A research-based playbook for the age of AI

Large Language Models are redefining the value of human work.

Do you have a strategy to remain relevant?

The Future-Proofing Playbook is a five-step method for deciding how to stay relevant as large language models take over parts of your work. It came out of six months of research at EPFL, IMD, and HEC Lausanne. This page walks through it.

See the problem See the answer

Organisations that have already drawn on this work

Who this is for

AI strategy is organisational. The change it requires is individual.

The research asked how individuals stay relevant. That same individual level is where organisational strategy becomes practice: people deciding, task by task, what to automate, where to work with AI, and where their own contribution matters most. Adoption succeeds or stalls there.

For companies

Turn AI strategy into workforce action.

Technology can be deployed centrally. Its value is created role by role, through people changing how work gets done. The Playbook translates individual-level analysis into decisions about workforce design, capability building, and adoption.

See where work will change. Company-wide averages hide critical differences. The analysis starts task by task and individual by individual, then aggregates to teams and functions.
Decide how the workforce should respond. Identify what to automate, what to augment, which capabilities to build, and where roles need to be redesigned.
Make adoption credible. People are more likely to change when they understand what the strategy means for their own work and future.

For professionals

Decide how you should respond.

Understand what LLMs mean for your specific role, choose a strategy that fits your exposure, capabilities, and constraints, and turn it into concrete action.

For educational institutions

Prepare students for roles that are being rebuilt.

Apply the same role- and task-level view to curricula and career guidance, so students build the capabilities and make the choices their future work will require.

The problem

The problem is not that work will change. It is that almost no one has a method for responding.

The evidence is unusually clear on three points, and each of them narrows what a sensible response looks like.

Broad

Exposure spans most occupations

The grey area: most occupations, functions, and industries contain tasks that LLMs could automate, augment, or reorganise. Very few roles are simply out of scope.

Deep

In many fields, transformation will be profound

Exposure is not limited to a few peripheral tasks. In highly exposed occupations, LLMs could reach a large share of day-to-day work, reshaping workflows, skill requirements, and how value is created.

Open

The gap is your window

The distance between what LLMs could cover and what they already do is the time available to adjust deliberately, before adjustment pressure turns into disruption.

So what

The labour market is entering a major structural transformation. Yet awareness is not the bottleneck: almost everyone expects their work to change. What is missing is a defensible, strategic approach for deciding how to respond at the level of individual careers, team design, and organisations.

The answer

The Playbook: five steps from broad exposure to a strategy you can defend.

The sequence is deliberately simple. The value sits underneath it: each step carries the frameworks, decision rules, and data that turn a plausible-sounding plan into a defensible one. A sample of that depth is shown below.

123academic papers

10expert interviews with AI engineers, future of work professors, and executive coaches

19,000+tasks analysed

400+jobs analysed across 30 industries and 8 functions

Step 1 · Building readiness

Understand the transformation before choosing a response.

Readiness starts with understanding how LLMs are reshaping demand for human labour. Three forces do the work. Displacement cuts demand for human labour; the productivity and reinstatement effects preserve, increase, or create it. The balance between them determines the net effect, which is why blanket predictions are worth so little. The Playbook takes transformation as the most likely of the four scenarios: strong productivity and reinstatement effects together offset strong displacement, leaving aggregate labour demand roughly unchanged even as work is reallocated. You will find it at the foot of this exhibit. Set the three forces below and read the result.

Interactive: try it right here

The three forces acting on labour demandSet each force, then read the net effect.

Displacement effect

Automation shifts tasks previously performed by people to AI. All else equal, this reduces demand for human labour in those tasks.

Strong

Productivity effect

Automation lowers the cost of producing goods and services. If firms pass these savings on through lower prices, demand may rise, increasing production and the need for human labour in the tasks that remain.

Strong

Reinstatement effect

Technological progress creates new tasks, occupations, and industries, generating new jobs and demand for human labour.

Strong

Displacement

Productivity

Reinstatement

Net effect

Result

Labour demand is roughly unchanged

Productivity and reinstatement effect

Displacement effect

Scenario

Transformation

Both the academic literature reviewed and the expert interviews conducted for this research point to transformation as the most plausible scenario. It therefore serves as the analytical reference point for this Playbook.

Framework: Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo, “Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor”, Journal of Economic Perspectives 33(2), 2019, pp. 3 to 30. Bars show modelled contributions, not measured magnitudes.

Experience with past general-purpose technologies suggests that human labour will not disappear, but that how humans create value will change fundamentally due to large language models. Individuals therefore need to prepare actively for this shift.

What you get

A shared evidence base, and a starting position that is diagnosed rather than assumed.

Step 2 · Strategic options

Translate LLM uncertainty into four concrete strategies.

The DARE strategies define the strategic option space: Differentiate through human-centred capabilities, Augment your work with LLMs, Reposition toward growing value pools, or Evade high-exposure paths.

Each strategy responds to a different force from Step 1. Differentiation and evasion seek to avoid or reduce exposure to the displacement effect, augmentation builds on the productivity effect, and repositioning aims to capture new value pools created by the reinstatement effect.

They are not a list. They are the four quadrants of two axes: where you act, on your skill set or on your labour-market position, and why you act, to seize AI tailwinds or to reduce exposure to AI headwinds.

Interactive: try it right here

The strategy compassAnswer the two questions, or select a quadrant.

Opportunity-driven

Challenge your skill set

Challenge your positioning

Avoidance-driven

Why you act

Where you act

Vertical axis: why you act. Horizontal axis: where you act. The quadrant your two answers land in is a prompt for reflection rather than a recommendation.

What you get

A complete view of how value can still be created as LLMs reshape work, instead of one generic recommendation.

Step 3 · Strategic focus

Match the strategy to your exposure and your situation.

A funnel narrows the four options. The outside-in view is an exposure analysis: more than 19,000 tasks across 400+ jobs, 30 industries, and 8 functions, each classified by whether an LLM can automate it outright, augment the person doing it, touch it only lightly, or leave it alone. The inside-out view then tests those options against the individual’s specific context, including their capabilities, constraints, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Analysis becomes choice.

The output is a strategic focus, which may be a single strategy or a combination of strategies, chosen with reasons that can withstand challenge from a manager, a board, or a faculty.

Interactive: try it right here

From four options to one focusSet your exposure, then rate each option.

The focus falls out of two readings. The inside-out read is yours, option by option. The outside-in read comes from the exposure analysis and applies to your occupation as a whole. Set both and the list below reorders itself.

Inside-outWhat is realistic and desirable for you

Differentiation

Augmentation

Repositioning

Evasion

0 means the option is neither realistic nor wanted. 4 means it is both, and the rating is about you rather than about the strategy.

Outside-inWhat the labour market requires

How much of your occupation can an LLM automate outright? The Playbook comes with a tool that answers this for your own role.

Assess your own role →Assess your own role →

Moderate

At this level the four options are ranked on fit alone.

Repositioning and evasion each gain 1, because the case for moving out of the occupation rises with the share of it that can be automated.

Differentiation

Augmentation

Repositioning

Evasion

Combination rules

The ordering does not decide anything on its own, because the combinations are not free. Differentiation composes with everything; repositioning and evasion exclude each other, because one moves you toward new demand while the other moves you away from exposure. Select an option to see what it may be paired with.

What you get

A tailored strategic focus that is analytically grounded, internally consistent, and realistic for the situation.

Run this step on your own situation, in about fifteen minutes →

Step 4 · Implementation

Turn the chosen focus into concrete action.

This is where a five-step logic either has substance or does not. Each strategy carries its own pathway, with its own instruments:

Interactive: try it right here

Four strategies, twelve instrumentsSelect a strategy, then open an instrument.

Goal

Use EPOCH to identify the human-centred capabilities that complement AI, then develop them through deliberate practice.

EPOCH as the reference frame.

The framework that defines which human-centred capabilities to build.

What it asks you to do

Use its five capability groups and thirteen sub-dimensions to identify capabilities that complement AI and can help you remain in demand in an AI-shaped labour market. EPOCH defines what to build; the next two instruments show how to practise it.

Where it comes from

Loaiza and Rigobon, The EPOCH of AI: Human-Machine Complementarities at Work.

TRACOM Social Style Model.

Build the relational capabilities within EPOCH.

What it asks you to do

Read the SOCIAL STYLE and Versatility handbook, then practise versatility deliberately in real interactions. Learn to recognise other people’s behavioural preferences and adapt how you interact, strengthening empathy, presence, connectedness, networking, and leadership.

Where it comes from

TRACOM Group, SOCIAL STYLE and Versatility handbook.

Chevallier and Enders, Solvable.

Build the judgement and creativity capabilities within EPOCH.

What it asks you to do

Apply the FrED process, Frame, Explore, Decide, to live problems. Practise framing the problem, developing alternative answers, and making a reasoned choice, strengthening opinion formation, judgement, and creativity.

Where it comes from

Chevallier and Enders, Solvable.

Goal

Turn LLMs into personal leverage by allocating work intelligently, prompting with sufficient context, and mastering the tools that matter for your role.

Allocation before prompting.

Split work according to the comparative advantages of people and AI.

What it asks you to do

Before writing a prompt, break the work into tasks and decide which parts should be performed by you, by AI, or jointly. Allocate each part according to comparative advantage, while retaining the human involvement needed to preserve judgement, accountability, and your own capabilities.

Where it comes from

The Playbook’s allocation rule.

ABCDEF prompting framework.

Give the model the context and direction it needs to produce useful work.

What it asks you to do

Once a task has been allocated to AI, use the ABCDEF framework to provide sufficient context and direction: Act as, Balanced output, Context, Detailed instructions, Examples, and Format. If you’re unsure what the model needs or have limited time, use reverse prompting so it asks you for the missing information.

Where it comes from

Gallea, 2024.

One mastered tool per relevant domain.

Identify and master the tools that matter for your work.

What it asks you to do

The Playbook identifies seven common workplace application domains, recommends relevant tools for each one, and explains how to learn them. Select the domains that matter for your work, master at least one tool in each, and integrate it into your actual workflow.

Where it comes from

The seven workplace application domains and learning pathways set out in the Playbook.

Goal

Move towards roles and fields where LLM adoption expands opportunities and increases demand for human labour.

Screen for the six demand channels.

Use six mechanisms to identify where LLMs may increase demand for human labour.

What it asks you to do

The thesis identifies six mechanisms through which LLMs can expand opportunities for human work: LLM development and deployment; complementarity between people and AI; expansion of what is economically or technically feasible; productivity-driven demand growth; a premium for distinctly human work; and demand created by the transition itself. Screen roles, functions, and sectors for these channels to identify where human-labour demand may grow.

Where it comes from

The six labour-demand channels identified in the thesis.

Weigh prediction and crowding risk.

Test whether a promising opportunity is durable or likely to become crowded.

What it asks you to do

Treat each opportunity that passes the first screen as a hypothesis. Test prediction risk: demand may develop differently than expected. Then test crowding risk: an attractive field may draw so many entrants that its advantage is reduced. Monitor demand and signs of saturation before committing.

Where it comes from

The Playbook’s opportunity-risk screen.

Gap assessment, then transition plan.

Turn the strongest opportunity into a realistic career move.

What it asks you to do

Choose one target occupation, compare its requirements with your current position, and identify the skills, experience, and credentials needed to close the gap. Turn these gaps into a sequenced transition plan with concrete next steps.

Where it comes from

The Playbook’s transition-planning method.

Goal

Reduce your exposure by moving towards occupations whose task mix is less susceptible to LLM automation.

Identify lower-exposure occupations.

Use the Playbook’s task-level exposure analysis to build a shortlist.

What it asks you to do

Start with the Playbook’s exposure analysis, which classifies tasks by their potential for automation, augmentation, lower exposure, or no prominent language component, then aggregates them into occupations. Use it to identify occupations with a high share of lower-exposure and non-language tasks, rather than relying on job titles or intuition alone.

Where it comes from

The Playbook’s task-level exposure analysis, based on Zahidi et al., Jobs of Tomorrow, World Economic Forum.

Test the shortlist against your situation.

A lower-exposure occupation only works if it fits your circumstances, preferences, and constraints.

What it asks you to do

For each shortlisted occupation, assess the fit with your capabilities, interests, income needs, risk tolerance, location, time horizon, and other constraints. Then compare pay, progression, autonomy, and working conditions. Remove any option that reduces exposure but does not lead to a career you would realistically choose.

Where it comes from

The Playbook’s inside-out fit assessment.

Gap assessment, then transition plan.

Turn the strongest remaining option into a realistic transition.

What it asks you to do

Choose the strongest remaining occupation, compare its requirements with your current position, and identify the skills, experience, and credentials needed to make the move. Use stepping-stone roles where necessary, and sequence the transition rather than attempting it in one jump.

Where it comes from

The Playbook’s transition-planning method.

Runs firstSecondThirdCards are shown in the order the instruments are meant to run.

What you get

A practical action agenda for the strategy you chose: which capabilities to build, which instruments to use, and which moves to make, at a level you can start on this month.

Step 5 · Reassessment

Know when to adjust the strategy.

Steps 1–4 establish a strategic focus based on the best available evidence. But this is a future-oriented Playbook: LLM capabilities, labour-market conditions, and your own circumstances will continue to evolve. Step 5 defines three types of trigger that indicate when those changes are material enough to revisit the strategy.

Interactive: try it right here

Where a trigger sends youSelect a trigger.

Not every new development requires a new strategy. Reassessment begins only when a trigger shows that one of the assumptions behind the current focus has materially changed. You then return to the earliest affected step and re-run the Playbook from there.

Re-run from here

01External triggers Empirical labour-market evidence, the technological frontier, collective response dynamics.

02Internal triggers Personal context, constraints, and preferences, plus early signals of implementation effectiveness.

03Time-based triggers A brief check every three to six months, a deeper review once a year.

The three trigger types, and the rule that a review returns to the earliest step whose assumptions broke, are from the Playbook. The eight triggers listed under them, and the step each one routes to, are a reading of that rule written for this exhibit.

What you get

A disciplined review mechanism that prevents premature revision and stale strategies alike.

Step 1 of 5

From method to engagement

The Playbook is the method. The services are how it gets applied.

Each route below opens with a working sample you can try in the browser before you speak to anyone.

Companies

Exposure analysis, leadership workshops, and team sessions

Start by sizing what a first year of readiness is worth

See the value at stake →

Professionals

Career exposure review, positioning session, and practical upskilling

Start by re-drawing your working week task by task

Re-draw your week →

Educational institutions

Guest lectures, career services workshops, and LLM literacy sessions

Start by seeing the job your graduates will actually enter

See the rebuilt role →

Next step

Explore the services, or start a conversation.

See how the Playbook can be applied to a workforce, a career, or a curriculum, and what a concrete engagement could look like.

Explore all services Start a conversation