13-Year Engineering Veteran: Good Culture Beats AI Tools—AI Only Amplifies What You Already Have
addyosmani · x · 2026-09-03
Engineering leadership newsletter author Gregor Ojstersek argues in "Good Culture is the Biggest Productivity Hack, Not AI" (shared by Addy Osmani) that the industry obsesses over AI tools and 2x–10x productivity claims while ignoring the environment those tools operate in.
- Team culture determines whether AI-driven speed compounds or just gets you to the wrong place sooner.
- In bad cultures (blame games, siloed departments), AI amplifies existing friction rather than fixing it.
- Takeaway: invest in culture and collaboration fundamentals first—only then do AI tools deliver real productivity gains.
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