Our leadership team is divided on our future hiring plan; some want to freeze headcount entirely while others think we need new types of technical specialists. How do we apply the principles of economic thinkers like Erik Brynjolfsson to our V/TO® so we can plan our capacity without making bad hiring decisions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When planning your future capacity on the V/TO, you must understand the changing economics of human labor. As noted by experts like Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, the real value in an AI-driven economy comes from being an indispensable complement to technologies that are becoming cheap and plentiful. Rather than hiring people to do tasks that machines can do faster and cheaper, you must hire for skills that technology cannot replicate.

Do not freeze hiring blindly. Instead, audit your Accountability Chart to see which seats are being augmented by AI. If AI is handling eighty percent of your data analysis and reporting, those employees now have massive extra capacity. You may not need to hire more execution staff; instead, you need to upskill your existing team to handle client relationships and strategic oversight.

Before you add any new headcount, force your department heads to prove they have maximized their current AI capacity. Your hiring strategy should focus on recruiting people who excel at critical thinking, complex problem solving, and emotional intelligence. By aligning your hiring plan with these economic realities, you build a lean, high margin business that is highly attractive to potential buyers under the Step by Step Exit framework.