For years, I’ve used a simple exercise with salespeople, project managers, account managers, and service teams.
No matter the industry or job title, I always end up drawing the same thing on a whiteboard.
Three columns.
Must Do.
Should Do.
Could Do.
Then little dots to represent tasks under each.
It looks simple, but it always sparks impactful discussions.
Every Role Has Three Levels of Work
Must Do
These are the non-negotiables.
Show up.
Return the call.
Complete the work.
Follow safety procedures.
If you don’t do these things, someone notices.
These are the expectations of the job.
Should Do
This is where it gets interesting.
These are the things everyone agrees are important.
Preparing for meetings.
Following up with customers.
Keeping teammates informed.
Planning ahead.
Documenting important conversations.
Nobody argues that these matter.
Yet they’re also the things people most often skip.
Not because they don’t care.
Because they’re busy.
When these habits are inconsistent, the effects compound. Customers become frustrated. Communication breaks down. Problems become emergencies. Stress increases, and everyone spends their day reacting instead of leading.
Could Do
These are the things that aren’t in your job description.
The extra phone call.
The handwritten thank-you note.
Teaching a teammate something you learned.
Looking for a better process instead of accepting “that’s how we’ve always done it.”
Anticipating a customer’s concern before they mention it.
Nobody has to do these things.
But these are the behaviors people remember.
This is where remarkable careers are built.
The Question I Always Ask
Once we’ve talked through the three levels, I ask one simple question.
“If everyone operated at the Remarkable level on this board, what would happen?”
The answers are almost always the same.
Customers would notice.
Coworkers would notice.
Stress would decrease.
Trust would increase.
The business would grow.
Nobody ever says things would get worse.
The Objection I Hear Every Time
Almost without fail, someone raises their hand and says:
“This is great, RJ… but nobody has enough time.”
Today, we’re entering a different era.
AI Changes the Equation
When people ask whether AI will replace jobs, I think they’re asking the wrong question.
I don’t see AI replacing great people.
I see AI taking care of more of the Must Dos.
Summarizing meetings.
Drafting emails.
Finding information.
Creating first drafts.
Organizing data.
Completing repetitive administrative work.
Those are valuable tasks, but they aren’t usually what customers remember.
The opportunity isn’t simply to do those tasks faster.
The opportunity is what you do with the time you get back.
Imagine using those extra minutes to make one more proactive phone call.
To better prepare for a customer meeting.
To coach a teammate.
To think before reacting.
To solve tomorrow’s problem instead of today’s emergency.
That’s where the real value is created.
The Future Belongs to the People Who Invest Their Time
The people who thrive won’t simply be the ones who know how to use AI.
They’ll be the ones who use AI to create more time for the work that only humans can do.
Building relationships.
Showing empathy.
Thinking creatively.
Leading.
Coaching.
Serving.
Those aren’t being replaced.
They’re becoming even more valuable.
Ironically, the people most at risk won’t be those replaced by AI.
They may be the ones who gain back hours every week… and choose to spend them doing the bare minimum.
That’s not an AI problem.
It’s a human problem.
One Challenge
Think about your own role.
What are your Must Dos?
What are the Should Dos you know would make you better if you did them more consistently?
And what are the Could Dos that would make your customers, teammates, or organization say, “We can never lose this person!”
Because the goal isn’t to become more efficient just for the sake of efficiency.
The goal is to use that efficiency to become more remarkable.
That’s a future worth building.
