Because this week is all about 🎶 "Work, work, work, work, work, work... He said me haffi. Work, work, work, work, work, work" 🎶 OK I got carried away, sorry. Rihana's songs just get me going 🕺.

This week I want to digest for you the Microsoft Work Trend Index 2025.

It’s a grounded look at how top-performing companies are not only adopting AI - but redesigning how they work around it.

And most importantly - it introduces a new kind of company: The Frontier Firm.

Let’s break it down - and see what this means for us as leaders.

🔍 What Is the Work Trend Index?

Each year, Microsoft surveys thousands of leaders, employees, and frontline workers - combined with real usage data across Microsoft 365 - to understand how work is changing.

The report is based on:

• A survey of 31,000 people across 31 countries
• Analysis of trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals
• Insights from Fortune 500 customers using Copilot and AI

Here’s what they found:

📊 AI Is Working — When People Use It

• People who use AI save 30 minutes a day - and most say they’d never go back.
• 90% say AI helps them focus on their most important work.

⚠️ But a Gap Is Emerging Between Users and Non-Users

• 46% of AI users are struggling to keep up with their workload — compared to 62% of non-users.
• Users report fewer meetings, better summaries, and more creative energy.

💡 A New Skillset Is Emerging

The most in-demand skill in this AI economy? The ability to work with AI.

Hiring managers now rate “AI aptitude” as more important than experience for most roles. And 66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without it.

🧠 Meet the Frontier Firm – 3 Phases of AI Maturity

This year’s standout idea? The birth of the Frontier Firm - a new kind of company that's not just adding AI, but reshaping its DNA around it.

These companies are moving from adopting AI to operating with AI.

The report outlines a 3-phase journey that all organizations will move through - whether by design or by default.

📌 Phase 1 - Human with Assistant

This is where most of us are. Employees use copilots and chatbots to write emails, summarize meetings, and get support with day-to-day work.

📌 Phase 2 - Human-Agent Teams

AI agents now become “digital colleagues.” They’re not just supporting - they’re completing tasks independently under human guidance.

Think of agents helping with onboarding, creating reports, responding to routine tickets - freeing humans to focus on higher-order thinking.

📌 Phase 3 - Human-Led, Agent-Operated

In the final phase, humans set goals and strategy - and agents execute. Agents run workflows, update systems, triage issues, and only escalate what truly needs human judgment.

🔍 The Data Speaks for Itself

Frontier Firms - the ones already in Phase 2 or 3 - are outperforming their peers significantly:

• 61% higher productivity boost from AI
• 2.1x more likely to say AI supports creativity
• 70% of employees at frontier firms say AI has improved their skills - not threatened them

🚀 What This Means for us as Leaders

I want to be real - not every company is a Frontier Firm yet. Technology is just going too fast. But every company has a choice to start moving in that direction.

Here’s what it means for us:

1️⃣ AI Strategy = Org Strategy This isn’t about piloting "a tool" or use-case. It’s about how teams are structured, how decisions are made, and how work flows. Leaders need to stop asking “what can AI do?” and start asking “how do we want to work?”

2️⃣ Build an AI-Ready Culture The biggest blocker isn’t tech. It’s people. Invest in upskilling, create safe spaces to experiment, and make AI literacy part of how teams grow - not something they do on their own time. I'll keep hammering this point sorry 😊.

3️⃣ Don’t Wait for the Tools to Be Perfect If you wait for clarity, you’ll miss momentum. The companies winning now are the ones trying, failing, learning, and evolving.

So the question is not whether we’ll use AI - it’s whether we’ll lead with it.

The era of the Frontier Firm is here. We all have a choice to be part of it and change how we... 🎶 "Work, work, work, work, work, work... 🎶

I'll see you next week.

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