How to adapt to high employee turnover in your business

Creative work still matters. Let’s build around that.
We’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it really means to build a creative business for the long haul. Not just to survive the current moment or respond to whatever tool is trending this week, but to build something that still feels strong and relevant 10, 20, even 40 years from now.
AI is everywhere right now. It’s powerful. It’s fast. And when used thoughtfully, it can absolutely support the work we’re doing. But it can’t replace the reason we’re doing it.
It can’t replace human understanding.
It can’t build relationships with clients.
And it definitely can’t solve your team’s capacity problems on its own.
In fact, there were several discussions about AI at the creative conference we attended, and one of the most powerful messages was that, because ChatGPT can do it all now, everyone will be using it.
Do you see where we’re going with this?
Sure, there will be a proliferation of mediocre work… but we'll also see a new crop of artists that are more creative and unexpected than ever because that will be the only way to stand out.
LLMs can only remix what has been made already. Only humans can take the leap and make something new, and this goes for any creative endeavor. The right place for AI is helping you push your work forward, being a sparing partner, even creating an antagonistic relationship with your AI partner to push your creativity. Being more human is what’s going to set you apart.
Where the tech fits in
We see a lot of folks jumping straight to the tech: “Let’s use AI to streamline this, automate that…” But if you’re trying to grow your business by, say, half a million dollars this year, the real work starts somewhere else. You have to break that goal down:
How many new clients does that mean?
What’s the average size of those engagements and who do we need to add to our team to get there?
What will our offering look like at scale?
How many hours of work will that require each month?
Then you have to look at your team:
Do we have the right number of people?
The right roles?
The right experience levels?
Do we have enough capacity at the senior level to lead those projects well, or are we going to need to train up or hire?
Perhaps AI could answer these questions one-by-one. But it cannot dream of where you are going, why you are going there, who you want to be, and what’s in it for your team. That’s business design. That’s leadership.
AI can absolutely help support that plan once it’s in place. But it’s not where you start.
What we keep coming back to is this: creative work still holds long-term value. It’s not getting commodified by AI because when everyone is using the same models, trained on the same data, the results will be the same, creating a race to mediocrity. But it is asking something new of us. It’s asking for better frameworks. Stronger language. Braver leadership. And a clearer vision for what kind of business we’re actually trying to build.
Because we’re not just trying to keep up. We’re trying to build something that lasts. And that’s going to require us to be thoughtful, not just fast.

Illustration by muhammad noor ridho on Unsplash

Bringing your team along for the ride
One of the biggest mistakes we see when firms roll out new tools or try to evolve their way of working is assuming that everyone on the team will naturally buy in. But here’s the truth: your team doesn’t just want to know what’s changing. They want to know why it matters to them.
Anytime we’re introducing something new—especially something as big as integrating AI into our workflows—we have to answer that core question: what’s in it for me?
That doesn’t mean putting on a sales pitch. It means framing the change in a way that connects to their daily experience.
Instead of saying, “We’re using AI to improve efficiency,” try, “We’re exploring ways to give you more time to do the work you actually love. To iterate on multiple ideas quickly. The kind of work that got you into this field in the first place,” or, “Our goal is to become the #1 creative agency in our industry in our city, and this will get us there.”
If the destination feels exciting—if it sounds like a place where they get to grow, thrive, and feel proud of their work—they’ll rally behind it. But the destination has to be big enough to be worth the effort. It can’t just be about cost savings or speed or more productivity (yuck). It has to be about building a firm where we all get to do more of the good stuff, with more clarity and less burnout.
This is why we believe we need to be crystal clear about what AI is for in our businesses. Not just to check a box or chase a trend, but to reduce friction, support creativity, and free up capacity for the kinds of conversations and thinking that only humans can do.
And we need to make that case out loud, over and over, in language that resonates with our teams.

Illustration by Luky Triohandoko on Unsplash

Start with capacity, not tools
Let’s dig into that example and say you want to grow your business by half a million dollars this year. That’s a big, exciting goal—and totally doable with the right plan. But here’s the thing I’ve seen over and over again: leaders jump straight to automation. They start asking what software to use, which AI to try, how to make the work go faster.
That’s not the place to start.
The real starting point is capacity. Not just how many people you have, but what kind of work they’re doing, where their time is going, and what kind of projects they’re equipped to take on. Because even if AI helps move some things along, it won’t magically give you the team you need to do your best work.
You can’t AI your way out of a capacity problem.
If you want to grow by $500K, break it down. How many new clients does that mean? What’s the average size of those projects? How many hours does it take to deliver that kind of work well? And then—do you have the right team in place to actually do it?
This is where a lot of firms get stuck. They have great people, but maybe not enough of the right kinds of roles. Maybe their senior leaders are maxed out and there’s no one ready to step into project leadership. Maybe the junior team has capacity, but needs more training or systems in place. Maybe the business model itself needs to shift to match the kind of work they actually want more of.
Those are strategic questions. And they need human judgment, not just data.
That’s why we always start with the big picture: What kind of growth are you aiming for? What would it actually take to get there?
Once you’ve got clarity on that, then you can start looking at how tools—AI or otherwise—can support you. But if you start with the tech, you risk building faster systems for work you’re not set up to deliver. And that’s not strategy. That’s stress.
Adding it all up...
Creative work still matters. It matters to your clients, your team, and probably most of all, to you. In fact, I’d venture to say that we cannot imagine how valuable creative work and creativity will become over the next few decades.
AI can create a 1000 websites, movies, books, and songs in about five minutes — but they will be boring. Only Humans being human can create that for our fellow humans
So, let’s automate the stuff that drains our energy, streamline the things that take too long, and free up space for the kind of work we actually want to be doing.
But let’s also be brave enough to zoom out. To ask what we’re really building. To bring our teams into the conversation. To design businesses that are built to last. Not just in terms of profits, but in terms of purpose. That’s the work ahead.
Sum things to do

Now through July 31
Battery Park City’s River & Blues Concert Series is a treat to the ears (cutting-edge jazz and blues) and eyes (Hudson River sunsets). Catch the award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Lady Blackbird before the end of the month. Alternatively, get your kicks on the Rooftop at Pier 17 to catch PRIMUS, Drive-By Truckers & Deer Tick, and Guster & The Mountain Goats.

Ending July 31
Narrated by Pedro Pascal (yes, that Pedro Pascal), a planetarium show at the American Museum of Natural History will send you through the Milky Way on a 20-minute voyage through outer space. See Encounters in the Milky Way at the Hayden Planetarium now thorugh July 31.
Now through September
Bring a picnic and catch world-class music and dance all summer long at Bryant Park’s free concert series. July highlights include The Knights with Julian Labro, La Excelencia, and Cécile McLorin Salvant.
Now through September 14
Celebrate Jane Austen’s enduring legacy at “Jane Austen at 250” at the Morgan Library & Museum. Through manuscripts, portraits, and rare artifacts from her life, this exhibition explores her creativity, ambition, and the quiet determination that shaped one of literature’s most beloved voices.
Now through October 19
From the creators of Sleep No More comes Viola’s Room, a new immersive theater experience that opens Off-Broadway and runs through October 19. Originally staged in London, Viola’s Room invites audiences to step into a surreal, haunting narrative world.

Sum stuff for your radar

The New Creatives: How AI changes the face of the creative industry by Seema Sharma

What it is: A new book all about how AI is reshaping creative industry by seasoned creative director Seema Sharma. But guess who else —or what else— wrote it? That’s right… co-authored with Artificial Intelligence.
Why we like it: Sharma’s take is an optimistic one, and that’s a hard-to-find flavor in AI headlines these days. Read this if you want to be the kind of person who can say, “I firmly believe that approaching AI with optimism rather than fear opens up possibilities”