📈 Before we dive in
🔗 We’re live at Field Notes! Catch up on all past editions here
🚀 How Vibe Coding Transformed My Views
For most of my career, learning something new looked like this:
📚 Read the book
🎥 Take the course
⏳ Wait weeks (or months) to apply it
❌ Hit roadblocks, troubleshoot, Google, repeat
✅ Maybe see results… eventually
This summer, I tried something completely different.
I spent four weeks “vibe coding” - rapid prototyping with AI - and launched my Huertanomics website (later this newsletter and soon a resources page) with zero technical background.
No course. No manual. Just building in real-time with AI as my coach, teammate, and execution partner.
Every blocker got an instant fix. Every error came with context, suggestions, and code.
What would’ve taken months collapsed into days.
I realized in this two month journey that I wasn’t just learning faster - it was a different learning experience for upskilling and this might be a peak into the future.
As I reflected on the last year of interviewing HR leaders on how they’re rebuilding their functions, I’ve realized what they’ve shared is not too different to my vibe coding experience.
Which has led me to the belief, that how organizations will upskill and how we learn in the new AI error will play out very different to learning and development of the past.
🤖 The New Learning Loop: AI as a Team Member
So, what was my big takeaway in my vibe coding learning exercise? The process was way more collaborative and real-time than I thought.
This new learning experience I had was very different to my “on the job training” of the past and isn’t how L&D programs are typically structured - a big shift is coming:
From episodic learning → To embedded, continuous learning
From courses → To co-creation
From study-then-do → To learn-while-doing
In the new model, employees won’t just consume training - they will build in real time, with AI as a live collaborator providing feedback, direction, and support.
Learning is no longer a solo act, completed in isolation.
It’s a team sport—and AI is a critical member on the roster.
📢 “How I Built It” is Coming!
🎙 Today, I’m recording our first-ever How I Built It interview with Andrew Golden (RetailNext) and we’ve got 5 other amazing HR Leaders lined up!
In just two weeks, Andrew built a custom AI-powered HR survey platform—complete with a survey builder, analytics dashboard, and HRIS integration—for under $600. No vendor. No bloated budget. Just scrappy testing + fast learning.
🧪 Next week’s issue will summarize how Andrew went through his own vibe coding and upskilling journey. If you want access to the live AMA, hit me up via email on my website.
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🧠 So, Why Does This Matter for HR Leaders?
This isn’t a tech problem. It’s a team design challenge.
If you’ve read our manifesto, you know my thoughts on the future of SaaS. It’s going to look very different (if it exists at all) as companies begin to ‘scale to one’.
And with this, the line between HR and IT is blurring. Pods of humans + AI agents are becoming the norm. And the leaders best equipped to redesign teams and depts? HR.
Why?
HR knows org design, behavior change, and enablement infrastructure.
CTOs own the tools but often lack a framework for human collaboration.
Future-ready teams will need systems where humans and AI evolve together.
As my good friend, Steve Cadigan, wrote in his book Workquake:
“Adaptability is the key differentiator in the modern workplace.”
That adaptability will be designed—by HR.
🛠 From L&D to L&O (Learning & Operations)
AI-native orgs can’t rely on static, LMS-style training.
Instead, I believe HR teams will begin designing a Team OS or org-level learning loops baked into daily work:
Role-specific AI onboarding flows
Real-time paired workflows (human + AI)
Prompt libraries embedded into systems
Enablement pods that drive AI fluency through use, not theory
Many HR teams are already working this way. And those that are diving into the deep end are finding that this shift doesn’t require more spend—just smarter spend.
HR leaders (and not just CFOs) in the next few quarters will question every dollar of spend!
💰 There Are Massive Cost Implications
Companies with 500–2,500 employees spend $500–$1,500 per employee per year on L&D.
That’s $250K–$3.75M annually—often on:
LMS platforms no one logs into
Generic courses that never stick
Annual trainings with no behavior change
Reallocate 30–40% of that toward:
AI-native pods for Sales, CS, HR, Ops, etc.
Workflow design + vibe coding pilots
Real-time, cross-functional enablement
Human + AI onboarding flows
This is not a sunk cost—it’s transformation capital.
And it’s HR’s chance to lead the redesign.
💡 Final Thought
We’ve entered a phase where learning isn’t an event—it’s embedded in the workflow.
Where HR isn’t just a service function—it’s the org architect.
Learning agility. Openness. Experimentation.
These aren’t soft skills—they’re the new performance drivers.
And AI will reward the teams who build with it—every day.
Let’s get to work.
💌 Stay Connected
🔗 Binge past editions → https://news.huertanomics.com/archive
🙌 Forward this to a builder or HR leader navigating AI change
📥 Email me to get a direct link for our HIBI AMA with Andrew Golden next week