I’m a big fan of removing layers of abstraction between the purpose of an organization and the specific outcomes desired to achieve that purpose.
One layer of “questionable” abstraction is the standard job title. Does a title like VP of Engineering, Head of Marketing, Social Media Manager, Software Developer, C-role…
Do these titles really help people deliver on the purpose of the organization?
In some cases, maybe. It can be helpful.
But… I believe AI is transforming how work gets done and teams must adapt on the fly.
Titles don’t mean what they used to. They’ve become outdated placeholders in a reality that demands flexibility and speed.
“As roles and responsibilities rapidly evolve in a startup’s fluid environment, titles can become a hindrance, creating an unnecessary focus on hierarchy and scope rather than collaborative problem-solving.”
— The Experimentation Machine
Why Titles Are Failing Us
Titles create the illusion of clarity. They imply fixed responsibilities, even when the actual work is evolving by the day.
Hiring someone into a rigid title often limits their potential to contribute across domains or pivot when the business needs change. The very definition of a “role” can become irrelevant in weeks.
So, ask yourself:
If you could hire one person to cover ten evolving needs, what would their title be?
It doesn’t matter.
Because it’s not about the title—it’s about the job to be done.
Enter: The JTBD Mindset
The Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework, developed by late Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, offers a smarter way to think about hiring.
It reframes the question:
Not “What role are we hiring for?” but rather:
What result do we need to deliver for our customer?
What work must happen to produce that result?
Who, or what (AI included), is best suited to get it done?
Consider this:
Customers don’t want a roofing company. They want their leak fixed.
They don’t want a marketing manager. They want more customers.
They don’t want a Head of AI. They want smarter, faster workflows.
And if an AI can build your website in 3 hours instead of a person in 3 weeks. Does it really matter who did the work?
What This Means for Your Team
Hiring for jobs to be done (instead of titles) unlocks:
Less hierarchy, more shared ownership.
Faster decisions, fewer silos.
Clearer alignment, as teams rally around outcomes.
It also makes space for AI as a creative collaborator, not a competitor, enabling your team to do more with less friction.
Final Thought
Hiring for titles is a relic of the industrial age. Hiring for jobs to be done is how we build resilient, adaptive, AI-native teams.
As the pace of change accelerates, the smartest hiring question isn’t:
“What role do we need?”
It’s:
“What specific outcomes are we trying to achieve and who can make it happen?”
Inspired by The Experimentation Machine. A must-read for anyone building teams in the age of AI.