Coming soon · Book Profile
Reinventing Jobs
A practical four-step framework for leaders to deconstruct jobs into tasks and optimally combine human and automated work rather than asking which jobs robots will replace.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Reinventing Jobs cuts through the hype and fear about AI and robotics to give leaders a disciplined, actionable method for applying automation. Instead of the dead-end question 'which jobs will automation replace?', Jesuthasan and Boudreau show that the real payoff comes from deconstructing jobs into their component tasks, understanding the value of improved performance on each task (return on improved performance, or ROIP), matching each task to the right type of automation (robotic process automation, cognitive automation, or social robotics), and then optimally recombining human and automated work into reinvented jobs. Drawing on decades of consulting and research across banking, oil and gas, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, and retail, the book extends this logic to the organization, to leadership, and to individuals' own careers, offering a language and framework for the constant, nuanced work of perpetual reinvention.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A leader (CEO, CHRO, CIO, or manager) who wants to apply automation and AI in their organization to gain competitive advantage without needlessly disrupting or misusing their workforce.
- The problem
- AI and robotics are arriving fast, and the leader must decide where, when, and how to automate work without a reliable method for doing so. They feel stuck, anxious, and caught between apocalyptic and utopian hype, unsure whether they will make costly mistakes or fall behind.
- The plan
- Deconstruct jobs into their component work tasks.
- Assess the return on improved performance (ROIP) for each task.
- Identify automation options (RPA, cognitive automation, social robotics).
- Optimize work by choosing the best human-automation combination and reinventing jobs.
- Redesign the organization and leadership to support reinvented work.
- The payoff
- Optimal, nuanced combinations of human and automated work that advance strategic goals. · Reduced cost and risk with increased speed, quality, and innovation. · An agile, engaged, continuously reskilling workforce and a future-ready organization.
See our guide
- Compensation Analyst →
- Compensation Analyst →
- Compensation Analyst →
- Compensation Analyst →
- Do Human Resources And People Management Well →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Business Partner →
- HR Director →
- HR Director →
- HR Director →
- HR Generalist →
- HR Generalist →
- HR Generalist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Learning & Development Specialist →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
- Recruiter / Talent Acquisition →
Related profiles we’ve built
- An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization →
- Apa Handbook Io V2 →
- Applied Psychology in Human Resource Management →
- Armstrong’s Handbook of Strategic Human Resource Management →
- Beyond Hr Boudreau Ramstad →
- Antifragile (Incerto) →
- Coaching for Leadership - The Practice of Leadership Coaching from the Worlds Greatest Coaches (J-B US non-Franchise… →
- 50 Top Tools for Coaching A Complete Toolkit for Developing and Empowering People →
Additional reading
- Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organization · Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
This is the authors' previous book, which provides a deep dive into the ITC framework that is presented as a key tool in Chapter 6 and used by the fledgling DDOs in Chapter 7.
- In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life · Robert Kegan
This book lays out the foundational theory of adult development and mental complexity that underpins the entire DDO concept, explaining the 'adaptive gap' that DDOs are designed to address.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success · Carol Dweck
The book explicitly references Dweck's work, contrasting the 'fixed mindset' (prevalent in ordinary organizations) with the 'growth mindset' that is fundamental to a DDO's culture.
- Organizational Culture and Leadership · Edgar H. Schein
Mentioned in the book, Schein's work provides a foundational understanding of organizational culture, which is the primary medium through which DDOs operate.
- The Functions of the Executive · Chester Barnard (1938)
Chapter 10 identifies this book as providing the seminal concept of 'willingness to contribute to the cooperative system,' which forms the theoretical foundation for the modern construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).
- The Psychology of Careers · Donald E. Super (1957)
Chapter 3 cites this as a foundational work that established the concept of career stages, a model that has profoundly influenced career development theory and research for decades.
- Decision-making in the employment interview · E. C. Webster (1964)
Chapter 6 highlights this as the key report from the influential McGill University studies, which revealed the cognitive biases inherent in unstructured interviews and shifted the focus of research toward understanding the interviewer's decision process.
- Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures · Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Multiple chapters (e.g., 13, 15) refer to this document and the related AERA/APA/NCME 'Standards' as the authoritative professional guidelines that define best practices and core concepts, like the modern unitarian view of validity, for the entire field of personnel selection.
- Managing Human Assets · Beer, M. et al. (1984)
This is a seminal book that introduced the 'Harvard framework' of HRM, emphasizing a multi-stakeholder approach that considers the interests of employees, not just shareholders. It provides a foundational 'soft' HRM perspective.
- Strategic Human Resource Management · Fombrun, C. J., Tichy, N. M. and Devanna, M. A. (1984)
This book introduced the 'Michigan framework,' which advocated for a 'hard' HRM approach focused on tightly matching HR strategy to the business strategy (vertical fit). It is a foundational text for the strategic alignment concept.