Businesses play a pivotal role in shaping society because they facilitate the relationship between people and work. At their core, every business—regardless of size or complexity—represents a system of unique elements organized into a cohesive structure. This structure does two key things:
- Generates Value: Creates goods, services, or outcomes that fulfill a need or solve a problem. Without value creation, the business lacks a purpose and fails to establish its reason for existence.
- Delivers Value: Translates that output into a product or service that reaches a segment of society (market or niche). Even the most innovative product or service is meaningless if it doesn’t reach its intended market in a way that satisfies customer expectations or solves a problem.
This process of generating and delivering value is broken into jobs, carried out by groups of people, referred to as employees, who collectively perform the day-to-day work of the business. The connection to jobs and employees highlights the operational reality that these processes rely on people, teamwork, and structured workflows. It emphasizes that businesses aren’t just abstract entities but systems of human activity organized toward a common goal.
Why This Matters in the Cognitive Revolution
The specific way billions of people use their brains for 8-12 hours a day is determined by the structure, vision, and values of the businesses they work for.
Businesses act as gatekeepers of cognitive activity:
- They define tasks and priorities. Employees’ cognitive energy is directed toward the outcomes and metrics businesses deem important and valuable.
- They shape the tools and environments. The alignment with AI, automation, and technology in businesses determines whether employees are liberated from repetitive work or remain bogged down by it.
- They influence purpose and fulfillment. A company’s vision and values determine whether work is engaging, meaningful, and aligned with the overarching trajectory of society.
This is why businesses—across all sizes and industries—are at the forefront of the cognitive revolution that AI is driving. As AI takes over low-cognition tasks and frees up human potential, businesses hold the power to decide:
- How will this newly freed cognitive bandwidth be redirected?
- What types of work will humans focus on next?
- How will the concept of value creation be redefined?
- How will the relationship between people and work evolve in a post-AI world?
The Importance of Vision
The transformation of society doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens through the decisions made by the leaders of businesses. Their vision determines:
- Whether AI is used to enhance creativity, innovation, and human potential or simply to maximize efficiency.
- How employees are empowered to develop and contribute at higher levels of cognition.
- What kind of definable value their organization creates and delivers to society as a whole.
Every business, no matter how small, plays a role in shaping this future. Together, these decisions define not just the next chapter of work, but the next chapter of human progress.