Investing in Humans Is Important Too
By Mitchell Schuckman, PCC | Founder, The Schuckman Group
There is no shortage of conversation about AI investment and ROI, but far less attention is paid to how people feel underinvested in. I’ve recently seen how powerful it is when that imbalance is addressed.
What People Say After the Session is Over
Over the past several months, I’ve noticed a pattern. After my in-person delivery of The Whole Leader Program, and after shorter virtual programs on building deeper client relationships and carrying an everyday business development mindset, I often hear from participants later. Sometimes it’s a hallway conversation. Other times it arrives as a text or WhatsApp message hours, or even a day, after a virtual session ends.
What people share is increasingly about appreciation. Appreciation that their organization invested time in something human. In a business environment dominated by conversations about AI adoption and ROI, many people are quietly feeling underinvested in. When time and attention are offered to them as human beings, the response is immediate and genuine. More than once, someone has written to say the session reminded them that their firm still sees them as people, not just as producers.
That reaction stays with me, because it says something important about the environment leaders and professionals are operating in right now.
A Comment That Put Human Investment in Focus
A few weeks ago, after a session on leadership and pressure in an AI-driven environment, one participant, let’s call him David, asked for a few extra minutes. David leads an operational team central to his firm’s technology and efficiency strategy.
As we spoke, he described the sophistication of the tools his team was deploying and the pace of innovation they were driving. Then he paused. “The technology is moving faster than our people are being supported to adapt,” he said. “We’re changing workflows, but we’re not helping people change how they think, decide, and lead.”
What struck me was the seriousness behind the observation. David was not questioning the technology. He was questioning whether his people were being set up to succeed as expectations rose and the work shifted. In that moment, it became clear to me that human investment is no longer secondary in an AI-driven business world. It is essential.
It Doesn’t Need to be Lengthy
The strongest reactions I see show up after both longer sessions and short, focused ones. Often the smaller formats land even more strongly, because they respect how tight and valuable people’s time has become.
Over the past six months, I’ve worked with tax, accounting, engineering, and consulting professionals on building stronger client relationships and developing a practical business development mindset that fits into everyday work. These are experienced professionals who already carry significant responsibility. What resonates is recognition that as technology evolves, they also need support evolving how they show up.
Human-centered training creates space to think about judgment, presence, communication, and empathy in a changing environment. The real value of technology emerges when people are equipped to use it with clarity, confidence, and care.
Coaching as a Targeted Human Investment
The same logic applies to coaching. Coaching does not need to be a sweeping personal journey or a long-term commitment to matter. In many cases, the impact comes from something specific and timely.
I recently worked with a leader under pressure to grow a key client relationship while the service model itself was shifting. In a handful of focused sessions, we slowed the situation down, clarified what the client might be anxious about, and mapped the few conversations that would matter most. There was no grand transformation, just clearer thinking and better choices.
That kind of coaching helps people show up steadier in moments that matter. Like effective training, it can be short, targeted, and highly impactful.
The Human ROI
AI will continue to reshape how work gets done, and investment in those tools is necessary. What is proving just as necessary is investment in the people carrying the work forward.
The payoff shows up in judgment, confidence, and steadiness under pressure. It shows up when expectations rise and the answers are not obvious.
In an AI-driven business world, that kind of human investment is part of what separates organizations that truly adapt from those that simply automate.