Jeff's Daily Dose: Purge at Pinterest

Pinterest just laid off 15% of its workforce to "redirect resources toward AI."

Then some of its engineers built a tool to figure out exactly who got cut.

Pinterest fired them too.

The CEO called it "obstructionist behavior." The engineers say they just used the company's own staff directory. Either way ... the message was clear. We're restructuring. Don't ask questions.

Here's the thing. Pinterest's stock is down 20% this year. They're scrambling to compete with Meta & Google on AI-powered ads. And now they're burning trust with the people who survived the cuts.

That's the cost of doing AI transformation the wrong way. (Remember: The tech will sort itself out; the "people part" of AI will prove to be the most challenging)

So here's the strategic question most leaders aren't asking:

When AI automates a process & frees up headcount ... do you cut those roles or redeploy them?

Both paths are 100% legit.

Path 1: Reduce headcount. You pocket the savings. Margins improve. Wall Street loves it. That's the Pinterest play.

Path 2: Redeploy headcount. You move those people into growth roles ... sales, innovation, customer experience. Profits take longer but compound harder.

High-class problem either way. But here's what's true regardless of which path you choose ...

You can't make that decision until you've proven AI actually works in your operation. You need Pilots that deliver real, measurable results. That's what gives you the credibility (and the data) to go to your Board and say "here's what we're doing with the people this frees up."

No results? No leverage. No leverage? No strategic choice. You're just guessing.

That's exactly what today's *live* session is about.

I'm walking through the "AI Pilot to Profit" framework ... the step-by-step system for going from AI idea to measurable ROI in 6 weeks.

Today (2/5) at 1pm ET / 12pm CT / 11am MT / 10am PT

Join us live. Here's the Zoom link.

See you there.

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