💁🏽♂️ Stephen’s Note
Progress and consistency. That’s the name of the game.
I took last week off, but I wanted to come back with something special — something that connects the dots between the systems we’re building and the mindset we need to sustain them.
So, welcome to AI Spotlight — a new Huertanomics series where I sit down with the strategists shaping the AI-powered workplace.
If How I Built It (HIBI) is for the builders — showing how HR leaders ship new systems and prototypes — AI Spotlight is for the thinkers who help us understand the frameworks behind the build.
This series will spotlight the minds helping us turn theory into operating systems for modern work.
And there’s no better person to kick off the series than my good friend, Darren Murph, the original remote-work evangelist and culture-by-design pioneer.
Our topic: The Org Brain — the system every company is already building (whether they know it or not).
🔦 Why This Matters
Most orgs still think of knowledge management as a nice-to-have. Darren argues it’s the foundation — the central nervous system of your business.
“The Org Brain is the foundation for creating shared reality. Confusion and inefficiency are what kill speed, satisfaction, and revenue.”
In a world where AI is woven into every workflow, an Org Brain isn’t optional — it’s survival. It will decide the future winners and losers.
The companies that win will centralize knowledge so that decision-making can be decentralized.
🧩 The Big Idea: Centralize to Decentralize
Every high-velocity organization faces the same paradox: the faster you scale, the slower decisions become.
Darren’s perspective flips that way of thinking.
If you centralize knowledge intentionally, you can decentralize decisions safely.
Think of it like a company blockchain or neural net — the more consistent your source of truth, the faster your “nodes” (people, teams, agents) can act with confidence.
“Centralized knowledge enables decentralized decision-making. Decentralizing decisions is what makes businesses faster.”
📣 Join the AMA with Darren Murph
👉 AI Spotlight AMA: The Org Brain
🗓️ Wednesday, Oct 29
🕛 12:00 PM ET / 9:00 AM PT
🎟️ Register Here to Join
Want to go deeper on The Org Brain? Bring your questions live to our Ask Me Anything session with Darren.
⚙️ The Playbook: 5 Moves to Build Your Org Brain
1️⃣ Treat Knowledge Like a Product
Hire or appoint a Product Owner for the Org Brain. Former journalists are great targets.
Define taxonomy, versioning, and governance just like you would for a feature.
Build a roadmap and measure adoption as a core KPI.
“You have to run your Org Brain like a product, not a project.”
2️⃣ Start Simple — One Tool, One Owner
Choose a modern knowledge base (Notion or Confluence).
Assign one person to own it (half-time is better than none).
Layer in AI later — clarity beats complexity at this stage.
3️⃣ Build the Loop
Every meeting → auto-summarized with AI → routed into the Org Brain.
Define metadata rules (“if meeting = product, tag = roadmap”).
Train managers to query first, meet second.
4️⃣ Make It Measurable
Track reduced IT or ops tickets.
Track fewer meetings per employee (Darren’s simple math: 5 hrs/week saved × avg salary).
Track AI query success rate (“gold in, gold out”).
“What gets measured gets done — and what gets done becomes culture.”
5️⃣ Build Shared Reality
Use all-hands or async updates to reinforce the Org Brain’s value.
Reward contributors who update docs and resolve knowledge gaps.
Make opting out of using it an inferior experience.
💡 Quick ROI Snapshot
This may be one of the easier business cases for HR to build as you have both a cost savings and impact to revenue pitch.
Here’s how Darren broke it down:
• Meeting time saved: ~5 hours per person per week
• Ticket deflection: 25–50% fewer support tickets
• Talent retention: Lower dysfunction → higher engagement
• Ramp time: Faster onboarding & decision clarity
• Customer experience: Quicker issue resolution
🧱 The Modern Stack
Minimum Viable Org Brain Stack:
You definitely want to “keep it simple”.
If your company has an existing platform (e.g., Confluence, ServiceNow, Sharepoint), use it. For those starting from scratch, here’s Darren’s recommended stack:
🧠 Notion — your company’s living memory
🔎 Glean — search layer connecting all tools (Notion, Jira, Drive, etc.)
⚡ AI Note-Taker + Workflow Bot — to capture, summarize, and tag automatically
👥 Knowledge Owner (human) — runs it like a product, ensures governance
“The tech stack is only half of it. You have to pair it with a person stack.”
🪜 Evolution Path (i.e., Getting Started)
HR Leaders - some words from the wise. Start small.
Parallel-path your Org Brain build while your old workflows stay live.
Announce the build, invite sandbox champions early, and transition over 6–12 months.
You’ll get culture change for free — people stay relevant by contributing.
🔄 Reflection (Stephen’s Take)
Building an Org Brain isn’t just a technical exercise — it’s cultural infrastructure.
Any company that wants to remain relevant in the next market cycle needs one.
The question is: how quickly can you get there and what will it look like for you?
Here are my main takeaways after this AI Spotlight with Darren:
✔️ You can’t automate culture — but you can architect it.
✔️ The Org Brain is how you teach AI to understand your business.
✔️ Start small. Focus on wins and adoption, then iterate.
✔️ One source of truth → one shared reality → one operating rhythm.
That’s how you build a truly AI-native company.
Coming Soon on Field Notes:
🔮 AMA with Darren Murph — Oct 29 @ 12PM ET
🛠 How I Built It with Vanessa Monsequeira, VP People @ Gorilla
If this issue helped you see why your company needs an org brain, share it with someone building the future of work or DM me if you want to chat.
And if you haven’t already, subscribe to Huertanomics Field Notes for weekly frameworks, blueprints, and AI-for-HR experiments.
Let’s build smarter, intelligent people systems — together!
Until the next time,
Stephen