NextWork
Analysis
The Human Handoff Is Becoming Automation’s Most Important Design Problem
Companies are learning that an automated workflow is only as reliable as the moment responsibility moves between a system and a person.
NextNow / Contributor
Kevin Laird
- operations
- AI implementation
- automation
- workflow systems
- organizational design
- process improvement
- entrepreneurship
- productivity
- leadership
Reporting and analysis
Latest articles
Now
News Brief
The Tool Consolidation Cycle Has Begun
Enterprise teams are asking which overlapping platforms still deserve budget and operational attention.
NextTech
Tool Review
Which Business Tools Deserve a Place in the 2027 Operating System?
A practical framework for deciding which platforms create leverage and which add coordination cost.
NextTech
Explainer
Beyond the Demo: How to Evaluate an AI Tool in Real Operations
The best demonstration may reveal almost nothing about reliability inside a living organization.
NextWork
Explainer
The Operations Leader’s Guide to Human-AI Workflows
The highest-performing systems will define both machine autonomy and human responsibility.
NextWork
Analysis
Why Productivity Software Is Not the Same as Productive Work
The number of tools in a workflow can grow even as the quality of focused work declines.
NextWork
Analysis
What Lean Systems Can Teach AI-First Companies
Automation works best when the underlying process is visible, measurable and designed to learn.
Next Voices
Opinion
Kevin Laird: Automation Cannot Rescue a Broken Process
When teams automate ambiguity, they scale rework rather than eliminate it.
NextNow Live
Live Coverage
The Operating Model After the AI Pilot
An executive roundtable on responsibility, integration and the systems required to move beyond experimentation.