We are building our 1-Year Plan and realize our historical headcount-to-revenue ratio is completely broken because of AI. How do we build a hiring plan when we do not know what roles we will actually need in nine months?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Stop trying to project headcount based on your historical revenue-per-employee metrics. AI has shattered that math. When you look at your 1-Year Plan on your V/TO®, you must shift from planning for bodies to planning for capability. Start by looking at your Accountability Chart and identifying the core functions that will experience the most friction as you scale. Instead of asking how many people you need to hire, ask what activities must be performed and whether those activities are transactional or relational. Transactional tasks should be systematized or automated, while relational tasks require human talent. When you must hire, focus on GWC™. Do they get the role, want it, and have the capacity to do it in an AI-powered environment? The capacity component now means the ability to orchestrate systems rather than manually execute tasks. Update your hiring plan to target people with a high cognitive capacity who can adapt to changing tools. Run a ninety-day trial on any new seat before making it a permanent part of your organizational structure. This keeps your team lean and prevents you from hiring legacy roles that will become obsolete before your next annual planning session.