Fast Work vs. Slow Work: How Leaders Can Leverage AI to Maximize Human Potential
People + Innovation
We’ve entered a new phase of human work. Artificial intelligence has evolved from a mere productivity tool into a force that enhances our most reflective and imaginative endeavors. As leaders, we face a pressing question: How do we guide our people through a transformation that touches both the everyday tasks that we rush through and the deep strategic thinking that we aspire to?
We’ve lived through countless innovations, from the steam engine to the internet. Each one focused primarily on making us faster or more efficient. Now, we’re seeing a paradigm-shifting technology that isn’t just about velocity. AI promises to supercharge both the rapid “fast work” and the reflective “slow work,” and that is rewriting our notions of human productivity.
Major employers confirm what’s coming. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that in 2025, AI could effectively handle tasks once reserved for midlevel software engineers. And Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff hinted that his company will not hire more software engineers this year because its current team, empowered by AI, is already vastly more productive.
You’ve watched technology shape the workforce before, but never with this pace — or this depth. Models from leading AI labs leapfrog each other in weeks, not years, and the performance benchmarks are jaw-dropping. If your people strategies aren’t ready to take advantage of these innovations, you risk losing ground as this level of power becomes commonplace.
Finding Opportunity amid the Acceleration
As AI outperforms us in traditional knowledge work, the real question is: Where will human potential — and human value — shine? The answer may surprise you.
AI excels at routine, high-speed tasks. But even more importantly, it can free up human mental space for deeper, more meaningful work. In other words, it can help us not only capture value but also create it anew. And if your organization doesn’t adapt quickly, you risk losing both efficiency gains and the spark of human innovation that could propel you into new markets, products, or ways of working.
Yes, AI can outpace us in certain tasks. But there’s a timeless element of human work — our ability to reflect, empathize, and dream — that remains uniquely ours. As a leader of human potential, you find yourself standing at the intersection of people and possibility. The real key lies in approaching these rapid changes with empathy, intellectual humility, and a beginner’s mindset, leaning on curiosity to see opportunities rather than threats. Let AI accelerate routine tasks that currently command an inordinate amount of attention, and let human endeavor in the future focus on new realms of thought, creativity, and strategic impact.
This moment calls us to leverage AI’s speed for routine tasks while freeing our minds to explore an unimagined future. If we embrace curiosity and open ourselves to reimagining what’s possible, we’ll find more than just efficiency gains. We’ll discover new ideas, better questions, and a deeper sense of purpose in our work. The human potential leader will explore how to harness AI’s rapid evolution without losing the qualities that make us most human.
Augmented Productivity: How Humans Add Value
Drafting an S1 prospectus for an IPO once required six bankers working two painstaking (and expensive) weeks. Now, according to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, AI can handle 95% of that work in minutes, saving more than $100,000 in labor. But AI can’t get that project all the way to the finish line.
“The last 5% now matters,” Solomon said, “because the rest is now a commodity.”
That shift frames what we call fast work (high-speed, automatable tasks) and slow work (deep, strategic endeavors). Now the question becomes: Where do humans add value when AI does the bulk?
Solomon says this change is an opportunity to transform productivity. “Productivity is the ability to take smart people and give them tools so they can do more, do more quickly, help our clients think about things in different ways,” he said. This suggests an emerging mindset: We’re not removing humans, we’re amplifying them.
Becoming a leader who meaningfully develops human potential in the age of AI requires an “augmented human productivity” (AHP) approach. Rather than assuming a stark divide where AI does X and humans do Y, we can envision work in four key areas:
- Automatable work, including routine or data-heavy processes.
- Augmentable work, including activities where AI boosts quality, yet people retain essential oversight.
- AI-accelerated work, which reflects tasks that are enhanced by AI.
- Intrinsically human work, which requires complex judgments, empathy, and creative leaps.
In practice, the line constantly shifts as AI matures. Some roles that once seemed intrinsically human may become partly or fully automated, while new forms of augmentable tasks emerge.
AHP encourages leaders to continuously assess each workflow by asking not ust, “Can we automate?” but “Should we automate?” By freeing humans from mechanical chores, organizations can refocus them on deeper, reflective, and more meaningful work.
The organizations that thrive in an AI-rich world will be those that put their people first, using machines to eliminate drudgery while nurturing human curiosity, empathy, and strategic thinking.”
Evolve Constantly; Don’t Set a Rigid AI Agenda
It’s one thing to say, “AI does 95% and humans do the remaining 5%.” It’s quite another to decide which tasks to automate, how deeply to automate them, and who remains accountable when AI’s recommendations go awry.
Each organization will define these lines differently, driven by culture, compliance, or strategic value. A premium consultancy might limit automation in client-facing interactions. A cost-focused institution might automate extensively. Some tasks are easy to automate technically but too risky to offload fully without human checks, especially in companies that have a low tolerance for risk. Prioritizing speed above all else can backfire if customer trust hinges on empathy.
Executive leaders must orchestrate the heavy lifting: dissecting each role, mapping subtasks, and determining where augmented human productivity best applies — technically, ethically, and strategically. In other words, long-term success depends on continuous, nuanced decision-making, not a one-and-done AI road map.
In 2001, the Apple iPod promised “1,000 songs in your pocket.” A generation later, AI tools offer something more profound: “1,000 Ph.D.s in your pocket.” AI models have achieved performance levels once reserved for top experts, tackling everything from medical diagnostics to complex software engineering. But the real power here isn’t just abundant intelligence; it’s augmented intelligence where people and AI partner to accomplish more than either could do alone.
A recent JAMA Network study suggests why this distinction matters. When AI worked independently on complex medical diagnoses, it outperformed human clinicians and doctors using AI tools. Why? When physicians tried combining AI insights with their expertise, they often ignored or overrode helpful recommendations. This reflects a deeper issue: We can’t simply layer AI on top of old processes. We must redesign roles, workflows, and mindsets to unlock the partnership required to fully gain the advantages of augmented intelligence.
In this sense, the biggest barrier isn’t limited to a lack of AI capability, but a lack of entrepreneurial mindset combined with intellectual humility. Rather than focusing on cost savings, leaders should ask, “What can we achieve now that we have near-Ph.D.-level expertise on tap at all times?”
This demands experimentation, a tolerance for misfires, and a breaking away from “the way we’ve always done things” mentality. It also means investing in continuous upskilling so employees can frame the right questions (prompt design), interpret and elevate AI outputs, and spot red flags by exercising ethical discernment. When properly aligned, AI amplifies our human strengths including empathy, moral judgment, and vision. By letting AI handle brute-force tasks, we free ourselves for more creative, intuitive challenges. That’s the promise of augmented intelligence: not a workforce replaced, but one made far more imaginative and impactful.
From an executive leadership perspective, culture determines how well augmented intelligence can flourish. If people fear AI, they’ll resist its potential. If they embrace it as a partner, they’ll explore new ideas and discover untapped growth. In other words, adding a powerful tool to an old toolbox pales in comparison to reinventing the toolbox altogether — and that’s where leaders who merge data-driven rigor with entrepreneurial courage will thrive in unleashing human potential.
Culture determines how well augmented intelligence can flourish. If people fear AI, they’ll resist its potential. If they embrace it as a partner, they’ll explore new ideas and discover untapped growth.”
Differentiation Demands Audacious Creativity
Here’s the stark reality: AI capabilities are advancing so quickly that many of today’s stretch goals will soon become trivial. As high-powered models grow ubiquitous, the fundamental question morphs from “Can AI do this?” to “What should we create?” Imagination — not processing power — becomes our limiting factor. Your competitive edge hinges on AI agility: your organization’s capacity to evolve and innovate as each breakthrough reshapes what’s possible.
Most leaders start with quick wins, such as automating reports, trimming costs, and streamlining workflows. But that’s table stakes. True differentiation demands audacious creativity — entirely new products, experiences, and business models that wouldn’t exist without advanced AI. Stop measuring just efficiency gains. Start tracking how many bold concepts move from imagination to reality, powered by AI’s expanding capabilities.
You can’t bolt new algorithms onto old thinking and outdated systems. Foster a culture that rewards iterative improvements and imaginative leaps — but within clear ethical guardrails. An ad hoc approach breeds chaos; rigid control suffocates innovation. Strike a balance and define boundaries so teams can accelerate responsibly.
The AI Agility Framework is where augmented human productivity ignites transformation. Three critical elements drive human value creation:
- Prompt design. Your people need more than basic AI literacy. They need to be fluent in designing prompts and elevating AI outputs into market-ready solutions. Rather than focusing solely on efficiency, organizations should prioritize unleashing creativity at scale
- Human + AI partnerships. When empathy and judgment fuse with AI’s analytical power, you unlock ethical innovation that builds trust and aligns with values. Your competitive moat extends beyond technology. Thoughtful deployment creates lasting advantage.
- Cultivating human skills. Sharp critical thinking, adaptability, and collaboration let teams adapt as AI evolves. These timeless human capabilities, augmented by AI, position your organization to remain future-ready and stay ahead of the competition.
The greatest threat isn’t AI falling short — it’s our imagination failing to keep pace. Organizations that align human potential with AI capabilities will transcend mere automation to discover transformative opportunities. Your role as a leader? Champion curiosity and responsible exploration as you guide your company into a future where machine intelligence is abundant, but human imagination wins.
A Future Built on Human Potential
The organizations that thrive in an AI-rich world will be those that put their people first, using machines to eliminate drudgery while nurturing human curiosity, empathy, and strategic thinking. By blending fast work automation with slow work augmentation, you won’t just build a more efficient enterprise, you’ll create a more imaginative and resilient one.
Your mission as a leader is to refuse to let machine efficiency overshadow the traits that define us. Champion this transformation and you’ll turn AI from a mere productivity tool into an enduring advantage — for your organization and your people.
The future doesn’t belong to those with the most powerful AI. It belongs to those who imagine the most inspiring ways to use it.
Todd McLees is the founder of HumanSkills.ai and a recognized thought leader on generative AI’s impact on people and work.
Brad Winn is a leadership practice professor and executive MBA director at the Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.
A People-First Road Map: 5 Steps for Maximum AI Impact
Want to develop human potential in an intelligence-rich world? Start here.
- Map Your Workflows. What deserves automation? What demands deep human reflection? Free your people from mundane tasks while spotlighting where their insight matters most.
- Redesign Roles for Augmented Intelligence. Go a level deeper. Break down roles into three categories of tasks: automatable, augmentable, and intrinsically human. This clarity reveals where AI should lead, where partnerships flourish, and where human judgment remains essential. It also reveals opportunities for continuous upskilling that elevate people into higher-value roles.
- Cultivate Imagination. Once AI handles the mechanical, perpetual reinvention becomes your edge. Foster intrapreneurship. Reward creative exploration. Find your organization’s balance between cautious optimization and bold experimentation.
- Prioritize Responsible AI. Accelerate AI adoption while championing fairness and transparency. Build checkpoints for bias. Establish clear data governance. Ensure AI amplifies human judgment rather than replacing it.
- Invest in AI Agility at Every Level. Don’t limit human-AI collaboration to your tech teams. Offer continuous learning opportunities so everyone can collaborate effectively with AI to capture and create business value. Pair lightweight governance with strong ethical principles — moving fast without breaking trust.
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