Look what I learned this week…
For the last few years, I’ve been leaning further and further into the “human” side of things.
The more AI takes over, the more valuable the human side of thing of things will become.
I found the map that does a great job of reinforcing that.
It’s called the "AI Proof Quadrant" (credit to Perry Marshall via his monthly print newsletter).
I sketched it out in my notebook last weekend. It validated everything we've been talking about here at Redefining Retirement.
If you’re still clinging to the old rules of the workplace - efficiency, speed, predictable results - you might want to reconsider.
The "AI Kill Zone"
Here’s what my chicken scratched sketch is saying about the economic reality we are facing.
Top Left (Unproductive & Predictable): Bureaucracy. Middle management. Admin. AI takes this easily.
Bottom Left (Productive & Predictable): Coding. Data entry. Logistics. AI takes this.
Bottom Right (Productive & Unpredictable): Strategy optimization. Agentic AI is eating this sector faster than we thought.
If your income relies on being "productive" or "predictable," you are in the kill zone. The robots are, or will be, cheaper than you.
The Human (Celebration) Zone
That leaves the Top Right corner: Unproductive & Unpredictable.
Corporate culture hates this zone. It looks like waste it’s messy. But for us, it is the only safe harbor even though it may not feel right.
Here are the six traits Perry listed that define this zone. Algorithms struggle to replicate these:
Analog: Not online. Real paper, real handshakes.
Communal: Not alone.
Gastronomic: Eating and drinking (I talked about this in my BeardMeatsFood AI-proof moat post too)
Artistic: Creative work that doesn't follow a template.
Altruistic: Doing things without a calculated ROI.
Subversive: Thinking like an outsider.
Subversive is the one intrigued me the most.
But I had look it up to really get a handle on it…
🧰 Curious what tools I use to run a one person business without a massive team? Here is the complete list of the software and systems I trust to keep me independent. Click here to see my “Human Zone” Tech Stack
The "Subversive" Mindset
To stay AI proof in your career or business, you have to break the rules. AI is the rules.
Here’s the checklist of what I found on how to create a subversive mindset::
Question Everything. Shouldn’t be a problem for us cynical Gen Xers.
Think Like a Supervillain. Look for the edges of the system.
Embrace Disagreeable Thinking. If everyone agrees with your idea, it is predictable.
Understand the System. You have to know how it works to subvert it.
We aren't trying to out-churn the AI with more content. We are going the other way. We are building something messy and human.
Here’s how you can work on that…
AI Exercise: The "Rory Sutherland" School of Anti-Logic
Who is Rory Sutherland? He is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and the author of Alchemy. He is a master of the "Unproductive/Unpredictable" quadrant.
Why he matters: Rory argues that the modern world is obsessed with logic, but humans aren't logical. We are psychological.
Logic says: Make the train faster to increase satisfaction. (Costs $6 billion).
Alchemy says: Put WiFi on the train so people enjoy the wait. (Costs $50 million).
If you rely solely on data (The "Productive" zones), you miss the magic. You need to learn "Psycho-logic."
Step 1: The Education Prompt Before you apply this to your career or business, let the AI teach you the framework. Copy/paste this to understand the "Subversive" mindset.
Act as Rory Sutherland. I want to understand the core thesis of your book Alchemy.
Specifically, explain the difference between 'Logical' thinking and 'Psycho-logical' thinking.
Give me 3 famous examples from the book where a 'bad' or 'illogical' idea beat a logical one (like Red Bull or the London Underground). Explain why they worked despite the data saying they shouldn't.Step 2: The Application Prompt Now, use that mindset to break your own career path.
Now, acting as Rory Sutherland, analyze my situation.
My Context: [INSERT YOUR JOB TITLE, CAREER GOAL, OR BUSINESS IDEA]
The Logical Trap: Why is the standard 'sensible' advice for this role actually a dead end?
The Irrational Pivot: Give me a move that looks 'bad' on a resume (e.g., learning a 'useless' skill, taking a demotion to learn, focusing on unmeasurable tasks) but actually increases my value in the Human Zone.
The Supervillain Angle: Give me a polarizing take on my industry that most people are too polite to say."Neat huh?
And now for some subversive music…
Music of the Week
Talking Heads — "Once in a Lifetime" (1980)
I’m not a huge Talking Heads guy but they are one band that qualifies as subversive.
This tune should resonate with any one who feels like their on the hamster wheel.
"And you may find yourself in a beautiful house... And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?"
This track captures the Productive & Predictable trap. You follow the rules, you get the house, and you wake up one day realizing you’re just a component in a machine.
If you feel like you're sleepwalking, put this on. Then look at the Top Right quadrant again.
The Bottom Line
Safety isn't in the spreadsheet anymore. It's in the mess.
If your work is predictable, you are vulnerable. If your work is "unproductive" (human, creative, weird), you are moving in the right direction.
Net, net….
Stop trying to be a better machine. Be a better human.
Have a good one,
Corey
P.S. If you can't read my handwriting (or just want a clean version to save for later), here is the version that Gemini spit out when I asking it to clean it up:
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