Hi Reader,

Welcome to the 3rd edition of the 3-2-1

• (check out previous issues ​here​).

You're getting this because you care about developing people.

I write about the Irreplaceable IC.

And today, we examine this pivotal role in the future of work.

Let's get into it.

3 Things for Work (in L&D)

​NotebookLLM on Tiny Teams​

• A treasure trove of insights from AI-first companies operating with crazy scale (think 20-person teams of ICs doing $50M ARR). You can ask questions like, “how are these teams operating cross-functionally? How do they ensure smooth communications and handoffs?”
• 🏋️‍♀️ Effort ≈ hours of potential rabbit holes

​How to Turn “Use-It-or-Lose-It” Budget into Q4 ROI​

• I'm hosting a free virtual event to introduce a plug-and-play playbook to link your program to real OKRs, and turn it into a 90-day win that speaks a CFO’s language
• 📅 Friday, October 10 @ 1 pm ET (45 mins)

​Talent Development Academy®​

• L&D professionals must lead strategically, but most were never shown how. TDA® fixes that (and sponsors this newsletter).
• A 12-month membership of live coaching, community, and curated frameworks, all triple-accredited (ATD, SHRM, HRCI).
• Best part? Your ATD, SHRM, or HRCI membership is credited toward tuition. Pay only the difference (for a limited time).
• 👉 Apply by October 24th: [Link]

2 Things for Life

​Radiolab Podcast from 2012, “Colors”

• Do colors actually exist, or do we make them up in our brains?
• This podcast raises fascinating questions about the nature of reality and the malleability of perception.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Effort ≈ 1 hour listen

​Life is Poker, Not Chess​

• AI excels at one type of thinking (predictable, defined, logical, deterministic), but sucks at another (chaotic, ambiguous, narrative, probabilistic).
• This gives me hope for my own personal development, because you can get really skilled at the latter as a human.
• This essay explains the difference perfectly, using the analogy of poker and chess - a real 'aha' moment for me.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Effort ≈ 7 min read

1 Idea from Me

🏋️‍♀️ Effort ≈ 90 sec read

AI is changing the physics of work.

A single individual contributor can now research, analyze, write, and brief end-to-end, tasks that once took an entire team. Fewer handoffs mean faster execution, tighter context, and higher leverage. These ICs—what I call Irreplaceable ICs—aren’t just efficient. They’re the new engines of scale.

Their power doesn’t come from AI alone. It comes from relationships and routines built over time. Think of an ER team: the longer nurses and doctors work together, the more seamlessly they perform, and the more lives they save. That trust and tacit understanding can’t be ported to a new team. When an IC leaves, they take organizational capital with them.

As AI flattens hierarchies and automates coordination work, the bottleneck for growth will shift. No longer management capacity, but IC capability. The differentiator skills will be cross-functional understanding and the ability to command attention and influence others.

Manager development will also evolve: away from one-size-fits-all leadership programs toward lightweight activation like micro-coaching, review checklists, and conversation guides. The real investment will flow to ICs, building the power-skills that matter most: discovery, critical thinking, and influence.

The future belongs to Irreplaceable ICs—the ones who blend technical fluency, relational depth, and strategic sense-making to drive impact that scales (like the Tiny Teams I included above).

That’s the future I’m building toward. If yours looks similar, let’s talk.

That's it for this week - enjoy your Sunday!

I'll be back in two weeks ✌️

Andrew

P.S. Looking to level up your IC development pathways? I'm offering a free 30-minute strategy review for a limited time to L&D leaders actively working on IC development 👉 ​Click here to book your session​.