The Manager's New Brief

A field guide

The Manager's New Brief

Leading people, work, and judgment in the age of AI

Introduction

  1. 0.1 Introduction

Part I — The mandate

  1. 1.1 Ch. 1 — What Management Is For (and What It Isn’t)
  2. 2.1 Ch. 2 — The Player-Coach: Managing Consultants and the Three Modes
  3. 3.1 Ch. 3 — Your First Operating System: Time, Attention, and Trade-offs
  4. 4.1 Ch. 4 — Trust as Infrastructure

Part II — Directing the work

  1. 5.1 Ch. 5 — Clarity Before Velocity: Goals, Priorities, and Scope
  2. 6.1 Ch. 6 — Decision-Making When Information Is Cheap and Judgment Is Scarce
  3. 7.1 Ch. 7 — Meetings, Writing, and the Rhythm of a Healthy Team

Part III — Leading people

  1. 8.1 Ch. 8 — Hiring for Judgment, Not Just Skills
  2. 9.1 Ch. 9 — Feedback, Coaching, and the 1:1
  3. 10.1 Ch. 10 — Performance, Growth, and Difficult Conversations
  4. 11.1 Ch. 11 — Motivation, Belonging, and Psychological Safety

Part IV — Management in the AI era

  1. 12.1 Ch. 12 — Leading Hybrid Human + AI Workflows
  2. 13.1 Ch. 13 — Reskilling, New Roles, and the Changing Shape of Teams
  3. 14.1 Ch. 14 — Governance, Ethics, and Trust in Automated Work
  4. 15.1 Ch. 15 — Measuring What Matters When Productivity Is Easy to Fake

Part V — The long game

  1. 16.1 Ch. 16 — Managing Up, Across, and Through Change
  2. 17.1 Ch. 17 — The Manager’s Craft: Energy, Ethics, and Staying Human

Back matter

  1. 18.1 Conclusion