"Same shit, different OKR."

The headline is from a statement I wrote in chapter 2 of my upcoming book, Creative Intelligence, about how companies would start measuring AI use by their employees. I knew it was inevitable and this week it came true.

From Business Insider:

"Julia Liuson, president of the Microsoft division responsible for developer tools such as AI coding service GitHub Copilot, recently sent an email instructing managers to evaluate employee performance based on their use of internal AI tools." The article goes on to say that Liuson said "AI is no longer optional" and should be "part of your holistic reflections on an individual's performance."

Note they're measuring AI usage, not AI collaboration quality. And this dangerous precedent is spreading fast.

Two types of professionals are emerging from mandates like this:

• The Metric Optimizers will hit their GitHub Copilot usage targets while missing the strategic possibilities. They'll code faster but think the same way and lead to generic outcomes.
• The Cognitive Amplifiers understand that AI collaboration transcends any single tool. They're developing systematic approaches to thinking with machines, not just using them, and innovate beyond working alone.

Today it's GitHub Copilot metrics. Tomorrow it's general LLM usage tracking. The professionals who thrive won't be those who master individual AI tools—they'll be those who develop thinking frameworks that work regardless of platform.

"You're not learning to prompt better—you're learning to think in ways that produce original insights." That's another nugget from chapter 2.

Using AI as a tool only leads to generic outcomes and when your work starts to look and sound like table stakes, guess who's about to become redundant.

Don't just use AI more. Use it differently. Build cognitive capabilities, not tool dependencies. While others optimize for usage metrics, you can optimize for thinking transformation and AI collaboration that leads to amazing outcomes.

If you haven't already, sign up at and get immediate access to chapter 4. Or reach out and ask for a copy.