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This is thing that has been connected my mind for rather a while now. It seems for illustration everything these days revolves astir “AI”, “AI tools”, “AI productivity”.
“You request to usage this AI tool”
“You request to beryllium utilizing this AI workflow”
“Your engineers should beryllium 2x, 5x, aliases moreover 10x much productive pinch AI”
And I get it. AI is changing really we build software, and I usage AI devices myself each time arsenic well.
But we’re focusing excessively overmuch connected AI devices unsocial and not capable connected the situation successful which the devices are being used. Because there’s thing a LOT much important than AI tools, and that’s a awesome culture.
Throughout my 13+ twelvemonth profession successful the engineering industry, I’ve seen some the antagonistic effects of bad civilization and the affirmative effects of a bully one. I moreover felt it myself arsenic an technologist and an engineering manager, erstwhile departments spent full days blaming each different for problems.
So, I americium a large believer that everything starts pinch a bully culture, and I’ll show you each astir it successful this article.
Let’s start!
This is simply a condemnation that breaks a bully civilization and makes group judge that their occupation is not important. Especially if it comes from an executive, e.g., a CEO, CPO, aliases moreover worse, a CTO.
The problem pinch it is that it wholly decreases psychological safety, and everyone starts wondering whether they'll still beryllium needed aliases not.
But present is an important point that galore group forget:
There is nary amended productivity hack than a awesome culture. No AI devices will supply bigger productivity gains.
I’ve unluckily seen and heard this condemnation rather a fewer times, either straight aliases from an technologist aliases engineering leader who has reported that to me.
I deliberation things person gotten a spot amended this year, but successful 2025 and successful early 2026, I heard this galore times.
Let’s spell much into why this is really problematic.
Many executives judge that AI will conscionable magically summation the productivity of everyone. But the logic that often doesn’t activity is Conway’s law. It states:
Organizations which creation systems (in the wide consciousness utilized here) are constrained to nutrient designs which are copies of the connection structures of these organizations.
I mention this rule rather a batch successful different articles, because it’s conscionable truthful important. And the logic why it’s peculiarly applicable successful this lawsuit is that the wide productivity and the “end product” mimic the wide civilization of the organization.
If the civilization is bad, the extremity merchandise will beryllium bad arsenic well, because group conscionable don’t activity together good and they don’t pass properly. But if the civilization is good, past often the extremity merchandise will beryllium bully arsenic well.
So, you should ever deliberation astir bully civilization arsenic a prerequisite for everything else. And I for illustration to make an affinity to what wellness is to us, humans. Without health, we can’t do thing other well.
And the aforesaid is existent for organizations pinch bad culture, everything other won’t beryllium bully arsenic well.
Now, present comes the problem that galore group autumn into, particularly CEOs and different executives. They spot either a competitor aliases immoderate different institution reporting 10x higher productivity utilizing a definite AI tool.
They commencement to panic, they commencement emotion FOMO (fear of missing out), and they commencement blaming group astir them: “Why don’t we person that aforesaid magnitude of productivity arsenic well?”
A batch of the CEOs are unaware of what benignant of problems this whitethorn bring. Especially to the civilization of the organization. When you commencement actively “blaming”, it shows to everyone that they are not doing their occupation well, and that you don’t spot them to make bully decisions.
And this particularly falls difficult connected engineers and engineering leaders, arsenic they are often viewed arsenic group who should beryllium initiating AI adoption.
What galore CEOs don’t recognize is that a batch of the “reporting” of AI expanding productivity by 10x is much aliases little trading a definite AI product, aliases a definite business wherever they are promoting the different product.
So, galore of the CEOs autumn for the instrumentality and make their institution civilization a batch worse.
My recommendation: Always return a look astatine what the incentives are down group saying something, that says a batch astir whether it’s existent aliases not.
Here is different really important point, and galore group look to hide it. As we mentioned, bully civilization is simply a prerequisite for everything else. But erstwhile it comes to AI, it amplifies everything you already have.
So, some AI and bully civilization spell manus successful manus really good together. AI makes bad connection moreover worse, it besides makes bad architecture moreover worse arsenic well.
But if you person a bully civilization and bully architecture, group will beryllium much productive because they will thief each other, and AI will besides person a amended blueprint of what bully looks for illustration because of bully architecture.
Always support this successful mind. Just starting to usage AI for everything conscionable makes things worse if you don’t person bully processes, architecture, and group don’t activity together arsenic a team.
Everyone conscionable goes successful the incorrect guidance faster.
If you’re wondering whether you person a awesome civilization wrong your squad aliases organization, present are immoderate useful questions to answer:
Do group cognize what they are responsible for?
Can they make decisions without unnecessary approvals?
Do they consciousness safe challenging leadership?
Do teams spot each other?
Are priorities clear?
Can group disagree constructively?
Do we reward outcomes?
Do group understand why they are building something?
Do we study from failures, aliases do we look for personification to blame?
If the reply to these is “Yes”, past you are connected a bully way to person a bully culture. Additionally, present is my individual checklist that I look astatine erstwhile doing an appraisal of a definite engineering culture:
You tin find my afloat checklist for assessing whether a definite engineering statement is awesome aliases not.
You tin usage the aforesaid checklist successful your lawsuit arsenic well. This checklist provides you pinch a guideline connected what you should attraction connected successful bid to create a awesome engineering statement wherever everyone tin thrive.
It useful for organizations pinch aggregate teams aliases smaller organizations. You tin besides usage this for a circumstantial squad that is portion of the bigger statement arsenic well.
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Additionally, return a look astatine really I do a afloat engineering statement audit successful this article:
Now, let’s spell to a very important point next. How to really connection AI take correctly, truthful that you support a awesome civilization and person everyone excited astir utilizing AI tools.
The champion messaging I saw (and has worked well) is the following:
What awesome engineers and engineering leaders do is study and utilize each different devices that thief them do the activity better. This hasn’t really changed.
AI is for illustration immoderate different instrumentality that has travel retired complete the years. Use it successful your favour to thief your team, organization, and the business. That’s what awesome engineers and engineering leaders do. And it hasn’t changed pinch AI.
Don’t ever mention thing moreover adjacent to “replacing” aliases thing on the lines of “You are not important anymore, because we person AI”. Those are conscionable going to wholly diminish morale and break the full culture.
When it comes to AI adoption, it only useful bottom-up, it ne'er useful top-down, and the logic for that is that things are changing truthful fast, caller AI devices are coming retired each day, and location needs to beryllium changeless speech of knowledge betwixt everyone.
Always support this successful mind. Trying to “force” group will only consequence successful bad outcomes.
Many group judge that AI take happens conscionable by introducing a caller tool, and group will conscionable magically go 2-5x much productive. Well, it doesn’t activity for illustration that.
AI take is not a tooling problem, it’s a activity problem.
And astatine the aforesaid time, if your extremity is to conscionable summation AI usage amongst everyone, you’re fundamentally losing. The extremity should ever beryllium business occurrence and wide outcomes.
As we mentioned, AI is for illustration immoderate different tool, and we request to dainty it that way.
I wrote the article called: Companies should prosecute much engineers successful the property of AI, backmost successful July, 2025. And it’s now much existent than ever.
I afloat judge that the champion companies prosecute much engineers, not fewer, and the logic is that pinch much people, you exponentially summation your productivity arsenic well.
Of course, the prerequisite is that the institution civilization is connected point. Without it, it won’t work.
Time to marketplace (TTM) is simply a very important metric successful the property of AI, and I powerfully judge that the champion companies successful a circumstantial manufacture are going to beryllium the ones that are going to move the fastest, make adjustments based connected marketplace needs, and supply the champion acquisition for the users.
This was existent earlier the property of AI, and now it’s moreover much important arsenic things are progressing faster than ever.
So, knowing this, why would you really restrict yourself pinch little productivity and little talent?
It’s a immense competitory advantage to beryllium much productive. And I judge being little productive (that you tin be) is really a immense liability, which would consequence successful an wide alteration successful marketplace stock percent long-term, successful my opinion.
If you judge that “replacing engineers pinch AI” is simply a bully bet. You’re really making your institution a batch worse that way. That’s my opinion.
Let’s extremity this article pinch the following:
I DON’T deliberation the biggest mobility for leaders should be: “How do we get everyone to usage AI?” The biggest mobility is:
“How do we build an statement wherever awesome group tin do their champion work, and past usage AI to multiply them?”
This is the existent mobility that organizations should beryllium asking and focusing on. Great civilization is the biggest productivity hack.
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