Output to Outcome

“If Peter Drucker taught us how to think about management in the industrial and knowledge-work eras, Mik Kersten is defining the management landscape for the Age of AI with his insights on the AI operating model. His work, Output to Outcome, merges systems thinking, software delivery, and organizational design into a clear playbook for leaders seeking to harness AI while maintaining control, accountability, and purpose.”

At Vanguard, we’ve learned that achieving meaningful transformation goes beyond simply adopting new technology. It demands an AI operating model underpinned by a data-driven approach that enhances how we create and deliver value. In his book, Output to Outcome, Mik Kersten presents a practical framework for developing this robust data-driven operating model, enabling you to effectively scale in a world increasingly influenced by AI.

“After transforming how we measure and manage software delivery with the Flow Framework in Project to Product, Mik Kersten is now guiding enterprises through the deeper transition to an AI operating model. In Output to Outcome, he offers the vocabulary, models, and practical frameworks necessary for transforming AI into a genuine operating system for the enterprise—not just another feature. If your company is serious about surviving and thriving in the AI era, Output to Outcome is essential reading.”

Mik Kersten captures with precision the management challenge that every technology leader is now facing. As AI agents significantly reduce the cost of producing code, decisions, and digital products, the organizations that will succeed are not necessarily those that produce the most. Instead, they are those equipped with the clearest AI operating model to direct that production toward measurable business and customer outcomes. Kersten offers a practical framework and a shared vocabulary for leading such a transformation from output to outcome in today’s enterprise.

“Output to Outcome, a concept championed by Mik Kersten, introduces a radically new AI operating model that enables complex organizations to fully harness the rapid improvements achievable when AI agents are seamlessly integrated into their organizational design.”

“We are in a chaotic environment driven by a rate of change that current systems and businesses cannot absorb. The climate crisis, pandemics, and wars disrupt business plans and supply chains, and the pace of AI-driven development, integral to the AI operating model, means that tools are obsolete before they stabilize. To transition effectively from output to outcome, we have to reorganize our focus and rebuild everything using new tools that are evolving on their own. This is the definitive guidebook for that transition as articulated by Mik Kersten.”