Career Growth Aligns with Organizational Agility

Tomer Cohen believes the accelerating pace of change requires a fundamental reimagining of how products are built, with AI enabling a return to craftsmanship through what he calls the "full stack builder model."

The world of work is transforming at an unprecedented rate. LinkedIn's data shows that by 2030, 70% of the skills required for current jobs will change, and today's fastest-growing jobs weren't even on the list a year ago. This creates a critical challenge: the time constant of change is now greater than the time constant of response. Organizations must adapt their building processes to remain competitive.

Cohen observed that while the fundamental job of a builder—taking an idea and bringing it to life—is straightforward, companies have made this process unnecessarily complex. What began as a simple workflow (research, spec, design, code, launch, iterate) has expanded into numerous sub-steps requiring specialized roles. This organizational complexity slows innovation precisely when speed is most needed.

The full stack builder model addresses this by empowering builders to develop experiences end-to-end, combining skills across traditionally distinct domains. Rather than focusing on functional specialization, it emphasizes five key traits: vision, empathy, communication, creativity, and most importantly, judgment. Everything else can and should be automated through AI agents and tools.

For leaders implementing similar approaches, Cohen stresses three critical components: platform (rearchitecting systems to work with AI), tools (building specialized agents for company-specific needs), and culture (the most challenging aspect). Cultural transformation requires changing performance expectations, piloting success stories, celebrating wins, and making tools accessible with feedback loops. Simply providing access to tools isn't enough—you must build incentives, motivation, and examples of success.

The model doesn't mean everyone must become a full stack builder. Specialization still has its place, but organizations need fewer specialists than before. The key is identifying people with the mindset and agency to flex across functions, regardless of their current role.

For individual contributors, this shift presents an unprecedented opportunity for career mobility. The alignment between personal growth and organizational needs creates a tailwind—you can develop new skills that make you more valuable while helping your company become more adaptive. Don't wait for formal reorganization to start building differently; demonstrate a full stack builder mindset by experimenting with tools and approaches now.