Thinking about "Semi-autonomous" AI
For decades, “computing” meant something very specific: we told machines exactly what to do, step by step, and they did it—fast, consistently, and without ever coloring outside the lines. Today, with AI, we’re crossing into something very different: systems that don’t just execute instructions, but interpret situations, choose among options, and act with a degree of initiative. That in-between space is what many people now call semi-autonomous AI. It’s not a robot overlord
Richard Diamond
Dec 10, 20255 min read
From Automation to Agency: Why 2026 Will Break Your Project Playbook
From Automation to Agency: Why 2026 Will Break Your Project Playbook Perspective from a CIO with 40+ years in the chair In more than four decades in technology leadership, I’ve ridden every major wave: mainframes, client–server, ERP, internet, cloud, mobile, analytics, and now AI. Each one forced us to adjust how we run projects. Agentic AI — systems of semi-autonomous agents that can perceive, decide, and act — is different. Beginning in 2026, many of your “digital transfor
Richard Diamond
Dec 7, 20256 min read
No More Secret Rulebooks: What AI Will Expose About Your Culture
No More Secret Rulebooks: What AI Will Expose About Your Culture Why serious AI projects force change leaders to confront the gap between stated values and real behavior—and how to turn that into an advantage. Quick Video If you lead change, you’ve always had to navigate two versions of your organization: The one in the slide decks, values statements, and town halls. And the one people quietly describe over coffee: “Here’s how things really work.” Until now, those two versio
Richard Diamond
Dec 4, 20256 min read
Raising AI: Why It’s More Like Having a Baby Than Building a House
Why AI Is More Like Having a Baby Than Building a House Missteps and hallucinations are natural growing pains, not a verdict on the technology. Most of the public conversation about AI still sounds like a construction meeting. We talk about “building a model,” “deploying a system,” “rolling out a solution.” We expect that, after some testing and debugging, the system will do what it’s supposed to do, just like a new building is expected to stand straight, keep the rain out, a
Richard Diamond
Dec 2, 20256 min read
Mottainai and the Change Leader: What a of Non-Waste Philosophy Teaches Us About Progress
Mottainai — the Japanese philosophy of non-waste — offers change leaders a different starting point: receive what's been built with respect before asking people to let it go. Regenerative change begins with acknowledgment, not demolition.
Jennifer Diamond
Nov 6, 20254 min read
Organizational Charts for Reality
Modernizing an Industrial-Revolution Artifact for Mid-21st-Century Enterprises—Without Breaking the Org Chart Abstract Organization charts were designed for an industrial-era reality where work was primarily human labor, information moved slowly, and control depended on hierarchical supervision. Mid-21st-century enterprises operate as socio-technical systems: outcomes are produced by humans working through core platforms (ERP, CRM, PLM, MES, CMS, workflow, data platforms) and
Richard Diamond
Oct 15, 20256 min read