How Work Changed
This is the longer Sato view on why small businesses now need organized software workflows before they add more automation and AI.
How Work Changed
Work moved through three shifts: software, distribution, and now intelligence. AI is the next shift. The professionals and businesses that adapt fastest will be the ones that organize customer knowledge, team workflows, and decisions around AI before the next tool leaves them behind.
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Finance
By 2000, work was moving from paper into software. By 2010, more than 2 billion people were online, but a lot of professionals still worked the old way.
By 2019, 4.1 billion people were online. Reaching buyers got easier, but keeping up with follow-up, scheduling, and support got harder.
By 2026, AI is part of everyday work. McKinsey says 88% of organizations use it somewhere, but the edge goes to people who can give AI the right context, use assistants well, and keep human approval in the right places.
