Lab Notes
AI adoption that compounds
A public note every two weeks for people putting AI to work with their teams. Each issue follows one development, says what we think, and leaves a move you can try.
Your imaginary customers have excellent manners
AI can invent an audience on demand. Keep asking where useful knowledge comes from, and who will create the next good example.
October 14, 2026
Evidence and value
The off switch is a skill
Knowing when to close AI is part of knowing how to use it. Habit, useful work, and the skills worth keeping in practice.
September 30, 2026
AI fluency
Keep your own answer in the room
A human signature cannot prove independent judgment. Two stories on the space between an AI recommendation and a decision worth owning.
September 16, 2026
Evidence and value · AI fluency
Retire the ritual
An AI agent can give an old process a new lease on life. First ask whether anyone still needs the work it produces.
September 2, 2026
Work design · Evidence and value
Who gets the bill?
AI can finish its part while leaving the costs with someone else. Count the review work and the operating bill before the victory lap.
August 19, 2026
Evidence and value
Show us what good looks like
AI collaboration deserves a clearer success story. Google's usage data and Salesforce's engineering practice offer a place to start.
August 5, 2026
AI fluency
Give people room to be bad at this
A bank's HR hackathon and an argument for AI rehearsal point toward a better way to learn: make an imperfect attempt worth something.
July 22, 2026
AI fluency · People and teams
The expert is still in the room
Coding agents reward people who understand the problem. What would it take for your team to build, maintain, and improve its own solutions?
July 8, 2026
Building with AI · AI fluency
Someone still has to make the team work
AI changes the tasks. The work of coordinating people, decisions, and shared knowledge deserves a closer look.
June 24, 2026
People and teams · Work design
Keep some friction in the work
Faster execution is useful. So is the part of doing the work that teaches you how to judge it.
June 10, 2026
AI fluency
Your dashboard is getting very good at its job
Usage streaks, survey scores, and polished prototypes can all look excellent while the useful result stays elusive.
May 27, 2026
Evidence and value
Give people better decisions
When agents do more of the execution, the human part of the workflow deserves a better brief than “click approve.”
May 13, 2026
Work design
Change the work before the job title
AI adoption gets interesting where work gets stuck: unwritten rules, awkward handoffs, changing roles, and the people who can build something useful.
April 29, 2026
Work design · People and teams
Make AI earn its place
AI earns its place when it has a clear job. This issue looks at useful writing tools, specialized agents, and the joy of unnecessary AI features.
April 15, 2026
Work design · Building with AI
You Added AI. The Workflow Still Needs Work.
A draft in seconds can still wait a week for approval. Five stories on the decisions, checks, and human capabilities that make AI useful.
April 1, 2026
Work design
AI Makes More Work Possible. Who Sets the Pace?
Faster output can become a bigger workload. Five stories on coordination, sustainable pace, and how people keep learning as AI changes their tasks.
February 16, 2026
Work design · People and teams