Our Inspiration
Shape the integration of humans and AI as a workforce to serve the organization, individual, and humanity.
The Challenge
How, When, and Why to prepare and leverage market forces to create an Unfair Competitive Advantage ™
Exchanging Stress for Opportunity
Typical hierarchal structures have not changed for over a century. As startups scale, adding layers of management, processes, and controls they become complex, waste creeps in such as excess meetings, up and down decision making, and talent misuse. The management overhead grows. The unseen hard-to-quantify consequences are employee disengagement, the feeling of being “headcount”, replaceable. The result is organizational stress and frequently a toxic culture.
These organizations will be left behind as the capability of AI to perform human tasks/work matures. New paradigms will emerge. For example, the least amount of managing to get the right work done creates a more adaptable more capable organization. High performing organizations will strive for simplicity, fewer processes, customer driven decision-making. The value of work must be clear at all levels, applying the talent (humans) and AI that allows the allocation and optimization of a human/AI hybrid workforce. The ability to achieve this new form of organization and decision making will yield an Unfair Competitive Advantage™ to the early adaptors. A far bigger impact than the internet.
Transforming from 2D to 3D Operating Model™
2D Operating Model
3D Operating Model
Why HumanCentric Labs (HCL)?
For more than a decade Founders of HumanCentric Labs have been focused on the inherit organizational complexity, waste, inertia, and disengagement of traditional management structures. We believe the root cause boils down to the financial planning model and the hierarchical headcount structure, decision making, and control. While we don’t claim to have all the answers, we do have success with our clients through proof of concept and a powerful technology driven by a service-based transformation framework where each implemented step demonstrates value.
Introducing the “+AI” Initiative
Transforming from a 2D tactical organization into a 3D strategy Human+AI organization
Our Thesis
To achieve an advantage an organization must achieve a high degree of adaptability and operating model to optimize the return on Talent (human) and AI.
Talent+AI ROI™
TalentROI™ Drives Org Design and Adaptability
Who Owns the Return of Talent? In 2D Organizations no one owns the return on talent – Not HR because they only influence not drive TalentROI. Not Finance who owns cost. As organizations transform to 3D Operating Models™, resource decision making can no longer rely on cost. AI is not an FTE/headcount. The new workforce must be measured on both value and cost. The organization structure needs to become more transparent to the use and allocation of resources - allowing the talent and AI agents to “flow” across customer driven value chains. The TalentROI performance metric is essential to an org design where talent is managed as a supply allocated to meet the demands of the operating units.
Talent + AI Integration Questions to Address
Will the existing managing structure provide the adaptability and culture to successfully integrate Talent + AI? If Not, what will?
When, how, and why the integration of Talent and AI will shift from tactical to strategic shaped by market forces?
What will workforce and financial planning look like?
What kinds of data and processes are needed to transition?
What will a successful transformation look like in three years?
What will be the key attributes of success?
The Time to Begin 3D Transformation is Now
If organizations wait until the early adopters succeed, it my too late to catchup. Time to prepare is now. The foundation begins with a strategy where transformation goals are established, and a vision of a 3D operating model is established. Milestones are identified that start with pragmatic steps of discovery and identifying sources of innovation and leadership. To integrate talent and AI requires the entire organization to engage in identifying the changes needs to be far more adaptive including org design and developing a method that is quantitative and capable of measuring and predicting TalentROI™
Core Issue – Cost Vs. Value-Based Decision Making
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Measure the work as a value exchange – a service
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Service Revenue determined by customer value
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Manage Talent to Optimize Value TalentROI – Service Value/Labor Cost
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Organize to Optimize TalentROI
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Include AI – Service Value/(Labor +AI) Cost
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Transform the Operating Model to Include AI
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Shift 80% of Decisions from Hierarchy to Teams Improve Customer Value Streams
Creating the Adaptive 3D Operation Model™
AI is rapidly advancing from tactical productivity improvement to agents capable of assuming roles and service responsibilities currently provided by humans. A large family of LLM models are rapidly advancing as general-purpose agents and networks of agents for broad applications In addition, the ecosystem of specially focused LLMs, tools, and services are improving daily. It is unclear when these capabilities will accelerate implementation driven by market forces. Our AI experts are estimating in 18-24 months early adopters will demonstrate significant market advantages.
The time to lay the foundation of 3D operations is now. Typical milestones begin with clarifying the existing work, its value, and who benefits. This sets up an ability to understand the most important work and customer driven value chains. Part of this process includes identifying existing AI implementations, their productivity benefits, and establishing a process for continuous application improvements. Then comes an implementation strategy to address how to scale, develop leadership, reinforce a culture of trust, and motivation. New performance metrics are developed to measure the value of work and TalentROI. During this transformation, the advance of AI agents and networks are being integrated into the workforce planning, managing, and financial process. The 3D operating model emerges and becomes a reality.
Journey to Achieve Adaptive 3D Operating Model
Our +AI Executive Team
Our +AI team covers the five key roles to provide our clients the insight, leadership support, and technology to transition to a 3D Operating Model. Kate Elkins is an expert on LLM technology from its inception. She currently works with Meta, Bloomberg, IBM, PE firms, …. providing guidance and insight regarding AI use cases and future expectations. Reddy Mallidi has a deep operating background including COO roles for Autodesk and ADP operating units. He is also the author of AI Unleased, and support clients in AI applications. Stan Gibson is a 35-year veteran and former SVP of Wells Fargo. He has extensive executive coaching experience focused on leadership and personal development. Michael Schulz brings European/Asia experience including COO and Chief People Officer roles at Veon and Puma Energy. Michael Grove, HumanCentric Labs Founder, brings extensive operating experience in CEO and executive roles. He has developed technology and a framework to support the transformation from 2D to 3D Operating Model.
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Michael Grove
FOUNDER, Chief Organizer
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Katherine Elkins
Chief AI Officer
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Michael Schulz
Chief Talent Operations Officer
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Stan Gibson
Chief Leadership Officer
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Reddy Mallidi
Chief AI Applications Officer
