The Human Algorithm

Setting the scene:

At Sterling Manufacturing, the hum of new robotic arms on the factory floor was a constant, low-grade thrum of anxiety. For a company that had long prided itself on its family atmosphere, the message was clear: adapt or be replaced. The leadership team was locked in a heated debate. The CFO saw a clear path to profitability through aggressive automation—a future with fewer people and higher margins. But the COO, Elena, saw a different future, one where technology augmented, rather than amputated, human ingenuity.

The initial rollout of an AI-powered scheduling system was a disaster, creating chaotic schedules that left employees exhausted and demoralized. But a small, diverse team, tasked with optimizing the very AI that was causing so much chaos, made an extraordinary breakthrough. They discovered that the AI was optimizing for machine efficiency, not human wellbeing. By teaching the AI to account for human factors, they transformed it from a source of stress into a powerful tool for collaboration. This was the company’s eureka moment: the key to unlocking the true potential of AI was not to replace human intelligence, but to partner with it.

This scenario, while fictional, illustrates a fundamental truth that we at The Alchemy Experience see every day: the greatest fundamental challenges and opportunities in any business are not in its systems or strategies, but in its people and the systems that were designed for a business outcome, not interaction. The relentless pursuit of efficiency at the expense of humanity is a false economy. True, sustainable success is found in building a resilient, energized, and aligned workforce. It’s about understanding that your business is a living system, a complex interplay of human energy. And when that energy is depleted, so is your bottom line.

The Multi-dimensional Asset: Human Energy Capital

The cost of a disengaged, burnt-out workforce is not a soft metric; it’s a hard, cold number. Gallup estimates the global cost of low employee engagement at a staggering $8.8 trillion annually [1]. This isn’t just about lost productivity; it’s about the slow erosion of your company’s most valuable asset that is considered as a consumable resource (HR): its Human Energy Capital.

We often think of energy in a single dimension: are our people tired or are they rested? But this is a dangerously simplistic view. At The Alchemy Experience, we see human energy as a multi-dimensional asset, a form of capital that must be managed and invested in across five key areas:

Dimension	Core Focus	Business Impact of Depletion
1. Physical	Quantity of energy; health, movement, and rest.	Absenteeism, chronic illness, low stamina, poor focus.
2. Mental	Quality of focus; cognitive clarity and concentration.	Errors, poor decision-making, rigid cognitive biases, uncontrolled thought processes.
3. Subtle/Emotional	Quality of inner feeling; emotional resilience and self-regulation.	Low emotional frequency, poor energy boundaries, conflict, and negative messaging input.
4. Spiritual/Ineffable	Force of energy; purpose, values, and connection to a larger vision.	Listlessness, hopelessness, isolation, lack of motivation, and disconnection from the company mission.
5. Relationships	Flow of energy; quality of connection with people, places, and things.	Co-dependency, internal conflict, resistance to change, and unhealed organisational “wounding.”

When we fail to manage these five dimensions, we create energy leaks that drain the vitality of our organization. The solution is not another “box-checking” wellness initiative, but a fundamental shift in perspective: from treating employees as resources to be consumed to treating them as capital to be invested in.

Meeting People Where They Are: The Art of Evoking Potential

Building energy resilience is not about forcing everyone into the same mould. It’s about meeting people where they are. Just as a therapist creates a safe space for a client to find their own path to healing, an organization must provide the safety and support for its people to embark on their own journey of empowerment.

This is where the story of Sterling Manufacturing holds a deeper lesson. The breakthrough didn’t come from a top-down mandate; it came from empowering a diverse team to bring their unique perspectives to a complex problem. It wasn’t about hiring for a specific “neurotype”, normal or divergent, but about creating an environment where different ways of thinking were not just tolerated, but celebrated as a strategic advantage. Every individual in your organization has a unique cognitive fingerprint, a distinct way of seeing the world. The role of a leader is not to force conformity, but to evoke the best from each person’s uniqueness; they aren’t managers they are coaches. When you create a culture of psychological safety and authentic connection, you unlock a wellspring of creativity, innovation, and discretionary effort that no amount of automation can replicate.

Fractal Analysis: Seeing the Whole Picture

So how do you identify the energy leaks in your organization? How do you move from a granular, reactive approach to a holistic, proactive one? This is the essence of our Fractal Analysis methodology. It’s about zooming out to see the patterns that others miss. Like a fractal in nature, where a simple pattern repeats at every level of scale, small misalignments in a business can have cascading, system-wide effects. A lack of clarity in your company’s purpose (Spiritual Energy) can lead to departmental infighting (Relational Energy), which in turn creates emotional stress (Subtle/Emotional Energy), leading to a loss of focus (Mental Energy) and, ultimately, physical exhaustion and burnout (Physical Energy).

A granular approach would try to solve each of these problems in isolation. A new mission statement, a team-building offsite, a mindfulness app, a new vacation policy. These are symptom solutions. Fractal Analysis allows us to see the interconnectedness of these issues, to identify the root cause, the initial misalignment that is creating the downstream chaos. By making a subtle, targeted intervention at the right leverage point, we can create a ripple effect of positive change that restores the flow of energy throughout the entire organization.

The Alchemical Invitation

Your business is not a machine; it is a living, breathing organism, a dynamic interplay of human energy. The challenges of the modern world, from the rise of AI to the ever-present threat of burnout, demand a new kind of leadership, one that is attuned to the subtle art of managing this energy. It requires us to “change before change changes us,” to move from a reactive to a proactive stance.

By focusing on your people, by meeting them where they are and creating the conditions for them to thrive in their uniqueness, you are not just building a more humane workplace; you are building a more resilient, more innovative, and more profitable business. You are investing in the only asset that truly matters: your Human Energy Capital. This is the alchemy of modern business, and it is the key to unlocking your organization’s accelerated success.

References

[1] Gallup. (2024). Gallup Says $8.8 Trillion Is The True Cost Of Low Employee Engagement. Forbes.