What Got You Here Won’t Keep You Here: A Letter to Engineering Directors
Engineering directors have 18 months to prove they can transform teams for AI. The market in 2028 will have directors with proven transformation track records. Will you be one of them?
Capability is the only durable AI moat. Tooling is rented; capability compounds.
Treat AI as an organizational transformation, not a technical upgrade.
Sustainable competitive advantage in AI stems from an organization's capacity to integrate, adapt, and innovate with AI systems, not from isolated tool adoption. This requires systemic changes in process, governance, and skill.
The effective deployment of AI agents requires organizational redesign to leverage amplified individual contributions. This includes re-evaluating team structures and hierarchies based on new productivity baselines.
Robust governance frameworks are essential to enable speed and maintain quality in AI-augmented workflows. These frameworks must be developed in collaboration with compliance functions and validated through measurable outcomes.
Investing in the systematic development of AI-specific capabilities across the workforce yields tangible business results. This involves assessing current skills, identifying gaps, and creating targeted programs for proficiency.
The first question for any AI program: what does this organization measure, and what does the measurement reward?
Capability is the only durable AI moat. Tooling is rented; capability compounds.
Treat AI as an organizational transformation, not a technical upgrade.
Sustainable competitive advantage in AI stems from an organization's capacity to integrate, adapt, and innovate with AI systems, not from isolated tool adoption. This requires systemic changes in process, governance, and skill.
The effective deployment of AI agents requires organizational redesign to leverage amplified individual contributions. This includes re-evaluating team structures and hierarchies based on new productivity baselines.
Robust governance frameworks are essential to enable speed and maintain quality in AI-augmented workflows. These frameworks must be developed in collaboration with compliance functions and validated through measurable outcomes.
Investing in the systematic development of AI-specific capabilities across the workforce yields tangible business results. This involves assessing current skills, identifying gaps, and creating targeted programs for proficiency.
The first question for any AI program: what does this organization measure, and what does the measurement reward?
After 20 years in software development, Norman is both a hands-on leader and defining the new age of AI SDLC for some of the biggest brands in the world — and exploring it with the builders. He writes here about things he is hearing and seeing. All posts are his personal points of view and do not reflect any employer or any customer he has ever had contact with.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not represent the positions of any employer, client, or affiliated organization.
