There’s a tweet from Naval Ravikant that smacked me right in the face the first time I heard it:
“There’s a big difference between a factory job where you command the robot and one where you are the robot.” https://x.com/naval/status/1909798632163086764
So let me ask you: Are you commanding the machine, or are you the machine?
In the home services industry—especially in the office—it’s getting painfully easy to spot the ones who are just running code. They show up, check the most basic boxes, avoid accountability, and call that “doing their job”.
Meanwhile, the world’s changing. Fast.
Automation isn’t coming. It’s here.
And the people who will thrive in what’s next are the ones who know how to build systems—not just follow them.
Let me paint the picture:
You’ve got a CSR who’s been there two years. They still need to be told to call a customer back.
A dispatcher who “waits for someone to tell them the schedule changed” instead of owning it.
Or worse—someone who sees an inefficiency and shrugs because “that’s not their job.”
These people aren’t lazy—they’re unconscious.
They’ve accepted a role in life where their brain is off, where curiosity is a liability, and change is someone else’s problem.
They are being the robot.
And as the pace of change accelerates, that’s not just a bad strategy—it’s suicidal.
Self-awareness is the beginning of leadership – including leading yourself.
If you can’t look in the mirror and recognize when you’re on autopilot, you’re already falling behind.
The people who grow in this industry—who become indispensable—are the ones who can see the system, question it, and make it better. They author their days. They take responsibility for outcomes, not just inputs.
They don’t say, “No one told me to.”
They say, “Here’s what I noticed. Here’s what I tried. Here’s what worked.”
That’s the voice of someone controlling the robot—and those are the ones who end up with the “opportunities” that the robots never see.
Most office roles in a home service company are one of two things:
- Running a system someone else built
- Building systems so others can run them
If you don’t have the mindset or discipline to do either well, what are you even doing here?
Too many people want to “have a job” instead of create value.
They’ve outsourced their initiative. They’ve numbed their curiosity. And they wonder why they don’t get promoted, why their opinion doesn’t matter, or why they feel stuck.
But that’s the point—they made themselves stuck.
If you can’t or won’t take responsibility—if you can’t ask “why,” suggest “what if,” or just do—you will be replaced.
Not because the company is mean.
Because you’ve added nothing that can’t be templated or scripted.
This Is a Wake-Up Call
If you’re reading this and it stings a little—good. That’s the point.
This isn’t about hustle porn. It’s not about being a superhero.
It’s about being awake.
AI and automation are here to handle the routine. That’s the gift. Now we get to level up the human side of the equation.
We need thinkers. Builders. People who notice what’s broken and fix it. People who create systems, make decisions, own results, and find better ways.
We need leaders at every desk—not just in titles, but in mentality.
So again, look in the mirror.
Are you the one designing the playbook?
Or are you just running scripts and hoping no one notices you’ve stopped thinking
There is a difference. And, that difference will mean everything.
HOME SERVICE LEADER 