ONE // AI Upskilling Becomes a Business Imperative

Companies are accelerating AI training as generative AI transforms jobs and workflows. Businesses are rolling out structured programs, cohort-based learning, and AI-powered training tools to ensure employees keep pace.

Why It Matters

AI is changing how work gets done. Employees need AI literacy and technical skills to stay competitive, while businesses that invest in workforce upskilling will see stronger innovation and efficiency gains.

By the Numbers

• $154B: Projected corporate AI training spend by 2027.

• 2M+: People Amazon has trained in AI, hitting its goal a year early.

• 60%: Share of companies prioritizing AI literacy for employees in 2025.

What They’re Saying

• "The only way to unlock all of generative AI’s potential is to ensure your workforce has both the technical and soft skills needed to think critically and experiment confidently." — Maureen Lonergan, Amazon Web Services

The Bottom Line: AI training is a foundation for long-term growth. Companies that integrate AI education into their workforce strategy will create more adaptable teams, improve decision-making, and open new opportunities for innovation.

Source: Chief Learning Officer

TWO // Breaking the Cycle of Busyness: Slow Productivity and AI’s Next Wave

Harvard Business School’s Joe Fuller sits down with Cal Newport to dissect the modern knowledge worker’s biggest challenges: endless digital distractions, the myth of busyness, and the evolving role of AI in reshaping productivity. Newport advocates for "slow productivity," a framework that prioritizes deep focus and long-term impact over the frantic pace of daily work.

Key Takeaways

• The Productivity Trap: Knowledge workers mistake constant activity for meaningful work. The rise of email, instant messaging, and mobile access has accelerated the cycle, making focus nearly impossible.

• AI’s Unfulfilled Promise: Despite rapid advancements, AI has yet to deliver a transformative leap in workplace productivity. The next phase will require integrating AI into tailored applications rather than relying on broad, unfocused solutions.

• Remote Work’s Structural Flaws: The push to return to offices reflects deeper issues. Newport argues remote work can be highly effective, but only if companies replace ad-hoc workflows with structured collaboration.

• AI as a Workplace Optimizer: The first major impact of AI will be helping workers unlock advanced software features, bridging skill gaps rather than replacing jobs outright.

• Regulation vs. Innovation: The debate over AI oversight remains muddled. Newport warns against regulatory capture by tech giants and urges policymakers to focus on how AI integrates into real-world applications.

The Bottom Line: Organizations that rethink productivity (limiting distractions, restructuring workflows, and integrating AI where it adds real value) will be the ones setting the pace. Those stuck waiting for the perfect AI solution will find themselves reacting instead of leading.

Source: Harvard Business School, Managing the Future of Work Podcast

THREE // Big Tech’s AI Bet Comes at a Human Cost

Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach made a difficult call: cutting 1,750 jobs, or 8.5% of the workforce, to free up capital for AI investments. The restructuring—Workday’s largest layoff in history—reflects a broader trend as companies prioritize automation and artificial intelligence over headcount.

Why It Matters:

• Workday joins Salesforce, Microsoft, and Meta in shedding jobs while ramping up AI spending.

• Executives argue AI will not displace workers in the long run, but instead transform workflows and create new roles.

• Eschenbach insists Workday’s headcount will rebound as the company reinvests in AI-driven growth.

What They’re Saying:

• "The workforce will peacefully coexist with AI," Eschenbach says, calling the shift an opportunity for workers to become more productive, not obsolete.

• Aneel Bhusri, Workday’s co-founder, sees AI as a tool to enhance strategic thinking, urging CEOs to embrace role-based AI agents that transform entire workstreams.

The Bottom Line: Workday’s restructuring signals a stark reality: even as AI promises efficiency and new opportunities, companies are making painful trade-offs to finance the transition. For many employees, AI’s impact on job security remains far from reassuring.

Source: Modern CEO via Fast Company

Extra Credit

For the overachievers: These are the stories that didn’t crack the top three but are too important to ignore—quick hits on what’s happening and why it matters.

AI's Economic Replatforming

Key Takeaway: AI is reshaping enterprise software by shifting value to data and compute platforms, challenging legacy technology stacks, and creating new investment opportunities.

Why It Matters: Infrastructure software will capture the next wave of AI-driven growth, following the pattern of past tech shifts where software firms eventually dominated market value after hardware-led booms.

Source: Goldman Sachs

Cathie Wood Sees AI-Driven Boom as Rolling Recession Ends

Key Takeaway: ARK Invest founder Cathie Wood predicts the U.S. economy is on the verge of a major shift, moving from a prolonged "rolling recession" to a surge in productivity driven by artificial intelligence, deregulation, and fiscal policy changes. She sees real GDP growth more than doubling historical rates, despite current market turbulence.

Why It Matters: Wood’s outlook suggests AI and emerging technologies could fuel one of the strongest economic expansions in history. If her forecast holds, investors may see a shift away from the dominant "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks toward broader innovation-driven growth.

Source: In the Know with Cathie Wood Podcast

Want to chat about AI, work, and where it’s all headed? Let’s connect. Find me on LinkedIn and drop me a message.

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