Worksheet: my usefulness level
Practicum for Chapter 5, "Five Levels of New Usefulness." Version: 2026-06-11. Time: 30 to 40 minutes. Use your last working week, not your resume or job description.
Faster option: The interactive browser version identifies the level of a task and challenges inflated ratings. You do not need to install anything, and your data stays on your device.
Goal: Find the level of one specific task. This is not a rating of you as a person. It shows what you are paid for in the connection between your work, AI, and the result.
1. Choose one task
Pick a result you produced with AI during the past week.
Be specific:
- prepared the first draft of a presentation;
- reviewed a contract;
- assembled a report;
- replied to a customer;
- analyzed a spreadsheet;
- prepared a recommendation for a manager.
Do not write something broad such as "worked on the project," "handled customers," or "did analysis."
My task:
____________________________________________________________
2. Four questions
| Question | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Which outcome was supposed to change? | |
| Who made a decision based on the result? | |
| Which error would have been unacceptable? | |
| Next time, what will improve my context rather than the model's capabilities? |
If you cannot answer any of the four questions, the task is probably at level 0 or 1. You made the output faster, but you do not yet own the checking process, the workflow, or the outcome.
3. Find the task's level
| Level | Quick sign | Does this describe your task? |
|---|---|---|
| 0. Instruction follower | Received an assignment and delivered the result | |
| 1. AI user | Used a model to work faster | |
| 2. Validator | Checked criteria, quality, and risk | |
| 3. Orchestrator | Built a workflow from people, an agent, data, and tools | |
| 4. Outcome owner | Took responsibility for a metric, customer, money, or risk | |
| 5. System builder | Packaged the solution so it works without you |
Current level of this task:
____
Why:
____________________________________________________________
4. Your level for the week
Choose the three main tasks from your week and mark each one's level.
| Task | Hours | Current level | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
My default level in the week's main tasks:
____
This is not a score for you. It maps the place you usually take in the tasks that shape your market value.
5. Pick one task to move up
Choose one task where moving up one level would create the most value.
Task:
____________________________________________________________
Why this task:
____________________________________________________________
Next level:
____
Continue with the One move to the next level plan.
Check for self-deception
- Producing more of the same output does not move you above level 1.
- If the model does everything and you only forward its answer, you are still at level 0, only faster.
- Without criteria for what "correct" means, you are not yet a validator.
- If nobody knows who owns the outcome, you are not yet the outcome owner.
- If the solution cannot run without you, it is not yet a system.