# Earlier writing

> Earlier essays on teams, learning, and leading through change. Older work, kept for reference. The current writing lives in Writing.

Source: https://iambenschmidt.com/blog/



Earlier essays, kept for reference. The current writing lives over in [Writing](/essays/).



## In this section
- [The Promotion That Breaks You](https://iambenschmidt.com/blog/2026/promotion-that-breaks-you/index.md): A leadership transition feels like a reward, but it often breaks capable people. Learn why the skills that got you promoted are now holding you back and how to navigate the shift.
- [Beyond the Vision Deck: How to Lead When the Ground Won't Hold Still](https://iambenschmidt.com/blog/2026/beyond-the-vision-deck-how-to-lead-when-the-ground-wont-hold-still/index.md): A practical guide for leaders on navigating constant change. Learn why 'vision' isn't enough and how rhythm, candor, and a focus on capability are the keys to overcoming organizational whiplash.
- [The Augmentation Gap: Is Your AI Making People Harder to Replace, or Easier?](https://iambenschmidt.com/blog/2026/augmentation-gap-is-your-ai-making-people-harder-to-replace-or-easier/index.md): AI is creating an augmentation gap between those who use it to get more capable and those who use it to avoid learning. This guide helps leaders ensure their teams use AI to compound skills, not atrophy them, by focusing on learning velocity and skill half-life.
- [Capability Debt: The Unseen Drag on Your Team's Performance](https://iambenschmidt.com/blog/2026/capability-debt-the-unseen-drag-on-your-teams-performance/index.md): Explore the concept of 'capability debt': the growing gap between your team's skills and the demands of their work. Learn why hiring and one-off training fail, and how leaders can build resilient, capable teams through consistent practice, not one-time events.
- [Why Your Team Keeps Forgetting What You Trained Them](https://iambenschmidt.com/blog/2026/why-your-team-keeps-forgetting-what-you-trained-them/index.md): Your team didn't fail the training and you didn't run it badly. Here's the science of why trained knowledge fades, and the small weekly move that bends the curve back.

---
This is the plain-markdown twin of https://iambenschmidt.com/blog/. The whole site offers one: append index.md to any page URL. Index for agents: https://iambenschmidt.com/llms.txt