Your Organization's 90-Day AI Upskilling Action Plan
The introduction of 22 new jobs created by AI imagined by the New York Times
The New York Times' recent article on 22 new AI jobs gave us a look at what AI jobs for non-technical teams can look like. As with so much in AI, we can debate about when and where those new AI roles will emerge. But while others debate, smart organizations can make progress towards building the AI fluency skills in their workforce so they’re prepared for AI’s impact.
The question isn't whether AI will reshape your workforce—it's whether you'll be ready when it does.
The AI Readiness Gap (And Why It's Your Competitive Advantage)
In my work with companies and growing organizations, I've identified a critical gap: the majority of organizations are experimenting with AI tools, but few have systematic plans for developing AI fluency in their workforce.
This gap represents your opportunity. While competitors wait focus solely on technical teams to develop talent or scramble to hire scarce external AI talent, you can build AI fluency skills internally among your non-technical teams. Building AI skills on non-technical teams will increase AI uses case discovery, create a culture of experimentation, and prepare your organization for AI transformation.
Two new AI jobs for non-technical teams predicted by the New York Times
The AI Skills Stack: Your Foundation for Multiple Roles
Not all 22 AI roles mentioned in the New York Times Magazine article are equally relevant to every organization. Instead, you can create a foundational AI Skills Stack that supports all future AI roles. Think of this as your organizational AI fluency infrastructure:
Tier 1: AI Fluency Fundamentals (Everyone)
AI Literacy: Understand what generative AI is, and what it can and can’t do
Prompting: Craft clear, useful prompts and iterate for better outputs
Workflow Collaboration: Use AI across multi-step tasks and integrate into tools
Critical Evaluation: Review outputs for accuracy, bias, and usefulness
Data Fluency: Understand how data affects AI behavior and privacy
AI Ethics: Apply responsible use guidelines and raise issues when needed
Tier 2: AI Business Integration (Managers & Leaders)
AI strategy thinking: Connecting AI capabilities to business outcomes
AI project management: Planning and executing AI implementation
Change management: Leading teams through AI adoption
AI governance: Ensuring responsible AI use across the organization
Tier 3: AI Specialization (Role-Specific)
Advanced prompt engineering: Crafting sophisticated AI interactions
AI system evaluation: Assessing AI performance and reliability
AI-enhanced creativity: Using AI to amplify human creative capabilities
AI integration architecture: Designing AI-human workflows
Prepare your employees to for these AI roles by building a your AI Skills Stack.
Your 90-Day AI Readiness Transformation
The following roadmap provides a structured approach to building AI fluency across your organization, moving from foundation to scale in just three months.
Days 1-30: Foundation Building
Week 1: AI Fluency Assessment
Survey current AI tool usage across departments
Identify early adopters and AI-curious employees
Document existing AI-related skills and knowledge gaps
Deliverable: AI Readiness Baseline Report
Week 2: Leadership Alignment
Present AI fluency framework to leadership team
Align on 3-5 priority AI skills for your organization
Secure budget and resources for AI fluency development
Deliverable: AI Upskilling Strategy Document
Week 3: Pilot Group Selection
Identify groups of employees for a pilot AI fluency program
Select mix of early adopters and influential team members
Ensure representation across key departments
Deliverable: Pilot Cohort Roster
Week 4: Foundational Training Launch
Begin Tier 1 AI fluency training for pilot group
Focus on generative AI proficiency and critical evaluation
Establish regular practice sessions and peer learning
Deliverable: Training Program Kickoff
Days 31-60: Skill Development
Week 5-6: Advanced AI Fluency
Tier 2 training for managers and leaders in pilot group
Focus on AI strategy thinking and change management
Begin role-specific skill development for priority positions
Deliverable: Intermediate Skill Assessments
Week 7-8: Practical Application
Assign real-world AI projects to pilot group members
Implement AI-enhanced workflows in selected departments
Document successes, challenges, and lessons learned
Deliverable: AI Implementation Case Studies
Days 61-90: Scale and Optimize
Week 9-10: Results Measurement
Assess pilot group performance and skill development
Gather feedback and refine training approaches
Deliverable: Pilot Program Results Report
Week 11-12: Scaling Strategy
Plan rollout to broader organization
Develop internal AI fluency trainers and champions
Create sustainable AI skill development processes
Deliverable: Organization-Wide AI Fluency Plan
The Competitive Advantage Timeline
The timing of your AI readiness initiative will determine your competitive position in the market. Here's how early action translates to sustained advantage:
Organizations that start now:
Month 3: Have pilot group demonstrating AI fluency
Month 6: Multiple employees ready for AI specialist roles
Month 12: Comprehensive AI-ready workforce
Month 18: Competitive advantage in AI-driven market
Organizations that wait:
Month 12: Begin exploring AI training options
Month 18: Launch pilot programs
Month 24: Still building basic AI fluency
Month 30: Competing for scarce external AI talent
Common Implementation Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)
Learning from others' mistakes can accelerate your success. Here are the most frequent stumbling blocks and their solutions:
Pitfall 1: Focusing only on technical AI skills
Solution: Emphasize other AI skills like business integration and human-AI collaboration
Pitfall 2: Treating AI fluency as one-time training
Solution: Create ongoing AI skill development and practice opportunities
Pitfall 3: Ignoring change management
Solution: Address employee concerns and build excitement about AI enhancement
Pitfall 4: Lack of practical application
Solution: Provide real projects and immediate opportunities to use new skills
Need more context to start?
Building a comprehensive AI fluency strategy for non-technical teams is an undertaking. We don’t expect you’ll kick it off from a single blog post. So we offer 20 min chats on any topic related to your AI strategy. We love to hear what you’re working on and we’ll share what we’re hearing from others.
We work with organizations to design and implement comprehensive AI readiness programs tailored to their specific industry, size, and strategic goals. Our approach combines strategic planning, practical skill development, and change management to ensure your AI fluency investment delivers measurable ROI.
What you get:
Custom AI readiness assessment and strategy
Tailored training programs for your priority AI roles
Implementation support and ongoing optimization
Measurable ROI from improved AI adoption and productivity
Ready to chat about what’s possible? Contact us.
