Chris Hirst says AI is making executives dispensable

Former Havas Global CEO Chris Hirst published the paperback of Indispensable on 11 June 2026, arguing that AI has commoditised the technical skills executives spent careers building. The book says the future of leadership will reward attitude, not just aptitude, and challenges senior teams to rethink who stays indispensable. Why it matters: - Chris Hirst is arguing that AI is not just changing how executives work. It is changing what executives are worth paying for. - Hirst’s core claim is that AI has flattened aptitude across white-collar jobs, leaving attitude as the last differentiator. - The book targets senior leaders who are deciding how to structure executive teams in the AI era. What happened: - Chris Hirst published the paperback edition of Indispensable: The No Bullsh t Guide to Thriving At Work with Macmillan Business on 11 June 2026. - The book completes Hirst’s No Bullsh t trilogy. - Hirst is a leadership keynote speaker and former global CEO of Havas Creative Group. - The release frames AI as a force that has already commoditised skills, qualifications and output. - Hirst argues that the only part of work still worth paying for is the part a machine cannot fake. The details: - Hirst states the formula on page 7 as: “Career Potential = Attitude x Aptitude.” - Hirst says AI has flattened aptitude, while attitude cannot be copied by AI. - Golden Rule 10 in the book says: “Be world class at the things that require no talent.” - Hirst uses airline pilots as an example of how technically difficult work can become routine for the people who do it. - He writes that AI is doing to white-collar work what the jet engine did to long-haul flying: it removed prestige from the technical part of the job, not the job itself. - Hirst defines indispensable people as those organisations, clients, customers and teams feel they cannot lose without suffering loss themselves. - Under that definition, executive teams keep fewer people for what they know and more for how they operate. - Hirst warns in the book’s “Beware AI” section that employers are increasingly using AI to sift candidates. - Hirst also warns that candidates are using AI to build applications. - He says both sides risk relying on an unreliable tool, and that those profiles will be the first to be cut. - Hirst says “Let me take care of that” was the single sentence that made people indispensable on every team he ran at Grey London and Havas Creative Group. - Hirst calls that trait “the single most desirable characteristic of a direct report in any industry and in any circumstance.” - The book is published by Macmillan Business, an imprint of Pan Macmillan. Between the lines: - The argument cuts against the prevailing advice that executives must first learn to use AI to stay relevant. - Hirst is positioning attitude, initiative and ownership as harder to automate than technical competence. - Clash Creation says Hirst’s view stands apart in the AI-leadership market because other senior commentators are urging leaders to learn AI, not question the value of the skills AI can now replicate. - The message is aimed at both employers and candidates: AI can narrow the field, but human signals still decide who looks indispensable. What’s next: - Hirst is continuing to speak on AI, leadership and executive-team change. - His keynote work is focused on AI-era uncertainty, leadership transition, post-merger integration and culture transformation. - Speaking enquiries and booking requests go through Chris Hirst’s talent page . - Hirst’s prior books were No Bullsh t Leadership in 2019 and No Bullsh t Change in 2023. - Hirst’s trilogy now ends with Indispensable . The bottom line: - Hirst’s bet is simple: AI may erase the premium on what leaders know, but not on how they show up when work gets hard.