McKinsey’s latest research on AI-powered software development makes a point that extends far beyond engineering.
The constraint is no longer writing code. It’s everything that happens before and after the code.
Defining the problem. Making sound architectural decisions. Determining what should - and shouldn’t - be built. Coordinating the right people. Testing rigorously. Exercising judgement. Validating that the outcome actually solves the original problem.
In other words, as execution becomes cheaper, judgement becomes more valuable.
I think this insight applies to almost every form of knowledge work.
For decades we’ve treated the “doing” phase as where most value is created. We measured effort, hours and output. AI is exposing something different.
The highest-value work has rarely been execution itself.
- It’s framing the right problem.
- It’s exploring alternative solutions and understanding the trade-offs before committing.
- It’s assembling the right people, data, technology and governance to execute effectively.
- And it’s validating whether the work actually achieved the intended outcome - not merely whether the task was completed.
Execution increasingly becomes a commodity. Judgement does not.
That has profound implications for how we organise work, hire talent and develop careers.
Many entry-level roles have traditionally existed because organisations needed large numbers of people to execute repetitive knowledge tasks. As AI absorbs more of that execution, organisations will increasingly value people who can define, orchestrate, challenge, integrate and verify.
The bottleneck is moving up the value chain.
Many organisations are still designed around the assumption that execution is the scarce resource. Processes, reporting lines, career paths and performance measures all reflect that worldview.
The organisations that outperform over the next decade won’t simply deploy better AI.
They’ll redesign work around where value is actually created.
The question isn’t how AI changes execution. It’s whether you’ve recognised that execution was never where most of the value came from in the first place.
#AI #Leadership #FutureOfWork #Strategy #SoftwareEngineering
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