There is a brutal truth in the labor market: “If I can replace you with a checklist, you are already fired.”
Most people structure their careers around “Best Practices.” They want to do exactly what the manual says. The problem? If it’s in a manual, an AI (or a cheaper human) can do it.
The 2 Danger Zones
1. The Zone of Commoditization (“Anyone can do it”)
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The Symptom: You follow a script. You fill forms. You attend meetings and nod.
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The Risk: You are racing to the bottom on price. You are not an asset; you are a utility.
2. The Zone of Impossibility (“No one can do it”)
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The Symptom: You are the “Mad Genius.” The code is a mess that only you understand. The process is in your head.
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The Risk: You have created a “Bus Factor” of 1. You cannot take a vacation. You cannot scale. You are not a leader; you are a bottleneck.
The Sovereign Zone: The Interpreter
The highest paid people in the world are not the ones who follow the rules, nor the ones who break the rules chaotically. They are the Interpreters. They take complex Chaos (Market signals, broken systems) and turn it into Order (Strategy, Product).
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An AI can write code.
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An AI cannot decide what code to write to solve a human emotional problem.
The Protocol: Audit Your Uniqueness
Look at your To-Do list for today. Mark every task with a “C” (Commodity) or “U” (Unique).
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Commodity: Emailing, scheduling, data entry.
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Unique: Strategy, negotiation, design, decision making.
If your day is 90% “C,” you are in danger. Delegate the “C.” Double down on the “U.”
#DhandheKaFunda: Be rare enough to be expensive, but documented enough to be scalable.