable space for human expertise and high-touch partnership.
AI's Increasingly Important Role in L&D
Explore the landmark eBook that became (and still is) The Learning Guild's most-downloaded publication of all time. This essential guide provided the foundational strategies for leveraging AI in learning and development, providing a clear path from theory to practical impact.
The Two-Wave Transformation: Why Your AI Strategy Is an Illusion of Progress
Most organizational AI activity is a "Surface Wave" of pilots and tools that creates an illusion of progress. Real transformation, however, requires mastering the "Undercurrent": the deeper, strategic redesign of how the organization functions, makes decisions, and wields control. This article, published in Training Magazine, explains why leaders must shift their focus from simply deploying tools to re-architecting their enterprise.