Hunting the New Metaphor: 1
There are (at least) three basic phases in the adoption of a new technology.
The first phase involves using the new tools to do old things faster and more efficiently
The second phase involves doing more, adjacent things faster and more efficiently.
The third phase involves a radical rethinking of the way things work.
The shift from artisanal production to assembly lines in the early 20th century is a good example. In the late 19th Century, there were so many blacksmiths that today, 140 years later, Smith is still the most common last name. (Smith was how blacksmiths were known.) By the end of the 1920s, assembly line factories had deconstructed blacksmithing skills into a sequence of individual, repeatable tasks.
Longfellow wrote a long remembered poem romanticizing the Village Blacksmith (link below).
Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night’s repose.
The factory/assembly line bore little resemblance to the craftsmanship of the local Smithy. Precisely repeatable sequences are the complementary opposite of organic artisanal work. The Smity measured work in completed custom projects. Factory work is measured in the number of reps and the number of identical widgets.
Our thinking about productivity and value creation is still dominated by this transactional view. As we left factories in the rear-view mirror. The metaphors stayed with us. We’ve spent almost 40 years managing service work as if it were factory work.
We’ve been searching for new metaphors to describe value creation in a knowledge economy. Factory thinking is embedded in our management tools, business creation ideas, and organizational designs. The emergence of AI will drive us to the edges of our metaphors. The enduring legacy of this new tech will involve a transition as great as the move from Smithy to factory.
Concerns about dehumanization and job loss were common. What actually happened was a great job dislocation accompanied by an explosion in unforeseen work. Humans adapted, learned how to do new things, and developed new ways of seeing themselves.
Predictability and role-based identity replaced craftsmanship. Work and machine output became so intertwined that you couldn’t really tell the difference. Quality became a question of error rates rather than customer satisfaction. Workers became instruments of capital to be managed for their return.
Some or all of that is going to change.
The ability to deconstruct and rearrange work drove that first wave of large scale industrialization. The same will happen this time around. It will be like the transition from film based cameras to phone based digital photography. But, it’s going to happen across industries. It’s going to happen faster.
I wish I had the wherewithal to see the whole thing clearly. Then, I’d be able to invite you on a ride on my football field sized yacht. Instead, I want to focus closer to home.
Over the next few pieces, I am going to focus on the changes that are likely to happen in HR and HRTech. This is the beginning of a hunt for new metaphors.
Boomband/Monster.com Founder/ Inventor / Entrepreneur / Marketer / Provocateur / Father Founder of more than 15 companies including the 454th .com -Monster
2moI think comparisons like Smith make big ideas like evolution easier to measure. There’s a level of first principles with AI that has everyone’s emotions on fire. For some - the excitement is unbridled(reference on that term is awesome) for others it’s anxiety(the kind Linda Blair brought on). For most it’s “just another day at the office” (which is also quickly a Jurassic saying). My worry is that the world where knocker uppers(human alarm clocks), phone operators, pin setters and blockbuster sales associates were replaced was mostly a gradual change. With AI the pace is faster, the impact is greater and the 2nd and 3rd order consequences are barely being contemplated. Our lives are going to change!
Senior Director, Digital Trust at DigiCert | IoT & PKI Security Leader | Enabling Secure, Scalable Cybersecurity for Connected Devices
3mo• Creative Strategy & Innovation (Esteem): This is where we start to see the real shift. AI can generate ideas and do deep analysis, but humans still excel at connecting the dots, taking creative risks, and driving true innovation. • Purpose-Driven Leadership & Transformation (Self-Actualization): At the top of the hierarchy, it’s all about meaning—setting direction, shaping culture, mentoring others, and leading real change. Here, AI can amplify insights and provide context, but only humans can provide vision and purpose. As each lower tier is absorbed by automation, the expectation and opportunity for human impact only grows. The real challenge—and opportunity—is to stop thinking about “jobs lost” and start thinking about how the bar for meaningful human contribution keeps rising. The more the machines do the heavy lifting, the more we’re required (and empowered) to bring judgment, empathy, creativity, and leadership to the table. Really looking forward to seeing how you explore this shift—especially how HR and HRTech can help organizations climb this new pyramid and actually capture the full value of human potential in an AI-first world.
Senior Director, Digital Trust at DigiCert | IoT & PKI Security Leader | Enabling Secure, Scalable Cybersecurity for Connected Devices
3mo• Repetitive Tasks & Compliance (Basic Needs): Data entry, routine reporting, and compliance are the foundation—necessary, but not differentiators. As AI and automation take these off our plates, humans are finally liberated from drudgery. • Process Optimization & Problem-Solving (Safety/Order): Incremental improvement and troubleshooting used to be highly valued. But as AI gets smarter, it’s taking over here, too—freeing people to go beyond just “fixing” the old. • Collaboration & Communication (Belonging): With AI helping coordinate and handle logistics, humans can focus more on the “soft” skills—building trust, fostering relationships, and enabling teams. Influence and empathy become the differentiators.
Senior Director, Digital Trust at DigiCert | IoT & PKI Security Leader | Enabling Secure, Scalable Cybersecurity for Connected Devices
3moJohn, you’ve hit the nail on the head about our collective struggle for a new metaphor. Despite decades of knowledge work, so many organizations are still stuck in a factory mindset—measuring productivity, quality, and even employee potential as if we’re all still assembling widgets on an assembly line. That legacy thinking isn’t just outdated; it’s actively holding us back as AI starts to reshape not just what we do, but how we define value itself. As you point out, the real disruption with AI isn’t just efficiency—it’s the potential to fundamentally rewire what “work” means. We’re on the edge of moving past mere automation and into true augmentation, where AI takes on the mundane and the repetitive, and people are finally free to move up the value chain. But the old factory metaphors are useless here. What’s needed is a new way of seeing—and talking about—the unique contributions only humans can bring as the baseline keeps rising. Here’s an analogy I’ve been thinking about, riffing off Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—a “Hierarchy of Workplace Value Contribution” for the age of AI:
Long term industry analyst makes good
3moHenry Wadsworth Longfellow: The Village Smithy https://poets.org/poem/village-blacksmith