Open to work: Cómo ir un paso adelante en la era de la IA

by Ryan Roslansky, Aneesh Raman

Work is changing for everyone, everywhere. Standing still isn't an option. Ryan Roslansky and Aneesh Raman, CEO and Chief Economic Opportunity Officer at LinkedIn, show you how to take control of this moment with clarity and confidence.

The future of work is not a distant horizon. It is being built right now. While some of us are experimenting and adapting with AI, most of us are feeling anxious and uncertain, navigating rapid change with outdated playbooks. We're relying on old career advice that assumes the tasks you do at work are static, that the skills you learned in school last decades and that success comes from moving up a predictable ladder. That's the old world of work and it's on the way out.

Open To Work offers a new path forward. Backed by real-time insights from over a billion professionals on LinkedIn, it is a clear-eyed view of what's actually changing, what skills you really need, and how to stay ahead at work as AI reshapes every aspect of work.

You'll meet early movers like Neil, who used AI to get better at his job; Jonetta, who used AI to get a new job; and Taj, who used AI to build a business.

You’ll also get expert perspectives across the future of work and careers, helping you discover what will make you competitive in ways no machine can replace. You'll learn how

· Assess which parts of your job to delegate to AI, and which to keep for yourself

· Build the core human capabilities that will carry you through any technological shift

· Take action, including with a 30-60-90 day plan

Both a roadmap and a rallying cry, Open To Work delivers an urgent change is coming. The only question is whether you harness it or let it overtake you.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Artificial Intelligence, Self Help, Audiobook, Technology, Leadership

240 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2026

Reviews

[Rishabh Khanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read a few self-help or motivational books but this is the worst of all. More than motivating to use AI and not feeling overwhelmed during today's time, this book is creating a feeling of urgency around use of AI. It says multiple times that people or governments or leaders not using AI will be impacted. It focuses more on the negativitiy rather than positive outcomes. This felt like a propaganda book written by an executive to use their products. Examples are only from LinkedIn and Microsoft. Last but not the least, this could have been an OpEd or a blog post rather than a book. But since the book was free and I cant leave book partially read, I finished this.

[Laura (thenerdygnomelife) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounding down

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more from this book than it delivered. The advice is the same as many job-hunting and career development books I've read, such as determining what makes us stand out, the importance of honing our soft skills, and thinking like an entrepreneur. There were a few anecdotes on how AI was used to save time and improve processes, but even most of the examples didn't mention the use of AI. My takeaway from reading the book is that AI is just another tool that can help people develop professionally and complete rote tasks, but it is not the solution to everything.

[Ron Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful. I tried to keep an open mind but it was terrible. The main point is to be entrepreneurial about your work and leverage AI to help you do that. Anyone that has worked an honest days work knows that the last thing employers want you to do is to be entrepreneurial on the clock. Companies aren’t interested in human skills they’re interested in productivity and profit. And if they’re telling you that they don’t they’re lying. Basically this book
Is a giant crock of shit.

[Mohamed Elkhouly · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book didn’t answer “How to get ahead in the age of AI”. Lots of disconnected stories barely related to AI. Could have been summarized in a couple of paragraphs.

[CatReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ryan Roslansky is the CEO of LinkedIn; Aneesh Raman is the Chief Economic Opportunity Officer of LinkedIn. Their 2026 book Open to Work is a short (224 page book/6 hour audiobook) advertisement for LinkedIn ('open to work' is a reference to the green profile ring one can add their LinkedIn profile with '#opentowork' written on it) under the guise of giving job advice about working in the age of AI/ML. Unfortunately, there is very little practical content in the book about people who've successfully leveraged AI/ML to facilitate their careers -- but there are plenty of suggestions to check out LinkedIn learning (behind the paywall) for up-to-date content on this topic.

That being said, this is a rapidly emerging area where concrete examples are likely obsolete by publication. Continuous and focused learning through trial and error is essential, both for general applications and for field-specific applications.

My statistics:
Book 80 for 2026
Book 2386 cumulatively

[Ashley Bertles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did a great job of addressing common fears and hesitations many people have towards AI and offered perspectives that might help shift people's minds to a more optimistic outlook. They describe AI as tool that remixes what already exists, but we are the ones that will be able to invent new things. AI will give us the time to invent those new things. It provides a great, realistic plan to slowly integrate AI into your work. I did feel like the book was repetitive at times and dragged on, but had some great key points that I will carry on into my job.

[Tom Fencl · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some genuinely good bits, mostly the reflection on how industrialization shaped both the education system and the career ladder. But those could have been fitted in a longish article and one that could have been written at any point in the last 30 years.

As for the rest, I couldn’t escape the impression that the project is incredibly cynical. The advice given to both individuals and communities on how to deal with the oncoming AI disruption could be easily summed up by the adage that “if you and your friend are surprised by a charging bear while hiking, you don’t need to run faster than the bear, just faster than your friend.”

The only advice that was approaching something like a systematic solution was also a carbon copy of what I heard 25 years ago at business school as an advice for dealing with coming dot.com disruption — be entrepreneurial. It didn’t work as a system solution then and it won’t work now. Never mind the fact that AI already in existence (let alone the what’s being developed) is order of magnitude more impactful than dot.com.

If you are worried about the coming wave of disruption caused by AI — as you should be — don’t look for an answer in this book.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Conventional work wisdom that seems like it was written by an AI Agent.

Prompt: Take the 5 Cs [curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion, and communication] and create a 170 page book that repeats the same 5 concepts.

Skim it!

[Jacob Foidl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty vague as to what AI is doing currently to prompt why this small book needs to be 150ish pages. What careers is AI culling now? What % of the workforce is getting replaced? I’m not sure we’re really getting those answers and are instead, getting a lot of filler about past technology adaption and how processes changed. It’s unclear, like the dotcom bubble, if it will burst or how much we’ll limit AI for restructuring around governments and companies.

[Deepayan Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good research work regarding the evolution of work over several decades and how that would change work roles as AI matures more. It also addresses the innate fear of AI stealing jobs away and making people dumber over time. This book provides a step by step guide to enhance one’s abilities and coexisting with AI rather than fighting against it or survival, which surely heads to doom. Definitely worth reading! A good pickup for people at the AI edge!

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those interested in exploring AI and business, Roslansky and Raman had some interesting things to say about the mindset shift needed to rethink our job roles and to reimagine what we want the outcome of work to be with AI. Overall a positive and optimistic outlook that painted a great possible future without addressing the difficulty that probably lies in between for many people. The book did included some tools for assessing yourself and your role, as well as guidance for how to learn AI. I found myself agreeing and disagreeing page after page as the book made statements about what AI can do and what we should do about it. Makes a good work book study to dialogue around the changes we are seeing.

[Fawad Qureshi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was supposed to work how do you get ahead in the age of AI. There was very little detail on what to do. It put emphasis on soft skills and intersectionality which is good. But it left much to be desired.

[Trace Nichols · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anyone who knows the language of an AI chat bot will quickly realize this book is mostly written by AI!!! ugh.

[Diana Thayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I confess I found this bloviating and a bit too subtly self-satisfied for my taste, much like LinkedIn itself. I asked ChatGPT to summarize the main points for me. (Do I get a gold star?) If you’re looking for a book which contains information about actual ways in which to enlist and utilize AI and LLMs, and ways in which they’re limited based on what they inherently are and how they’re trained, this is not that. If you’re looking for a “ra ra capitalism, don’t be a dinosaur” cheerleading book cajoling you to start embracing AI, this is more aligned with that. Below are the AI-generated distillations from the book, saving you reading the ~200 pages yourself.

1) AI is reshaping all jobs—not just tech

* Automation isn’t limited to engineers; it’s affecting marketing, recruiting, finance, operations—everything.
* The shift is less about jobs disappearing and more about tasks within jobs changing.
* People who treat AI as a collaborator—not a threat—pull ahead.

⸻

2) Skills > titles

* Traditional career paths (degrees → roles → promotions) are weakening.
* What matters now is your skills graph, not your résumé chronology.
* In-demand skills evolve quickly, so static expertise loses value fast.

Implication: Continuously update your skill set or risk becoming irrelevant.

⸻

3) Learn faster than the market changes

* The biggest advantage is learning velocity.
* Top performers:
* Experiment constantly
* Use AI tools to accelerate learning
* Build in public (share insights, projects, progress)

This isn’t about mastering everything—it’s about adapting quickly.

⸻

4) AI amplifies—not replaces—human strengths

The most valuable capabilities are still human:

* Judgment
* Creativity
* Communication
* Leadership
* Ethical decision-making

AI handles execution; humans provide direction.

⸻

5) Your network is a career multiplier

* Opportunities increasingly come from relationships, not applications.
* Weak ties (acquaintances, past colleagues) are especially powerful.
* Visibility matters—if people don’t know what you can do, it won’t matter.

⸻

6) Career growth is now nonlinear

* Expect lateral moves, pivots, and portfolio careers.
* Side projects, gigs, and cross-functional work are becoming the norm.
* “Climbing the ladder” is being replaced by building optionality.

⸻

7) Personal brand is no longer optional

* Employers look beyond résumés to:
* What you share
* What you build
* What others say about you
* Demonstrated capability beats claimed experience.

⸻

8) Use AI as a co-pilot

* Practical advantage comes from:
* Automating repetitive work
* Generating ideas faster
* Enhancing decision-making
* People who use AI well outperform those who don’t—regardless of raw ability.

⸻

9) Mindset shift: from job security → career resilience

* Stability doesn’t come from staying put—it comes from staying relevant.
* You need to be:
* Curious
* Flexible
* Comfortable with change

⸻

10) Access is expanding—but competition is too

* AI lowers barriers to entry (anyone can build, write, analyze).
* But it also increases competition globally.

Result: Differentiation matters more than ever.

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get to listen to Aneesh Raman in a lunch and learn at my company while he was promoting this book earlier this year. This is what inspired me to pick up this book and read it for myself! Open To Work offers some practical frameworks for navigating a future of the new AI-driven workplace. The 5 C's provide a useful lens for thinking about the distinctly human skills that remain valuable, and the task-bucket analysis exercise is an easy tool for evaluating how your role may evolve as AI continues to be used at work. The examples of people using AI and their success with it are pretty diverse in backgrounds and industries, so I definitely enjoyed reading their inspiring stories. The last chapter with the 30-60-90 day ramp for AI is entirely a LinkedIn sales pitch...just skip it and read the other 9 chapters (or even just the bottom line chapter summaries) to get the most out of this book.

Where the book could go a bit further is addressing/acknowledging the broader ethical questions that accompany AI adoption. Individual AI understanding and use for upskilling is helpful, but the future of work will also depend on thoughtful government policy, responsible corporate leadership, and safeguards/regulations that ensure AI systems are used in an equitable and sustainable manner.

[C.R. Derbrauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re skeptical of AI, worried it will replace your job, or simply following the crowd in opposing it, this book might be a good fit for you.

However, if you want to actively embrace AI, learn how to use it, and integrate it effectively into your work, you’re better off taking targeted courses on LinkedIn Learning or other MOOC platforms.

I appreciate the authors’ intent and goal with Open to Work, and the book does contain some valuable information and interesting historical context. Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations overall. If your aim is to deepen your AI knowledge and skills, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.

[Juan Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Open to Work: Our Human Skills Are Our Greatest Asset in the Age of AI
By Ryan Roslansky and Aneesh Raman

An excellent and thought-provoking book that made me reflect not only on the future of artificial intelligence, but also on human nature, personal relationships, and, most importantly, my own approach to leadership.

The authors identify five essential human skills for the age of AI: curiosity, creativity, courage, compassion, and communication.

As I read, I found myself questioning whether these qualities are truly exclusive to humans.

AI can already be remarkably creative. It can write poetry, generate images, develop solutions, and combine ideas in unexpected ways. But does it possess genuine curiosity? Does it seek knowledge simply for the sake of discovery? I believe curiosity is particularly important because it often becomes the driving force behind creativity.

Courage presents another interesting distinction. AI can analyze risks and recommend bold decisions, but humans are the ones who must take those risks and live with the consequences. True courage involves acting despite uncertainty and the possibility of failure.

Compassion also challenged my thinking. I came to believe that acting compassionately may be more important than actually feeling compassion. If AI can genuinely help someone in need, the positive outcome matters, even if the technology does not experience human emotions.

Communication, however, goes far beyond words. Human beings communicate through eye contact, touch, gestures, and physical closeness. We can have intellectually stimulating conversations and still fail to make someone feel loved or understood. This emotional and physical dimension remains a fundamental aspect of human relationships.

Yet my most important takeaway was about leadership and organizational culture.

As a business leader, I realized that those of us in positions of authority sometimes become the very obstacles to the creativity and courage we expect from our teams. We ask employees to innovate but do not always welcome different perspectives. We encourage initiative but may discourage experimentation by criticizing mistakes or maintaining excessive control.

This realization gave me something concrete to work on: reconsidering my leadership style, collaborating with my business partner to change our organizational culture, and creating an environment where employees feel free to propose ideas, experiment, and occasionally fail.

We cannot expect creativity and courage from people if we do not give them the freedom and confidence to exercise those qualities.

My main conclusion is that the future is not about humans competing against artificial intelligence. It is about learning to collaborate with it. Human judgment, curiosity, emotional understanding, and courage, combined with AI’s extraordinary capabilities, can achieve far more than either could accomplish alone.

I started this book expecting to learn about technology. I finished it reflecting on myself, my relationships, and my responsibilities as a leader.

For me, those are the most valuable books: not simply the ones that teach us something new, but the ones that inspire us to change.

[Shashank · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐½☆ (3.5/5)

I picked up this book expecting it to be primarily about artificial intelligence, and for roughly the first two-thirds, that is exactly what it delivers. Beyond that, it gradually shifts into a discussion on career development and the future of work, with AI serving as the backdrop rather than the main theme.

The strongest aspect of the book is its balanced and pragmatic approach to AI. The authors argue that AI is neither a magic solution nor an existential threat, but a powerful technology that is becoming part of everyday work and life overall. The challenge is how we can learn to use it effectively and efficiently. As AI automates or augments certain tasks, roles will evolve, requiring individuals to focus on the capabilities that create the most value.

The authors also make a persuasive case for the importance of what they call the "5 Cs"—curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion and communication. These “soft skills” become increasingly valuable as routine and repetitive work becomes easier to automate.

I particularly enjoyed the discussion around how work is changing, why adaptability matters, and how AI can be used to enhance productivity. The book avoids technical jargon and instead focuses on what AI means for professionals, managers and leaders navigating an evolving workplace.

The book also deserves credit for addressing a point that is often overlooked: over-reliance on AI can be just as problematic as ignoring it. The authors repeatedly emphasise that critical thinking, originality and human judgment remain essential, and that AI should complement rather than replace our own thinking.

Where the book lost some focus for me was when it shifted into broader career-coaching territory. The advice is sensible, practical and well-intentioned, but it was not quite what I expected when I picked up a book centred on AI. That said, the guidance remains relevant and useful, particularly for those thinking about long-term career resilience in a rapidly changing world.

Its core message is ultimately an encouraging one: technology may reshape jobs, but human adaptability, curiosity and judgment will remain central to success.

For readers looking for a practical and accessible guide to navigating the workplace in the age of AI, this is a worthwhile read. It may not offer many groundbreaking insights for those already immersed in AI and future-of-work literature, but it presents its ideas clearly, thoughtfully and with a welcome sense of optimism.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book review: Open to Work by Ryan Roslansky and Aneesh Raman

Rating: 8.5/10

I picked up this book because I wanted a better view on how AI will reshape work, skills, and career relevance.

I am glad I read it.

The authors bring weight to the subject. Ryan Roslansky is LinkedIn’s CEO and Microsoft EVP, and Aneesh Raman is LinkedIn’s Chief Economic Opportunity Officer.

One of my core values is progressiveness, so the message connected with how I already think about work. Progress does not come from waiting until the rules are clear. It comes from staying curious, testing new ways of working, and being willing to challenge your own habits before the market does it for you.

That is where AI becomes interesting.

The tool itself matters. The bigger question is how people respond to it.

Some people will learn quickly. Some will wait for permission. Some will protect the process they already know. Some will assume experience alone is enough.

Age does not decide AI readiness.

I have seen younger professionals hold very fixed assumptions about how work should be done. I have also seen more experienced professionals move faster because they are open enough to learn again.

That is the real workplace divide.

Curiosity. Humility. Judgment. Learning speed.

For anyone with an HR background, this book should be highly recommended reading.

HR sits close to the gap between what leaders want to change and what people are actually ready to do. That makes HR critical in skills mapping, reskilling, role design, leadership readiness, and helping people build confidence with AI.

The strongest HR teams will stop treating AI as an IT topic.

They will ask better questions:

What skills are becoming more valuable?

Which roles are changing fastest?

Where are people holding on to old ways of working?

How do we help capable people stay useful?

How do we build learning speed into the culture?

Open to Work is a timely reminder that relevance has to be earned continuously.

A highly recommended read for professionals who want to stay relevant and raise their value with AI, especially HR leaders and people leaders preparing their teams for what comes next.

#FutureOfWork #AITransformation #PeopleLeadership #HumanResources

[Khushi Sunderka · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all,
I am truly grateful to have had the privilege of reviewing this book, authored by the CEO of LinkedIn and praised by many renowned leaders and industry experts.


Book: Open To Work
Author: Ryan Roslansky & Aneesh Raman
Publication: Harpercollins
Genre: Non Fiction, AI, Informative

✨ My views:

Being a writer myself, I've always been uncomfortable with the way AI seems to be replacing human effort. It genuinely saddens me to see people relying on it for almost every small task. I've always believed that AI can never truly replace human creativity, emotions, or lived experiences. It can generate words, but it cannot think, feel, or create the way a human does.

Because of that, I never imagined I'd be interested in a book about AI or even consider using it in my everyday life.

That's exactly why “Open to Work” surprised me.


✨ What you'll find inside this book ?

The book doesn't glorify AI or suggest that it should replace people. Instead, it presents AI as a tool, something that can support our work without taking away what makes us uniquely human. It reinforced the idea that skills like creativity, empathy, critical thinking, and collaboration will always matter.

I may still believe that human effort is irreplaceable, but this book helped me see AI from a different perspective. Not as a competitor, but as something we can learn to work alongside without losing our individuality.


Inshort, *Open to employment* by Ryan Roslansky is a novel and useful manual for anyone curious about the true nature of employment in the future. The book demonstrates why adaptability, curiosity, and strong human skills are becoming more vital than ever in an AI-driven future, instead of depending on antiquated job advice.

It's not just about comprehending AI; it's also about knowing how “you” can develop further, remain current, and pursue a fulfilling career alongside it.


🎯 This book is ideal for ?

A contemplative and perceptive read that is not limited to staff members. This book gives a viewpoint that's well worth investigating, regardless of whether you're a student, artist, freelancer, entrepreneur, or just interested in the future of work.

[_booksagsm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everywhere you look today, there’s another headline, another tool, another warning—AI is coming for your job, your role, your relevance. It’s exhausting. As someone who spends a lot of time on LinkedIn, that pressure feels even more amplified. Every scroll becomes a comparison trap—people announcing promotions, building in public, mastering new tools overnight. On some days, it genuinely makes you question where you stand. That’s the emotional space I was in when I picked up Open to Work. What struck me first wasn’t just the content of the book, but the timing of it—it feels like it arrives exactly when that quiet anxiety starts getting louder.

The book is structured as a wake-up call, a reality check, and then a path forward—and that progression mirrors the internal journey many of us are going through. The idea that “jobs are tasks, not titles” and that careers are more like climbing walls than ladders sounds reassuring, but also slightly unsettling when you’re already feeling uncertain. What helped, though, was the reframing: instead of competing with AI, you start seeing it as something to work alongside. The emphasis on human skills—curiosity, creativity, courage—feels almost like a reminder of things we’ve always had but maybe stopped valuing in a metrics-driven world. Even the 30-60-90 day plan, while optimistic, offers something tangible to hold onto when everything else feels unpredictable.

At the same time, the fear doesn’t completely go away—and the book doesn’t magically solve that. There’s still a lingering question about how sustainable these ideas are in the long run. But what it does do is slow down the spiral. It pulls you back from that edge where everything feels like it’s moving too fast to catch up with. It reminds you that not everything needs to be figured out instantly, and that adapting is a process, not a race. For now, at least, it helps you sit back down, take a breath, and focus—not on becoming everything at once, but on becoming just a little more prepared than you were yesterday.

[Tanvi Shivgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The most important thing to remember about AI is that you don't need to understand how it works under the hood. You just need to start using it."

We are living in a time where the word “replaceable” quietly hums beneath every career conversation.

And this book begins right there.
Not with panic.
Not with tech worship.
But with a question: What does it mean to stay relevant when the rules are rewriting themselves?

Open to Work doesn’t treat AI as a villain or a saviour. It treats it as weather. Inevitable. Shifting. Something you can’t control but can learn to move with.
Roslansky and Raman write from a vantage point that is uniquely powerful — LinkedIn’s data lens on millions of careers — yet the tone never feels distant. Instead, it feels almost reassuring. Like someone saying, “Yes, the ground is moving. But you’re not powerless.”

Careers are no longer ladders. They’re climbing walls.
Sideways moves. Skill pivots. Curiosity over credentials.

And that hit.

Because so many of us were raised on the promise of linear success... degree, job, promotion, stability. But the book gently dismantles that myth and replaces it with something far more alive: adaptability as currency.

The book emphasises on the human edge.
Curiosity. Compassion. Communication. Courage.
The things no algorithm can authentically replicate.

Instead of asking, “Will AI take my job?” the book reframes it to, “What parts of my job should AI take — so I can focus on what makes me irreplaceable?”

If anything, it reads like a reminder.
That staying “open to work” is not a LinkedIn badge.
It’s a mindset.
Open to learning.
Open to pivoting.
Open to unlearning the comfort of predictability.
In a world obsessed with certainty, this book makes a case for agility.

And perhaps that is the real takeaway.
The future doesn’t belong to the most intelligent.
It belongs to the most adaptable.

Would I recommend it?
Yes — especially if you’re feeling the quiet anxiety of being left behind in the AI conversation.

[Anna Bussabarger-Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with bouldering references, yes ma’am!

What makes this book isn’t the tech… it’s the human stories. How do we as humans use this tech to further our capabilities and uniqueness? That is the question that Roslansky and Raman set out to answer. They did a great job of that with the personal case studies of folks, mixed with the academic studies.

I would recommend, even for irregular business book readers. The genre can be dry, but this book has heart. It’s an uplifting answer to AI adoption. No doom messaging, no intense sales pitch, and no elitism on display. It’s the call we needed. Thanks LFPL!

Why I Work: To connect with others, get curious, and make something bigger.

What I Uniquely Do: Taking sales and marketing strategies into writing for a fuller picture boost.

Where I Want To Go: Some place in health tech. In the future, I want to use my skills to advance health outcomes and treatments.

My Magic Wand Fix: Health equity. It’s unfair that a minor illness in the U.S. kills many globally. Or that someone living in one neighborhood will suffer, whereas across town, those symptoms/conditions are treated. Greed must end in the industry, and so must preventable gaps.

Favorite Quotes:

“For too long, many of us have let a title be our professional story. But you’re not just a financial analyst, a plumber, or a nurse practitioner. You’re not just anything. You’re a collection of distinctly human capabilities, contributions, and potential that no title captures.” -Part II: What’s Changing; Chapter 5: Jobs Are Tasks, Not Titles, Page 74

“Mo has come to realize that the path up a climbing wall is a puzzle with multiple solutions. The best way for you to climb it will be unique to you.” -Part II: What’s Changing; Chapter 6: Careers Are Climbing Walls, Not Ladders, Page 84

“Your onlyness isn’t your résumé. It’s the thread that connects your seemingly unrelated experiences into a story only you could have lived.” -Part III: The Path Forward; Chapter 9: Nobody Beats You at Being You, Page 152

[Deotima Sarkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Open to Work is somewhere between fascination and horror, just like the modern discussion around AI. This is an attempt to bridge that divide, written by LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky and his colleague Aneesh Raman. Open to Work discusses what occurs when technological progress outpaces emotional adaptation.
What I learned anew from the book is its kapproach to technology. Instead of dwelling upon innovations, the authors consider the anxieties associated with them. All these talks about automation, industry evolution, and career shifts lead to one big question, what will be left that is human in a world driven by AI?
Throughout the entire book, the authors come back to traits such as curiosity, creativity, courage, compassion, and communication, not as fancy terms used in corporate presentations but as qualities that could be in demand if people delegate mundane tasks to machines. Adaptability is another important notion introduced in the book. According to Roslansky and Raman, careers are no longer upward ladders they are dynamic landscapes full of twists and turns.
Most notable to me was the practical approach. Rather than overwhelm the reader with future-oriented language, the book offers a step-by-step explanation of how individuals can reframe their role, separate responsibilities for AI, and concentrate on judgment, social interaction, and creativity. A theme of comfort runs through the entire book, particularly for those who feel disoriented by the rapid evolution of the workplace.
Nonetheless, there are moments when the book seems overly polished, motivational, and somewhat corporate in its optimism. Readers who are curious about the hazards and ethical complexities of AI might find themselves wishing for a more critical examination of AI beyond the scope of employability.
Nevertheless, Open to Work achieves its goal of sparking an essential dialogue. This book is not so much a manual for AI technology but rather a survival guide for one's professional life during uncertain times.

[Sindhu Vinod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryan Roslansky’s Open to Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI is a timely career guide that blends LinkedIn’s real-time insights with practical strategies for thriving in a rapidly changing job market shaped by artificial intelligence.
The book argues that traditional career ladders and outdated advice no longer work. Instead, success in the AI era requires adaptability, human-centered skills, and a proactive mindset.

AI as a Partner, Not a Threat: Learn to delegate repetitive tasks to AI while focusing on creativity, empathy, and leadership.
Emphasizes the “Five Cs”-curiosity, courage, creativity, compassion, and communication-as irreplaceable human skills.
Instead of climbing a linear ladder, careers now resemble a “climbing wall,” requiring lateral moves, reskilling, and experimentation.
Includes a 30-60-90 day action plan for adapting to AI-driven changes in the workplace.
Profiles professionals like Neil (using AI to improve his job), Jonetta (landing a new role with AI), and Taj (building a business with AI).
Draws on insights from over 1 billion professionals worldwide, making it grounded in real trends.
Offers clear steps for reskilling, adapting, and staying competitive.
Encourages readers to embrace change rather than fear it.
Useful for students, mid-career professionals, and leaders navigating AI disruption.
Open to Work is both a roadmap and a rallying cry for professionals navigating the AI era. It’s not just about surviving disruption, it’s about harnessing it to build meaningful, resilient careers. For anyone feeling anxious about automation, this book reframes AI as an opportunity to amplify human strengths rather than replace them.

[Olivier Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ronny Chieng is one of my favorites on The Daily Show (after Jon Stewart, of course), so when YouTube suggested his Harvard Class Day speech recently, I clicked.

Like most comedians, he was making people laugh while sneaking in a serious point.

One line in particular stuck with me:

“It’s going to be people with substance versus people with shallow knowledge. It’s going to be mastery versus faking it. It’s going to be people with good taste versus tacky.”

I’ve been spending a good amount of time using, thinking, coding, and writing about AI lately. Every product seems to be AI-powered. Every company now claims to be AI-native. Every week brings another prediction about how work will change.

Around the same time, I finished Open To Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI by Ryan Roslansky and Aneesh Raman, which I picked up on the recommendation of Ethan Evans. It’s a quick read on navigating AI’s impact on work and careers.

Both the speech and the book are wrestling with the same question:

What becomes more valuable when AI becomes widely available?

They answer it differently. Ronny talks about substance, mastery, and taste. The book focuses on creativity, curiosity, communication, compassion, and courage.

The more I rely on generative AI for ideas, plans, code, analyses, recommendations, and potential answers, the more time I spend deciding which ones matter.

As AI gets better at generating possibilities, the value increasingly shifts toward knowing which possibilities are worth pursuing. Which customer problem is worth solving? Which opportunity is worth chasing? Which tradeoff is worth making? Which answer is actually correct?

AI can help generate options. The differentiator is judgment.

[Joanna HL · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI is quite an easy, practical read about navigating work in a world where AI is becoming more and more part of everyday life.

A big part of this felt like learning how to navigate change, and almost embracing it. It keeps coming back to the idea that it’s not success vs failure, it’s whether you take action or stay stuck. That mindset shift really stood out to me.

It’s clearly laid out into practical sections, not too wordy, and uses relatable real-life examples which makes it easy to get into and understand. I also liked the focus on soft skills, curiosity, creativity, courage, compassion, and communication, as the real human edge!

One chapter had a topic called career climbing wall as an idea also really landed for me. It feels much more realistic than a ladder, especially when careers aren’t linear and everyone’s path looks different. I think it just really pushed forward this narrative of the fact that we can and do adapt.

There are some practical bits too, like the 30-60-90 plan for using AI in your work, which felt useful without being overwhelming.

Overall, a solid, accessible read. A good one if you’re feeling unsure about AI or where it might fit in with work, or just trying to figure out how to move with the change rather than get left behind.

[bookswithkinkita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Open to Work by Ryan Roslansky and Aneesh Raman arrives at a moment when uncertainty around careers feels almost universal and it meets that anxiety with clarity rather than fear.
The book dismantles the comforting illusion of the traditional career ladder and replaces it with something far more fluid, and at times, unsettling. Instead of offering rigid formulas, the authors present a mindset shift: in a world shaped by AI, stability is no longer found in roles, but in adaptability.
This central idea is explored through sharp insights, real-world examples, and an underlying optimism that never feels naive.
What makes the book compelling is its refusal to treat AI as a looming threat. Instead, it reframes technology as a collaborator one that amplifies human potential when approached with curiosity rather than resistance.
The narrative consistently returns to the value of deeply human traits: creativity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to learn continuously. These are not presented as soft skills, but as essential survival tools in a rapidly evolving professional landscape.
The writing is direct and accessible, avoiding jargon while still engaging with complex ideas.The book is less of a step-by-step guide and more of a recalibration. It doesn’t promise certainty; instead, it equips you to move confidently through uncertainty.

[Joe Hoggard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is worth recognizing the core skills that remain valuable as artificial intelligence technologies advance and do more routine and technical tasks each day.

1.Curiosity
The drive to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and explore new possibilities. While AI can analyze patterns, curiosity helps humans discover entirely new directions and opportunities.
2.Courage
The willingness to act despite uncertainty and take worthwhile risks. Courage enables people to move forward, make difficult decisions, and choose progress over comfort when outcomes are not guaranteed.
3.Creativity
The ability to imagine and create genuinely new ideas, not just recombine existing ones. The authors argue that humans excel at reimagining what is possible and inventing novel solutions.
4.Compassion
The capacity to genuinely care for and empathize with others. AI can imitate concern, but compassion comes from authentic human understanding and connection.
5.Communication
The skill of turning language into shared meaning, trust, and action. Effective communication helps people persuade, inspire, collaborate, and build relationships in ways AI cannot fully replicate.

While I agree these are important and may remain so, what I am not certain of is whether employers will prefer human judgment or concern over human welfare to machine learning and efficiency unless we get alignment correct. It is an understandably optimistic take from the leader of LinkedIn at a turbulent time for everyone in the workplace competing with each other and powerful synthetic workers or agents. As always adaptability and innovation is key to survival. That and intelligence per energy unit per dollar.