THE OPERATORS AI CAN'T REPLACE
How to use your humanity as a competitive edge.
THE REAL FEAR ABOUT AI
Maybe the scariest thing about AI isn’t what it can do.
It’s what it reveals about us.
Strip away the admin. The technical execution. The templates, systems, and deliverables. Hand those over to AI, automations, and LLMs.
What’s left?
Just you.
And maybe that’s the part that’s terrifying.
Because if the systems can be automated, if the work can be templated, then we’re exposed. No process to hide behind. No “that’s just how we do things here” to lean on. Just our judgment, instincts, and humanity.
The modern workplace trained us to flatten ourselves.
To be efficient. Polished. Professional. Brand-safe.
Head down. Do your job. Don’t rock the boat.
We built armour to survive work — and now we’re afraid to take it off.
We buried our humanity so deeply, we’ve forgotten where we left it.
THE AI MOMENT DEMANDS SOMETHING DIFFERENT
This moment — the AI moment — doesn’t reward sameness.
It asks for the opposite.
It asks us to be our most human.
The instincts.
The empathy.
The nuance.
The weirdness.
The very things we were told to bury to succeed in the modern workforce.
And here’s the harder fear to name:
What if we’ve hidden that side of ourselves so well, we can’t access it anymore?
If AI can handle the technical work, and the only edge left is your humanity…
What happens if you don’t trust yours?
What happens if you’ve spent years being “good at work” — and lost the thing that made you irreplaceable in the first place?
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE WITHOUT TRUST IS EMPTY
I’ve worked inside organisations where:
Systems were tight
Automation was humming
Strategy looked flawless on paper
And yet… the team felt off.
Decisions stalled.
People burned out.
Trust was thin.
Here’s the sharpest instinct I’ve developed over time:
Most “process problems” are actually people problems.
You don’t fix that with another tool.
MAYBE AI ISN’T REPLACING US — MAYBE WE ALREADY DID
Maybe the fear isn’t that AI will replace us.
Maybe it’s that we already started replacing ourselves.
In trying to be safe, we became robotic.
In trying to be palatable, we lost our edge.
But your humanness — your contradictions, instincts, and deep knowing — isn’t a liability.
It’s the point.
The work now isn’t to outperform machines.
It’s to remember how to be human in a system that trained you to forget.
WHAT THE IRREPLACEABLE OPERATORS DO DIFFERENTLY
The operators who will survive this AI wave aren’t chasing every new technical hack.
They know when to use the tech to buy back time.
And when to shut the laptop and trust their gut.
They:
Sense tension before it shows up in metrics
Know when something’s off — even if no one says it
Say the thing that needs to be said, in a way people can actually hear
These are the operators you don’t replace.
These are the ones who decide how they work, who they work with, and what gets their energy — because they bring something no tool ever will.
Here’s what that actually looks like in practice.
LET AI CLEAR THE CLUTTER — SO YOU CAN DO THE REAL WORK
Learn the tools.
Use the tech.
Automate anything that drains your energy or wastes your time.
That’s not selling out — it’s buying your attention back.
The best operators don’t spend their days drowning in Asana busywork or tweaking slide decks. They use AI to handle the noise so they can focus on:
Humans
Strategy
Conflict
Nuance
Decisions that actually move things forward
Automate where you can.
Reinvest that time where only you can add value.
That’s the play.
USE YOUR HUMAN RADAR — IT’S A SUPERPOWER
You’ve been in those meetings.
Everyone nods.
Everyone agrees.
“Sounds great.”
But you notice the pause.
The shift in tone.
The vibe that says: we’re not aligned.
That’s your edge.
AI can’t see it.
But you can.
You’ve clocked burnout before it shows up in reports.
You’ve felt conflict simmering before it explodes.
This isn’t “soft stuff.”
It’s the skill set that keeps businesses functioning.
Trust what you’re picking up on.
Ask the question no one else is asking.
Name the thing in the room.
That’s what makes you irreplaceable.
DELIVER FEEDBACK LIKE A HUMAN — NOT A HELP DESK
AI can write a flawless performance review template.
What it can’t do?
Make someone feel genuinely seen.
Real feedback isn’t about praise or critique.
It’s about presence.
Specificity.
Honesty that builds trust instead of breaking it.
You already know how to do this.
You’ve told the truth to power without being dismissed.
You’ve made hard calls and brought people with you — not against you.
That’s leadership.
Keep doing that.
TRUST YOUR JUDGMENT — EVEN WHEN THE DATA LOOKS “FINE”
Sometimes everything looks good on paper.
But you can feel it’s not.
The team’s tense.
Engagement is low.
Nothing’s technically wrong — but nothing’s quite right either.
That’s your cue.
Not to fix a system.
To check in with the humans.
Maybe they need clarity.
Maybe they need space.
Maybe they need to be in a room together and actually talk.
Knowing when to skip the OKR framework and plan an offsite instead?
That’s not woo.
That’s wisdom.
USE AI TO AMPLIFY YOUR JUDGMENT — NOT REPLACE IT
I use AI every day.
I build client workspaces.
Draft from transcripts.
Turn messy notes into real plans.
But the judgment? That’s mine.
The questions? Mine.
The timing, strategy, and people decisions? Also mine.
AI helps me work faster.
It doesn’t make me sharper.
That part’s on me.
THE REAL WORK NOW
Don’t waste time trying to out-AI the AI.
Become the person who:
Sees what’s actually happening
Asks the right question at the right moment
Knows when to pivot, pause, or push back — without breaking trust
This week:
Make one decision based on your gut, not the data
Say the thing no one else is saying
Automate one task so you can focus on something human
You’re not here to compete with machines.
You’re here to do what they never will.
Bring the clarity.
Build the trust.
Read the room.
Say the real thing.
Lead like someone people actually want to follow.
That’s the work that still matters.
And it’s yours.
WEEKLY Q&A
“HOW DO I GET PEOPLE TO USE THE DAMN CRM?”
Got a question? Message me on LinkedIn.
Dear MA,
I’m stuck pulling reports for quarterly KPI check-ins. Now that layoffs are looming, those reports are monthly.
I actually enjoy the data work — but every month, half the data is missing. I end up chasing the sales team every single time.
How do I get people to actually use the CRM?
Signed,
A very, very tired data geek
Dear Very, Very Tired,
Confession time.
I used to be your problem person.
Back when I worked in fundraising, we used a CRM called Raiser’s Edge. I hated it. Clunky. Unintuitive. I kept everything in my head and thought, “I’m the only one who needs this anyway.”
I wasn’t malicious.
I was detached.
And I was creating chaos for someone else.
That’s the key insight here:
If your sales team isn’t feeling the pain of a broken process, they have no incentive to change it.
Here’s what I’d do:
1. CALL A MEETING
Not accusatory. Just real.
2. WALK THEM THROUGH YOUR WORKFLOW
Show the gaps. Show the time cost. Frame it as shared impact, not blame.
3. SPELL OUT THE STAKES
When data is missing, you look sloppy — even when it’s not your fault.
4. GIVE THEM A REASON TO CARE
What could you be working on if you weren’t chasing numbers?
5. MAKE THE FIX BRAIN-DEAD SIMPLE
Loom video. One-pager. Calendar reminder. Reduce friction.
And if none of that works?
Loop in leadership.
Because consistent data entry is a leadership issue — not a you issue.
Rooting for you (and your sanity),
MA
RABBIT HOLES
CURATED FINDS FOR THE INTELLECTUALLY CURIOUS
Jules Fedele on why “personal branding” advice isn’t actually personal: Read here
The Portfolio Lab on the “ambition recession”: Read here
Mel Robbins on the NYT podcast and the “Let Them” theory: Listen here
Renee Shaw on the “996” trend (funny and unsettling): Watch here
